Resumen de The Salvage Convention 1989
Commentary on the individual provisions of the Salvage Convention 1989 is usually made within the context of a general discussion of the different areas of the law and practice of salvage. This article presents a different contribution to the literature. It discusses the provisions Article by Article, based largely on the travaux préparatoires personally assembled by the author on the basis of the records provided by the IMO Secretariat and published by the CMI. It attempts to trace the history of each Article and to draw its interpretation therefrom. INTRODUCTION In March 1978 the Amoco Cadiz , carrying approximately 220,000 tons of crude oil, was wrecked on the coast of France and caused the largest oil pollution accident hitherto. At its 35th session, the Legal Committee of IMO 1 requested its Secretariat to prepare a report on the legal questions arising out of the Amoco Cadiz incident. In its report of September 1978, 2 various aspects of salvage were dealt with extensively. The report raised the questions whether the existing international law of salvage contained in the 1910 Brussels Convention should be revised, and whether a new salvage Convention to supersede the 1910 Convention should be prepared. Following consideration of the subject of salvage at the CMI 3 Assembly in March 1979, where it was concluded that the matter required immediate attention, the CMI offered IMO its cooperation for the study of the subject of salvage and in particular to explore whether new rules should be prepared in order to cover those casualties which may cause a threat of pollution, thereby creating a direct and primary interest of the coastal state in the salvage operations. 4 Having again considered the subject of salvage and the offer for cooperation made by the CMI, the Legal Committee of IMO at its 40th session in June 1979 decided that the CMI should be requested to review the private law principles of salvage. This restriction was obvious at the same time for two reasons: first, because it would have * President of Honour, CMI. The following abbreviations are used in the footnotes: Brice : J Reeder (ed), Brice on Maritime Law of Salvage , 5th edn (Sweet & Maxwell, London, 2012); Kennedy & Rose : FD Rose, Kennedy & Rose: Law of Salvage , 8th edn (Sweet & Maxwell, London, 2013); LLMC 1976: (London) Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976. Travaux préparatoires : F Berlingieri (ed), Travaux préparatoires of the Convention on Salvage (CMI, 2003); available on the CMI website ( comitemaritime.org/Travaux-Pr%C3%A9paratoires/0,27126,112632,00.html ). 1. At that time, the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (“IMCO”); since 1982, the International Maritime Organisation (“IMO”). 2. Legal Committee, Report on the Work of the 35th session (Document LEG XXXV/4). 3. Comité Maritime International. 4. Letter of the President of the CMI to the Secretary General of IMCO of 24 May 1979. The Salvage Convention 1989 27
