“TORREY CANYON”, 45 YEARS ON: HAVE WE SOLVED ALL THE PROBLEMS?

INTRODUCTION

There is a widespread belief that the modern oil pollution law was developed as a direct result of the Torrey Canyon incident in March 1967. This is not the case. In the mid-1960s, there was a series of incidents involving tankers making the passage round the Cape of Good Hope. The resulting pollution, much of which produced no compensation, gave rise to a call for legislation which would require all tankers using the Cape route to carry proof of insurance to cover potential claims. The fear in the oil industry was that if the South African government introduced such legislation it would encourage other states with vulnerable coastlines to follow suit.