7.1 Need for a Wreck Removal Convention

The Torrey Canyon 1 disaster provoked a review of a wide range of matters associated with wrecked ships, oil pollution, ship safety and “[t]he extent to which a State directly threatened or affected by a casualty which takes place outside its territorial sea can, or should be entitled to, take measures to protect its coastline, harbours, territorial sea or amenities, even when such measures may affect the interest of shipowners, salvage companies and insurers and even of a flag government”.2 Included within this was the extent to which this might be applied to wrecks.