THE HNS FUND AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

Over the last fifty years the international community has struggled to put into effect an international legal regime for dealing with transport of hazardous substances at sea.The most comprehensive attempt for establishing such a regime was the drafting of the Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea (HNS Convention). The Convention seeks to provide a uniform response to damage caused by HNS at sea-transport by establishing a two tier system of liability of both the ship owner and the HNS Fund. Despite the innovative elements of the HNS Convention, the latter has not yet came into force and a Protocol was drafted in 2010 in order to make it more appealing. This book deals with the HNS Convention and attempts to shed some light on the various implications of the second tier of compensation (HNS Fund). The main question asked is whether the changes brought about by the 2010 Protocol have addressed the issues left unresolved and whether a comprehensive international regime for dealing with HNS in transport could finally be established.