Decisión nº: 000921

In October 1998 the 1971 Fund Executive Committee considered a request by the Instituto para el Control y la Conservación de la Cuenca del Lago de Maracaibo (ICLAM), part of the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, that the shipowner/insurer and the 1971 Fund should contribute towards the cost of a post-spill study to evaluate the environmental impact of the spill on the west coast of the Gulf of Venezuela. The Committee took the view that the proposed study did not relate to pollution damage as defined in the Conventions, but involved basic research into oil pollution effects which had already been the subject of extensive studies worldwide. The Committee considered that no restoration plan based on a realistic expectation of improving on the natural recovery of the environment had been presented, nor was there evidence to suggest that restoration was necessary. For these reasons, the Committee took the view that the proposed study did not satisfy the criteria for admissibility of post-spill environmental studies laid down by the Assembly.