Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Has criminalisation of the master subverted the aim of International Pollution Instruments to impose uniformity on the consequences of ship-source pollution?

Ship's Masters frequently face criminalisation after a maritime accident. Even though international pollution instruments are unambiguous regarding the consequences of shipsource pollution, states often penalise the Master in a manner that is not consistent with their treaty obligations. It brings i...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kapp, Catharina Wilna
Other Authors: Bradfield, Graham
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Commercial Law 2022
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613142866984960
access_status_str Open Access
author Kapp, Catharina Wilna
author2 Bradfield, Graham
author_browse Bradfield, Graham
Kapp, Catharina Wilna
author_facet Bradfield, Graham
Kapp, Catharina Wilna
author_sort Kapp, Catharina Wilna
collection Thesis
description Ship's Masters frequently face criminalisation after a maritime accident. Even though international pollution instruments are unambiguous regarding the consequences of shipsource pollution, states often penalise the Master in a manner that is not consistent with their treaty obligations. It brings into question whether international pollution instruments' objective to impose uniformity in their application is subverted by states who impose sanctions on the Master, which defies the aim of the pollution instruments to which they are bound. The protection of the marine environment is strictly regulated in several international conventions to reduce the risk of pollution. The consequences of ship-source pollution are sufficiently clear-cut to ensure compliance by the shipping industry and provide states responsible for enforcing it with clarity. The reality is that states often impose harsh punitive measures on the Master when an accident leads to pollution, and he is often disproportionately criminalised despite the conventions' safeguards. During the last decade, the IMO and maritime industry partners have attempted to address criminalisation by appealing to states to treat seafarers fairly after a maritime accident. However, the facts indicate that states often circumvent the conventions to suit their prevailing circumstances. Although the criminalisation of the Master is an innately worrying factor for anyone who operates a ship or aspires to a career at sea, it is the persistent unwillingness of states to comply with their treaty obligations that poses the biggest threat to the industry. Why states may be motivated to circumvent the conventions are investigated and measured against the ramifications when states do not comply with their treaty obligations to establish whether states are deliberately subverting the aim of international pollution instruments to achieve uniformity. Indications are that the criminalization of the Master through defying the international pollution instruments has become the norm, and states are more driven by regional ethics than their treaty obligations. States tend to favour a punitive approach to pollution strongly and are highly likely to act in a manner inconsistent with their treaty obligations when ship-source pollution occurs in their waters.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35768
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:31:26.417Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher Department of Commercial Law
publisherStr Department of Commercial Law
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/35768 Has criminalisation of the master subverted the aim of International Pollution Instruments to impose uniformity on the consequences of ship-source pollution? Kapp, Catharina Wilna Bradfield, Graham Shipping Law Ship's Masters frequently face criminalisation after a maritime accident. Even though international pollution instruments are unambiguous regarding the consequences of shipsource pollution, states often penalise the Master in a manner that is not consistent with their treaty obligations. It brings into question whether international pollution instruments' objective to impose uniformity in their application is subverted by states who impose sanctions on the Master, which defies the aim of the pollution instruments to which they are bound. The protection of the marine environment is strictly regulated in several international conventions to reduce the risk of pollution. The consequences of ship-source pollution are sufficiently clear-cut to ensure compliance by the shipping industry and provide states responsible for enforcing it with clarity. The reality is that states often impose harsh punitive measures on the Master when an accident leads to pollution, and he is often disproportionately criminalised despite the conventions' safeguards. During the last decade, the IMO and maritime industry partners have attempted to address criminalisation by appealing to states to treat seafarers fairly after a maritime accident. However, the facts indicate that states often circumvent the conventions to suit their prevailing circumstances. Although the criminalisation of the Master is an innately worrying factor for anyone who operates a ship or aspires to a career at sea, it is the persistent unwillingness of states to comply with their treaty obligations that poses the biggest threat to the industry. Why states may be motivated to circumvent the conventions are investigated and measured against the ramifications when states do not comply with their treaty obligations to establish whether states are deliberately subverting the aim of international pollution instruments to achieve uniformity. Indications are that the criminalization of the Master through defying the international pollution instruments has become the norm, and states are more driven by regional ethics than their treaty obligations. States tend to favour a punitive approach to pollution strongly and are highly likely to act in a manner inconsistent with their treaty obligations when ship-source pollution occurs in their waters. 2022-02-21T07:00:17Z 2022-02-21T07:00:17Z 2021 2022-02-16T11:30:46Z Master Thesis Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35768 eng application/pdf Department of Commercial Law Faculty of Law
spellingShingle Shipping Law
Kapp, Catharina Wilna
Has criminalisation of the master subverted the aim of International Pollution Instruments to impose uniformity on the consequences of ship-source pollution?
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Has criminalisation of the master subverted the aim of International Pollution Instruments to impose uniformity on the consequences of ship-source pollution?
title_full Has criminalisation of the master subverted the aim of International Pollution Instruments to impose uniformity on the consequences of ship-source pollution?
title_fullStr Has criminalisation of the master subverted the aim of International Pollution Instruments to impose uniformity on the consequences of ship-source pollution?
title_full_unstemmed Has criminalisation of the master subverted the aim of International Pollution Instruments to impose uniformity on the consequences of ship-source pollution?
title_short Has criminalisation of the master subverted the aim of International Pollution Instruments to impose uniformity on the consequences of ship-source pollution?
title_sort has criminalisation of the master subverted the aim of international pollution instruments to impose uniformity on the consequences of ship source pollution
topic Shipping Law
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35768
work_keys_str_mv AT kappcatharinawilna hascriminalisationofthemastersubvertedtheaimofinternationalpollutioninstrumentstoimposeuniformityontheconsequencesofshipsourcepollution