CONVENTION

2010 HNS
Overview

An Overview of the International

Convention on Liability and Compensation

OVERVIEW
for Damage in connection with
the Carriage of Hazardous and
Noxious Substances By Sea, 2010
(The 2010 HNS Convention)

GUIDELINES
Explanatory note
1 The original Overview of the HNS Convention, 1996 was approved by the Legal Committee of IMO at
its eighty-fourth session, held in April 2002. In 2010, an International Conference adopted a Protocol to the
1996 Convention, which was designed to address the practical problems that had been perceived to prevent
many States from ratifying the Convention. This Overview is a revision of the original document, taking into

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account changes introduced by the 2010 Protocol.

2010 HNS
2 Together, these treaties constitute the 2010 HNS Convention. This Overview offers straightforward but
fundamental information on the key issues that fall within the scope of the 2010 HNS Convention. It should
also provide a useful basis from which to answer any queries from interested parties while explaining the
broad effects of the Convention as well as its purpose. The Overview is merely explanatory and therefore does
not contain any recommendation to be considered a source of any legal obligation regarding the implementa-
tion of the 2010 HNS Convention.

3 The Overview is consistent with resolution A.932(22) adopted by the IMO Assembly at its twenty-

2010 FINAL ACT

second session, which, inter alia, urged States to place a high priority on working towards the Convention’s
implementation and resolving any practical difficulties in setting up the new regime, with the aim of ratifica-
tion, acceptance and approval of, or accession to, the 2010 HNS Convention. It also responds to resolution 4
of the 2010 International Conference, which calls for revision of the original Overview to take account of the
2010 Protocol.

Main reasons for the changes introduced into the 1996 Convention by the
2010 Protocol
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4 It may be an aid to the understanding of the 2010 HNS Convention to explain briefly the underlying
1996 HNS

causes inhibiting the entry into force of the HNS Convention, 1996 and the solutions adopted in the 2010
Protocol, namely:
(i) the heavy burden on States of having to report the vast range of packaged substances received by
them. The remedy adopted was to differentiate between bulk and packaged HNS goods by exclud-
ing packaged goods from the definition of contributing cargo, and exempting receiving States from
the obligation to make contributions to the HNS Fund for them. Nevertheless, damage caused
by packaged goods remains covered under the compulsory insurance of the shipowner, and any
excess is met from the HNS Fund. In order to maintain the two-tier system, in view of the exclusion
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from contributions to the Fund, the shipowner’s limitation amount for carrying packaged goods was
also increased;

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2010 HNS Convention

(ii) in the case of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes, the HNS Convention, 1996 provided that the
person responsible for making contributions should be the titleholder, who may, however, not be
subject to the jurisdiction of a State Party, and the contributions may not, therefore, always be
recoverable. The Protocol now shifts responsibility for payment to the receiver, unless the title-
holder has agreed to assume that responsibility; and
OVERVIEW

(iii) non-submission of contributing cargo reports, on ratification of the HNS Convention, 1996 and
annually thereafter, was also a serious obstacle. The solution was to require States to submit reports
on contributing cargo as a condition of becoming Contracting States to the Convention, and there-
after to submit reports annually, in default of which they will be temporarily suspended from being
Contracting States. States Parties failing to submit annual reports, after the entry into force of the
Convention, will be unable to claim compensation until their reports are brought up to date. The
only exception will be claims for deaths and personal injury.

Introduction to the 2010 HNS Convention

GUIDELINES

5 Compensation for damage caused by the carriage by sea of hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) is
regulated by the 2010 HNS Convention.

6 The regime established by the 2010 HNS Convention is largely modelled on the existing regime for oil
pollution from tankers set up under the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage,
1992 (CLC) and the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensa-
tion for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992 (Fund Convention), which covers pollution damage caused by spills of
persistent oil from tankers.

7 The HNS regime is governed by the 2010 HNS Convention, the purpose of which is to provide adequate,
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2010 HNS

prompt and effective compensation for loss or damage to persons, property and the environment arising from
the carriage of HNS by sea. The Convention covers both pollution damage and damage caused by other risks,
e.g. fire and explosion.

8 Under the 2010 HNS Convention, the shipowner is liable for the loss or damage up to a certain amount,
which is covered by insurance (1st tier). A compensation fund (the HNS Fund) will provide additional compen-
sation when the victims do not obtain full compensation from the shipowner or its insurer (2nd tier). The
HNS Fund will be funded by those companies and other entities which receive HNS after sea transport in a
Member State in excess of the thresholds laid down in the Convention.
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Scope of application
9 The 2010 HNS Convention covers any damage caused by HNS in the territory or territorial sea of a State
Party to the Convention. It also covers pollution damage in the exclusive economic zone, or equivalent area,
of a State Party and damage (other than pollution damage) caused by HNS carried on board ships registered
in, or entitled to fly, the flag of a State Party outside the territory or territorial sea of any State. The costs of
preventive measures, i.e. measures to prevent or minimize damage, are also covered wherever taken.

10 The 2010 HNS Convention does not cover damage caused during the transport of HNS to or from a ship.
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Cover starts from the time when the HNS enter the ship’s equipment or pass its rail, on loading, and the cover
1996 HNS

ends when the HNS cease to be present in any part of the ship’s equipment or pass its rail on discharge.

11 The 2010 HNS Convention covers incidents involving the carriage of HNS by sea by any sea-going craft
of any type whatsoever, except warships and other ships owned or operated by a State and used, for the time
being, only on Government non-commercial service. The Convention allows a State to exclude from the
application of the Convention, ships which do not exceed 200 gross tonnage and which carry HNS only in
packaged form, and while the ships are engaged on voyages between ports of that State.

12 The 2010 HNS Convention defines the concept of HNS largely by reference to lists of individual
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substances that have been previously identified in a number of international Conventions and Codes designed
to ensure maritime safety and prevention of pollution. The references to the codes and regulations covering

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2010 HNS
Overview

these HNS substances are set out in article 1.5 of the Convention, and, with one exception, they reflect
amendments made to them by IMO bodies since the HNS Convention, 1996. The exception relates to solid
bulk materials possessing chemical hazards which are subject to the provisions, inter alia, of the International
Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG Code) in effect in 1996, when carried in packaged form. In this
respect, reference is made to IMO Circular letter No. 3144, dated 6 January 2011, listing solid bulk materials
possessing chemical hazards mentioned by name in the IMSBC Code and also in the IMDG Code in effect in

OVERVIEW
1996, and solid bulk materials possessing chemical hazards mentioned by name in the IMSBC Code but not
in the IMDG Code in effect in 1996.

13 HNS include both bulk cargoes and packaged goods. Bulk cargoes can be solids, liquids including
oils, or liquefied gases. The number of substances included is very large: the IMDG Code, for example, lists
hundreds of materials which can be dangerous when shipped in packaged form. Some bulk solids such as coal
and iron ore are excluded.

GUIDELINES
Damage

14 Damage includes loss of life or personal injury on board or outside the ship carrying HNS, loss of or
damage to property outside the ship, loss or damage caused by contamination of the environment, loss of
income in fishing and tourism, and the costs of preventive measures and further loss or damage caused by
such measures. The 2010 HNS Convention defines preventive measures as any reasonable measures taken by
any person after an incident has occurred to prevent or minimize damage. These include measures such as
clean-up or removal of HNS from a wreck if the HNS present a hazard or pollution risk.

15 The 2010 HNS Convention does not cover pollution damage caused by persistent oil, since such damage

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may be covered under the existing international regime established by the 1992 CLC and Fund Convention.

2010 HNS
However, non-pollution damage caused by persistent oil, e.g. damage caused by fire or explosion, is covered
by the Convention. The Convention does not apply to damage caused by radioactive material.

16 The amount available for compensation from the shipowner and the HNS Fund will be distributed
among claimants in proportion to their established claims. However, claims for loss of life and personal injury
have priority over other claims. Up to two thirds of the available compensation amount is reserved for such
claims.

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1st tier – Liability of the shipowner

(a) Strict liability of the shipowner

17 The registered owner of the ship in question is strictly liable to pay compensation following an incident
involving HNS. This means that he is liable, even in the absence of fault on his part. The fact that damage has
occurred is sufficient to establish the shipowner’s liability, provided there is a causal link between the damage
and the HNS carried on board the ship.
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18 The shipowner is exempt from liability under the 2010 HNS Convention only if he proves that:

(a) the damage resulted from an act of war, hostilities, civil war, insurrection or a natural phenomenon
of an exceptional, inevitable and irresistible character; or

(b) the damage was wholly caused by an act or omission done with the intent to cause damage by a
third party; or

(c) the damage was wholly caused by the negligence or other wrongful act of any Government or
1996 FINAL ACT

other authority responsible for the maintenance of lights or other navigational aids in the exercise
of that function; or

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(d) the failure of the shipper or any other person to furnish information concerning the hazardous and
noxious nature of the substances shipped either:
(i) has caused the damage, wholly or partly; or
(ii) has led the owner not to obtain insurance;
OVERVIEW

provided that neither the shipowner, nor his servants or agents knew, or ought reasonably to have known, of
the hazardous and noxious nature of the substances shipped.
19 If the shipowner proves that the damage resulted, wholly or partly, either from an act or omission done
with intent to cause damage, by the person who suffered the damage, or from the negligence of that person,
the shipowner may be exonerated, wholly or partly, from its obligation to pay compensation to such person.
20 The 2010 HNS Convention does not impose liability on the owner of the HNS involved in the incident.

(b) Limitation of liability

GUIDELINES

21 The shipowner is normally entitled to limit his liability under the 2010 HNS Convention in respect of any
one incident to an aggregate amount calculated on the basis of the units of gross tonnage (GT) of the ship, as
follows:
(a) Where the damage has been caused by bulk HNS:
(i) 10 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR)6 for a ship not exceeding 2,000 GT; and
(ii) for a ship in excess of 2000 GT, 10 million SDR plus;
for each unit of tonnage from 2,001 to 50,000 GT, 1500 SDR; and
for each unit of tonnage in excess of 50,000 GT, 360 SDR;
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2010 HNS

provided, however, that this aggregate amount shall not in any event exceed 100 million SDR.
(b) Where the damage has been caused by packaged HNS, or where the damage has been caused by
both bulk HNS and packaged HNS, or where it is not possible to determine whether the damage
originating from that ship has been caused by bulk HNS or by packaged HNS:
(i) 11.5 million SDR for a ship not exceeding 2,000 GT; and
(ii) for a ship with a tonnage in excess thereof, the following amount in addition to that mentioned
in (i):
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for each unit of tonnage from 2,001 to 50,000 GT, 1,725 SDR; and
for each unit of tonnage in excess of 50,000 GT, 414 SDR;
provided, however, that this aggregate amount shall not in any event exceed 115 million SDR.
22 The shipowner will be denied the right to limitation of liability if it is proved that the damage resulted
from his personal act or omission committed either, with intent to cause damage, or recklessly and with
knowledge that damage would probably result.

(c) Channelling of liability

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23 As set out above, the registered shipowner is liable for pollution damage under the 2010 HNS Conven-
1996 HNS

tion. Unless the damage resulted from their personal act or omission committed with intent to cause such
damage, or recklessly and with knowledge that such damage would probably result, no claim for compensa-
tion may be made against the following persons:
(a) the servants or agents of the shipowner or members of the crew;
(b) the pilot or any other person who, without being a member of the crew, performs services for the
ship;
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6
The Special Drawing Rights is a monetary unit established by the International Monetary Fund (IMF); as at 30 December 2010,
1 SDR = £0.997755 or US$1.54003.

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Overview

(c) any charterer (including a bareboat charterer), manager or operator of the ship;
(d) any person performing salvage operations with the consent of the owner or on the instructions of
a competent public authority;
(e) any person taking preventive measures; and

OVERVIEW
(f) all servants or agents of persons mentioned in (c), (d) and (e).

(d) Compulsory insurance

24 The owner of a ship that carries HNS is required to take out insurance, or maintain other acceptable
financial security, to cover his liability under the 2010 HNS Convention.

25 The 2010 HNS Convention requires shipowners to provide evidence of insurance cover upon the ship’s
entry into port of any State which is party to the Convention, by production of a certificate, regardless of
whether the State of the ship’s registry is party to the Convention. The certificates will be issued by the State

GUIDELINES
of the ship’s register or, if that State is not party to the Convention, by a State Party. States Parties are required
to accept any certificate issued by any other State Party.

26 Claims for compensation may be brought directly against the insurer or person providing financial
security.

2nd tier – HNS Fund

27 The HNS Fund will pay compensation when the total admissible claims exceed the shipowner’s liability,

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i.e. the Fund pays “top up” compensation when the shipowner, or his insurer, cannot meet in full the loss or

2010 HNS
damage arising from an incident.

28 The HNS Fund also pays compensation in the following cases:

• the shipowner is exonerated from liability; or
• the shipowner liable for the damage is financially incapable of meeting his obligations.

29 To claim against the HNS Fund, the 2010 HNS Convention requires claimants to prove that there is a

2010 FINAL ACT

reasonable probability that the damage resulted from an incident involving one or more ships. The HNS Fund
may, in such cases, be liable to pay compensation, even if the particular ship causing the damage cannot be
identified.

30 The HNS Fund is also not liable to pay compensation if the damage was caused by an act of war, hostili-
ties, etc., or by HNS discharged from a warship or other ship owned or operated by a State and used for the
time being, only on Government non-commercial service.

31 If the HNS Fund proves that the damage resulted, wholly or partly, either from an act or omission done
with intent to cause damage by the person who suffered the damage or from the negligence of that person,
the HNS Fund may be exonerated, wholly or partly, from its obligation to pay compensation to such person.
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However, there shall be no such exoneration of the HNS Fund with regard to preventive measures.
1996 HNS

Limit of compensation by the HNS Fund

32 The maximum amount payable by the HNS Fund in respect of any single incident is 250 million SDR,
including the sum paid by the shipowner or his insurer. The 2010 HNS Convention also provides a simplified
procedure to increase the maximum amount of compensation payable under the Convention in the future.

33 If the total amount of the admissible claims does not exceed the maximum amount available for compen-
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sation, then all claims will be paid in full. Otherwise the payments will have to be prorated, i.e. all claimants
will receive an equal proportion of their admissible claims.

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OVERVIEW
GUIDELINES

Figure 1 – Compensation amounts under the 2010 Convention

Financing of the HNS Fund

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2010 HNS

(a) Contributions to the HNS Fund

34 Compensation payments made by the HNS Fund will be financed by contributions levied on persons
who have received, in a calendar year, contributing cargoes after sea transport in a Member State, in quanti-
ties above the thresholds laid down in the 2010 HNS Convention. For each contributor, the levies will be in
proportion to the quantities of HNS received by that person each year.

35 For the purpose of the contribution system, not only imported cargoes, but also cargoes received after
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sea transport between ports in the same State are taken into account. In this respect, contributing cargo
means bulk HNS. However, cargo is not considered to be contributing cargo so long as it is in transit. That is,
provided that the cargo is not imported, consumed or transformed, transhipment does not lead to a require-
ment for the payment of a contribution to the HNS Fund.

36 The contributions to finance the HNS Fund’s compensation payments will be made post-event, i.e. levies
will only be due after an incident involving the HNS Fund occurs. Levies may be spread over several years in
the case of a major incident.

37 The 2010 HNS Convention allows a person who physically receives HNS on behalf of a third party, e.g.,
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a storage company, to designate that third party as the receiver for the purposes of the Convention. Both the
1996 HNS

person who physically receives the contributing cargo in a port or terminal, and the designated third party
must be subject to the jurisdiction of a State Party.

38 For LNG, annual contributions shall be made by the receiver, or by the titleholder, if it has agreed with
the receiver to do so, but, if the titleholder defaults in any payments, liability reverts to the receiver.

39 States are allowed to establish their own definition of “receiver” under national law. Such a defini-
tion must, however, result in the total quantity of contributing cargo received in the State in question being
substantially the same as if the definition in the Convention had been applied. This allows States flexibility to
1996 FINAL ACT

implement the Convention in conjunction with existing national law, without giving any State the possibility
of obtaining an unfair commercial advantage.

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Overview

40 States Parties are required to inform the Director of the HNS Fund of the name and address of receivers of
quantities of contributing cargo exceeding the thresholds during the preceding year, together with the quanti-
ties of cargo received by each of them. No compensation is payable by the HNS Fund until these reporting
obligations have been fulfilled, except for death and personal injury. Contributing cargo is limited to bulk HNS,
in contrast to the situation prior to adoption of the 2010 Protocol, when such cargo included packaged HNS
goods. Nevertheless, damage caused by packaged goods remains covered under the shipowner’s compulsory

OVERVIEW
insurance, with any excess being met from the HNS Fund.
41 States are liable for any financial losses incurred by the HNS Fund as a result of the non-submission
of reports. States also have the option of developing national regimes for the collection of contributions in
respect of receipts of cargoes carried in domestic traffic (i.e. the trade by sea from one port or terminal to
another within the same State).
42 When consenting to be bound by the 2010 HNS Protocol, and thereby the 2010 HNS Convention,
and annually thereafter until the Protocol enters into force for a given State, Contracting States are obliged to
submit information to IMO on contributing cargoes received. This will enable the Secretary-General of IMO to

GUIDELINES
determine the date of the entry into force of the 2010 HNS Convention. A State that defaults in these reporting
obligations shall be temporarily suspended from being a Contracting State, until it has submitted the required
data. A State failing to submit annual reports after the entry into force of the Convention, will be unable to
claim compensation until it has submitted the required data, except for claims for death and personal injury.
43 States which decide to become Parties to the 2010 HNS Protocol should ensure that they deposit instru-
ments only in respect of the Protocol, without any references to the HNS Convention, 1996.

(b) HNS Fund accounts

PROTOCOL
44 The HNS Fund, when fully operational, will have four accounts:

2010 HNS
• Oil
• Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
• Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)
• A general account with two sectors:
– Bulk solids
– Other HNS.

2010 FINAL ACT

45 Each account will meet the cost of compensation payments arising from damage caused by substances
contributing to that account, i.e. there will be no cross-subsidization.
46 Each separate account will only come into operation when the total quantity of contributing cargo
received in Member States during the preceding year, or any such year as the HNS Assembly decides, exceeds
the following levels:
• 350 million tonnes for the oil account
• 20 million tonnes for the LNG account
• 15 million tonnes for the LPG account.
CONVENTION

47 However, during the early existence of the HNS Fund, there may not be sufficient contribution basis in
1996 HNS

the form of the quantities of HNS received in Member States to set up all the four separate accounts. Initially,
the separate accounts may be postponed and the HNS Fund may, therefore, have only two accounts:
• one separate account for oil
• one general account including four sectors:
– LNG
– LPG
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– Bulk solids
– Other HNS.

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48 In addition, the separate accounts could be suspended if the total unpaid contributions to that account
exceed 10% of the most recent levy to that account. As a result, any contributions due to a separate account
that has been suspended, will be paid into the general account and any relevant claims will be met from this
account. Any decision to suspend or re-instate the operation of an account requires a two-thirds majority of
the Assembly.
OVERVIEW

49 Receivers of HNS might have to contribute to one or more of the accounts. The levies applying to
individual receivers will be calculated according to the quantities of contributing cargo received and, in the
case of the general account, according to the Regulations in Annex II of the Convention. Liability to contribute
to the HNS Fund will arise for a given receiver only when his annual receipts of HNS exceed the following
thresholds:
Establishment of account Contributions to account/sector
*
General Account 40 million tonnes
• Bulk solids 20,000 tonnes
GUIDELINES

• Other HNS No minimum quantity 20,000 tonnes

Separate accounts
(or Sectors within the general account)
Oil Account 350 million tonnes
• Persistent oil 150,000 tonnes
• Non-persistent oil 20,000 tonnes
LNG Account 20 million tonnes No minimum quantity
LPG Account 15 million tonnes 20,000 tonnes
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2010 HNS

*
Condition for entry into force.

Competence of courts

50 Claimants can normally only take legal action in a court in the State Party in whose territory or waters the
damage occurred. In this context “waters” means the territorial sea7 or the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)8,
or an equivalent area, of a State Party. This also applies to legal actions against any provider of insurance or
2010 FINAL ACT

financial security for the owner’s liability, i.e. the shipowner’s insurer.

51 Different rules apply if damage other than pollution damage to the environment occurs exclusively
beyond the territorial seas of States Parties.

52 Actions against the HNS Fund should be brought before the same court as actions taken against the
shipowner. However, if the shipowner is exempted from liability, or for another reason no shipowner is liable,
legal action against the HNS Fund must be brought in a court which would have been competent had the
shipowner been liable. Where an incident has occurred and the ship involved has not been identified, legal
action may be brought against the HNS Fund only in States Parties where damage occurred.
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1996 HNS

Administration

53 The HNS Fund will have an Assembly, a Secretariat and a Director, mirroring the organization of the
International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds (IOPC Funds).

7
The breadth of the territorial sea is established in Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as
“up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baselines determined in accordance with this Convention.” The normal
baseline is the low water line along the coast (Article 5 of UNCLOS).
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8
The Exclusive Economic Zone is an area beyond the territorial sea defined in Article 57 of UNCLOS as not beyond 200 nautical
miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.

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Overview

54 The Assembly will consist of all States Parties to the 2010 HNS Convention. The Assembly will have
a number of functions, including approving settlements of claims against the HNS Fund, and deciding on
amounts to be levied as contributions.

Entry into force of the 2010 HNS Convention

OVERVIEW
55 The 2010 HNS Convention will enter into force eighteen months after ratification of the 2010 HNS
Protocol by at least twelve States, subject to the following conditions:

(i) four States must each have a registered ship’s tonnage of at least 2 million GT; and

(ii) contributors in the States that have ratified the Convention must, between them, have received
during the preceding calendar year a minimum of 40 million tonnes of cargo consisting of bulk
solids and other HNS liable for contributions to the general account.

GUIDELINES
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