Oil Tanker Liability Certificate

An Oil Tanker Liability Certificate is issued to a seagoing ship with valid liability insurance or other financial security to cover the cost of any environmental disaster arising from oil pollution damage. The ship must provide evidence of this, for example in the form of a valid insurance certificate (blue card) issued by an authorised insurance company.

Who needs to have an Oil Tanker Liability Certificate?

The Oil Tanker Liability Certificate is mandatory for Dutch and other nations' oil tankers transporting more than 2,000 tons of oil in bulk as cargo.
For Dutch ships this obligation applies worldwide. For ships of other nations, it applies when the ship is approaching or leaving a port or terminal in the Netherlands or sailing in Dutch inland waters.

Applying for an Oil Tanker Liability Certificate

The Oil Tankers (Liability) Act (Wet aansprakelijkheid olietankschepen) states that applications for an Oil Tanker Liability Certificate must be accompanied by the following:

A copy of an insurance certificate (blue card) from an authorised insurance company, or a declaration from the guarantor (see application form for details). To apply for a certificate, please use the following form: Aanvraag Civil liability certificaat. The return address is stated on the form.

Legislation

The Oil Tanker Liability Certificate is issued pursuant to the following legislation:

  • Oil Tankers (Liability) Act (Wet aansprakelijkheid olietankschepen)
  • The International Convention on Civil liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1992, with Annex (Treaty Series. 1994, 229)