In the Torrey Canyon incident of 1967, about 12,00,00 tons of crude oil spilled, and for the reason which around 15,000 sea birds had died. States quickly recognized the danger of a major oil spill to the coastlines and the marine pollution caused by it.  The “Torrey Canyon” incident demonstrated that there were no internationally agreed means of responding to accidents that had marine environmental implications, let alone to prevent it, and up to the early 1970’s marine pollution from ships was unregulated and pollution damage recovery for the contaminated property was based on national law. The befallen incident augmented the formation of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) in 1973 and following which many other notable international regulations were successively formed and modified to ensure the prevention of marine pollution by ships under international law. Subsequently, the international legal regime played a significant role to prevent marine pollution by ships and has created a scope of sustainable development since then.

Marine pollution is an issue that has been of global concern for the past several decades dreading that it will, most probably, continue to be so for another several decades. Accordingly, the international community has formulated rules and regulations and concluded a number of international conventions to create a uniform international legal regime, that comprehensively addresses the protection and preservation of the marine environment by preventing marine pollution by ships.

Pollution from ships can occur through countable hazardous and noxious substances. For example, toxins like asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyl, special nuclear or by-product material, heavy metals, are all highly noxious to aquatic life and persistent in the environment for long periods of time.   Through shipping activity, ship accidents, and for various operational reasons the aforementioned sorts of oils are constantly seeping in the seas being assimilated into the ocean environment. The marine environment is not only important for one state or the other, but for every living being existing on this planet, and the international legal regime acts to ensure that not only the acts of the ships are regulated by determining their accountabilities for the pollution they have caused to the marine life but to decrease it in the long run and make a sustainable improvement of the marine environment. 

International conventions such as MARPOL 73/78 is one of the significant international conventions covering the prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes and also determines their liabilities. It clearly highlights the points to ensure that, the marine environment is preserved by the complete elimination of pollution by all harmful substances by creating accountability of the roving ships.  By the means of its Article 4, any violation of the convention is prohibited and sanctions are to be established under international law if any violation occurs. If there were no international guidelines like such there would have been no scope to determine any scope of liability or holding the roving ships accountable for their actions and ensuring sentences for preventing the potential course of action of these ships, which would further cause marine pollution. Which would then increase the number of more negligent ships, as there would be no accountabilities upon their course of action. Hence, by creating lawful accountabilities for the roving ships, the international legal regime makes sure that the provided guidelines are followed by the fear of consequences which will help to prevent marine pollution by ships and thus destroying our marine environment.

The maritime zones designated by UNCLOS are significant whilst a discussion of marine conservation in that they put a burden of marine conservation on the coastal state. Realistically, the coastal state is in the best position to apply and enforce those laws, but since the power of the coastal state ends where the high seas begin, the convention contains provisions applicable to all states setting forth requirements to protect the marine environment and prevent marine pollution.

Article 211 in its part XII of the UNCLOS establishes general obligation upon states to establish international rules and standards to prevent, reduce and control marine pollution and to adopt laws to regulate pollution from their vessels which at least have the same effect as that of generally accepted international rules and standards established through a competent international organization or diplomatic conference.  Article 217, makes sure that the states feel obligated to follow the aforementioned standards, and if not, they would be liable for their actions and would be prohibited from operating in the seas. Without these guidelines and legal impositions, along with the legal proceeding as instituted by its Article 218, as imposed on the states, the states would not have acted responsibly and thus the global marine environment would have had to pay for their actions. The legal regime also creates a course of preventive mechanism by not letting the faulty or unregulated ships which are not abiding by the international standards be operated in the sea, which plays a significant role to safeguard the marine environment and prevents polluting it furthermore.

The 1992 CLC imposes an exclusive system of strict liability for pollution damage caused by oil that has escaped or been discharged from a ship as a result of an incident. The application of the 1992 CLC does not depend on whether the polluting ship is registered in a contracting state or not, imposing strict liability on the owner of the ship causing pollution damage. Making sure that, accountability remains constant no matter what, and there be no further easy loopholes to get away with it and cause pollution to the marine environment without any serious consequences. Additionally, according to Basel Convention, the state parties to the Convention can only transport hazardous wastes to other state parties seeking permission from relevant authorities, though transport from and to non-party states is precluded. Insurance has also been made compulsory. Meaning, as the authorities would then be well aware of the risks associated with transportation, and safe transportation would become a priority of the transporting ships. Parties to the Basel Convention are under a general obligation to minimize the generation of wastes and to ensure that there are adequate disposal facilities within the generating state, which plays a significant role to prevent marine pollution.

Strict liability is imposed on the registered ship-owner and its insurer and joint and several liabilities are imposed when two or more ships carrying hazardous and noxious substances are involved unless the damage is separable. Additionally, the insurance can help the contracting state and in case of any accidents, the situation caused by marine pollution can be revived. Subsequently, the substances covered by the 2010 HNS Convention are identified by reference to various lists of international codes designed to ensure maritime safety and the prevention of pollution. Therefore, following this guideline and by abiding by the relevant provisions the risk of marine pollution can be reduced and further prevented.

The inception of the aforementioned international legal regimes has created considerable improvements in the prevention of ship-generated marine pollution and about 99% of the transported oil (about 1,9 billion tons of oil by some 3,000 tankers) is now delivered safely.  However, even this tiny amount of the spilled oil is sufficient to cause irreparable damage to the marine environment.

The development of modern marine law and the growing concern for the condition of the oceans have given rise to a number of legal regimes addressing problems of the marine environment including pollution, loss of biodiversity, protection of endangered species, and marine mammals. The international legal regime provides a foundation for continuing progress. The future of marine conservation, however, depends upon the ability and willingness of states to cooperate in these common objectives and the capacity of individual states to prescribe and enforce their own marine conservation laws.

The international legal regime does not only create its guideline to hold accountable the acts of ships causing marine pollution but also creates a preventive measure by creating guidelines of not letting ships operate in the sea that is not abiding by its standards. It acts to ensure that shipping remains the least environmentally damaging means of transport. By holding the ships accountable for their actions and passing sanctions against them, the legal regime creates an example for all the other states to ensure that they abide by the provided guidelines for the fear of the consequences. Without consequences, there would be no accountability and that is exactly what the international legal regime does. By providing the uniform general guidelines the international regime makes sure, that there is no violation of its strict guidelines and by following these strict guidelines the marine environment can be protected and marine pollution can be prevented.