Oil: Study of Pollution Insurance and Liability Laws

The birth of a large generation of supertankers and the commencement of an accelerated offshore development program have attracted unprecedented attention to the problem of oil pollution. A series of tanker accidents and refinery spills during the past year have highlighted the fact that while human carelessness causes most pollution, human ingenuity has not produced a satisfactory means of cleaning up oil spills under adverse conditions. Thus, as scientists warn of the threat that oil pollution poses to marine life, policy-makers are increasingly concerned with preventing spills from occurring in the first place.