Aanhef

The Contracting States to the present Protocol,

Bearing in mind the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992 (hereinafter ‘the 1992 Liability Convention’),

Having considered the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992 (hereinafter ‘the 1992 Fund Convention’),

Affirming the importance of maintaining the viability of the international oil pollution liability and compensation system,

Noting that the maximum compensation afforded by the 1992 Fund Convention might be insufficient to meet compensation needs in certain circumstances in some Contracting States to that Convention,

Recognizing that a number of Contracting States to the 1992 Liability and 1992 Fund Conventions consider it necessary as a matter of urgency to make available additional funds for compensation through the creation of a supplementary scheme to which States may accede if they so wish,

Believing that the supplementary scheme should seek to ensure that victims of oil pollution damage are compensated in full for their loss or damage and should also alleviate the difficulties faced by victims in cases where there is a risk that the amount of compensation available under the 1992 Liability and 1992 Fund Conventions will be insufficient to pay established claims in full and that as a consequence the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, 1992, has decided provisionally that it will pay only a proportion of any established claim,

Considering that accession to the supplementary scheme will be open only to Contracting States to the 1992 Fund Convention,

Have agreed as follows: