FEATURE
codes stipulate measures that States are authorized or required to take to deal with accidents which threaten pollution to the marine environment. They also impose obligations on various actors engaged in the operation and management of ships, including, in particular, owners of ships and members of the crews of ships which carry potentially polluting substances. The obligations imposed by these conventions and codes relate, inter alia, to the construction, equipment and manning of the ships, the handling of substances on board the ships, the maintaining of records of operations at sea, as well as arrangements and procedures to anticipate accidents to ships or on board ships, and to deal with emergencies arising from any such accidents.
Rights of coastal states As noted above, one of the issues raised by the Torrey Canyon accident related to action that could legitimately be taken by a coastal state to prevent or minimize pollution resulting from shipping incidents. This question was partly answered by the provision in the 1969 Convention which affirmed the right of a coastal state to take such measures on the high seas as
Measures to enhance the safety of navigation make their own contribution to pollution prevention
may be necessary to prevent, mitigate or eliminate grave and imminent danger of pollution from a maritime casualty. The 1969 Convention applies only to incidents involving ships carrying oil, as defined in the Convention. It was soon agreed that this
restriction could not be justified so a new Protocol was adopted in 1973 to extend the scope of the Convention to cover accidents involving vessels carrying potentially polluting substances other than oil. A list of the substances within the scope of the Protocol
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