In 1997, a Case Western Law Review article, the author outlined the liability issues that arise from oil disasters in the context of the Alaskan Exxon Valdez incident. A summary of the findings follows:
"When the Exxon Valdez fetched up on Bligh Reef in Alaska in 1989, the nation's attention was focused on the problem of oil spill liability and compensation as never before. The national outcry that accompanied televised pictures of oil-stained beaches and dead or dying wildlife prompted Congress to undertake a review of the nation's oil spill laws. Fifteen years of congressional confusion and inaction evaporated overnight, and a consensus rarely seen in Congress developed to produce a dramatic overhaul of federal oil pollution legislation. The result was the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), which was designed to serve as the foundation of a package of complementary international, national, and state laws intended to 'adequately compensate' victims of oil spills and provide quick, efficient cleanup. "
"OPA contains several provisions that bring the nation much closer to this goal: It provides strict liability with increased liability limits on those responsible for oil spills; it broadens the rights and remedies afforded those injured by pollution damage; it creates a fund designed to ensure adequate compensation for those unable to recover the costs of cleanup or other damage from the dischargers of oil; and it tightens operation and construction requirements applicable to vessels transporting oil in American waters."
The article is informative in light of the recent events in the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig was a vessel registered in the Marshall Islands, so the rules applicable to vessels that cause an oil spill may be in play.
Source: 48 Case W. Res. 1
Oil Spill Liability
