VESSEL BASED POLLUTION
The regulation of pollution from vessels has been a matter of international concern for many years. The traditional principle of exclusive flag state jurisdiction over vessels beyond the territorial sea had not succeeded in eliminating vessel-source pollution or in protecting coastal states from the threat to their environment posed by the rapid increase in the transport of oil and other noxious substances by sea. Vessel source marine pollution is regulated primarily by global legal instrument.
Not only the LOSC but also a number of other relevant international instruments bear witness to the more advanced level of regulation of vessel source of pollution in comparison with the other sources of pollution. In view of the relatively minor contribution of vessel source of pollution to overall marine pollution this appears even more remarkable. The chief sea based pollutant is oil, the growth of ocean transport resulted in oil pollution. Though the quantum of oil discharged in sea is indeed great, the greater part of pollution is not accidental but through the normal cleaning operation of all kinds of ships. Thus the pollution of marine environment from ships may originate from a variety of sources, including accidental and operational pollution. Vessels with oil burning diesel engine discharge some oil with their bilge water, and the fumes discharge through their funnels into the atmosphere will eventually return to the sea. In the early days of tanker