Article 6 Detection of Violations and Enforcement of the Conven-tion

（1） Parties to the Convention shall co-operate in the detection ofviolations and the enforcement of the provisions of the presentConvention. using all appropriate and practicable measures of detectionand environmental monitoring， adequate procedures for reporting andaccumulation of evidence.

（2） A ship to which the present Convention applies may， in any port oroff-shore terminal of a Party， be subject to inspection by officersappointed or authorized by that Party for the purpose of verifying whetherthe ship has discharged any harmful substances in violation of theprovisions of the Regulations. If an inspection indicates a violation ofthe Convention， a report shall be forwarded to the Administration for anyappropriate action.

（3） Any Party shall furnish to the Administration evidence， if any，that the ship has discharged harmful substances or effluents containingsuch substances in violation of the provisions of the Regulations. If itis practicable to do so， the competent authority of the former Party shallnotify the Master of the ship of the alleged violation.

（4） Upon receiving such evidence， the Administration so informed shallinvestigate the matter， and may request the other Party to furnish furtheror better evidence of the alleged contravention. If the Administration issatisfied that sufficient evidence is available to enable proceedings tobe brought in respect of the alleged violation， it shall cause suchproceedings to be taken in accordance with its law as soon as possible.The Administration shall promptly inform the Party which has reported thealleged violation. as well as the Organization， of the action taken.

（5） A Party may also inspect a ship to which the present Conventionapplies when it enters the ports or off-shore terminals under itsjurisdiction， if a request for an investigation is received from any Partytogether with sufficient evidence that the ship has discharged harmfulsubstances or effluents containing such substances in any place. Thereport of such investigation shall be sent to the Party requesting it andto the Administration so that the appropriate action may be taken underthe present Convention.

Article 7 Undue Delay to Ships

（1） All possible efforts shall be made to avoid a ship being undulydetained or delayed under Articles 4， 5 or 6 of the present Convention.

（2） When a ship is unduly detained or delayed under Article 4， 5 or 6of the present Convention， it shall be entitled to compensation for anyloss or damage suffered.

Article 8 Reports on Incidents Involving Harmful Substances

（1） A report of an incident shall be made without delay to the fullestextent possible in accordance with the provisions of Protocol I to thepresent Convention.

（2） Each Party to the Convention shall：

（a） make all arrangements necessary for an appropriate officer oragency to receive and process all reports on incidents； and

（b） notify the Organization with complete details of sucharrangements for circulation to other Parties and Member States of theOrganization.

（3） Whenever a Party receives a report under the provisions of thepresent Article， that Party shall relay the report without delay to：

（a） the Administration of the ship involved； and

（b） any other State which may be affected.

（4） Each Party to the Convention undertakes to issue instructions toits maritime inspection vessels and aircraft and to other appropriateservices. to report to its authorities any incident referred to inProtocol I to the present convention. That Party shall， if it considers itappropriate， report accordingly to the Organization and to any other partyconcerned.

Article 9 Other Treaties and Interpretation

（1） Upon its entry into force， the present Convention supersedes theInternational Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea byOil， 1954， as amended， as between Parties to that Convention.

（2） Nothing in the present Convention shall prejudice the codificationand development of the law of the sea by the United Nations Conference onthe Law of the Sea convened pursuant to Resolution 2750 C （XXV） of theGeneral Assembly of the United Nations nor the present or future claimsand legal views of any State concerning the law of the sea and the natureand extent of coastal and flag State jurisdiction.

（3） The term “jurisdiction” in the present Convention shall beconstrued in the light of international law in force at the time ofapplication or interpretation of the present Convention.

Article 10 Settlement of Disputes

Any dispute between two or more Parties to the Convention concerningthe interpretation or application of the present Convention shall， ifsettlement by negotiation between the Parties involved has not beenpossible， and if these Parties do not otherwise agree， be submitted uponrequest of any of them to arbitration as set out in Protocol II to thepresent Convention.

Article 11 Communication of Information

（1） The Parties to the Convention undertake to communicate to theOrganization：

（a） the text of laws， orders， decrees and regulations and otherinstruments which have been promulgated on the various matters within thescope of the present Convention；

（b） a list of non-governmental agencies which are authorized toact on their behalf in matters relating to the design， construction andequipment of ships carrying harmful substances in accordance with theprovisions of the Regulations；

（c） a sufficient number of specimens of their certificates issuedunder the provisions of the Regulations；

（d） a list of reception facilities including their location，capacity and available facilities and other characteristics；

（e） official reports or summaries of official reports in so far asthey show the results of the application of the present Convention； and

（f） an annual statistical report， in a form standardized by theOrganization， of penalties actually imposed for infringement of thepresent Convention.

（2） The Organization shall notify Parties of the receipt of anycommunications under the present Article and circulate to all Parties anyinformation communicated to it under sub-paragraphs （1） （b） to （f） of thepresent Article.

Article 12 Casualties to ships

（1） Each Administration undertakes to conduct an investigation of anycasualty occurring to any of its ships subject to the provisions of theRegulations if such casualty has produced a major deleterious effect uponthe marine environment.

（2） Each Party to the Convention undertakes to supply the Organizationwith information concerning the findings of such investigation， when itjudges that such information may assist in determining what changes in thepresent Convention might be desirable.

Article 13 Signature， Ratification， Acceptance， Approval and Ac-cession

（1） The present Convention shall remain open for signature at theHeadquarters of the Organization from January 15， 1974 until December 31，1974 and shall thereafter remain open for accession， States may becomeParties to the present Convention by：

（a） signature without reservation as to ratification， acceptanceor approval： or

（b） signature subject to ratification， acceptance or approval，followed by ratification， acceptance or approval； or

（c） accession.

（2） Ratification， acceptance， approval or accession shall be effectedby the deposit of an instrument to that effect with the Secretary-Generalof the Organization.

（3） The Secretary-General of the Organization shall inform all Stateswhich have signed the present Convention or acceded to it of any signatureor of the deposit of any new instrument of ratification， acceptance，approval or accession and the date of its deposit.

Article 14 Optional Annexes

（1） A State may at the time of signing， ratifying， accepting，approving or acceding to the present Convention declare that it does notaccept any one or all of Annexes III， IV and V （hereinafter referred to as“Optional Annexes”） of the present Convention. Subject to the above，Parties to the Convention shall be bound by any Annex in its entirety.

（2） A State which has declared that it is not bound by an OptionalAnnex may at any time accept such Annex by depositing with theOrganization an instrument of the kind referred to in Article 13（2）。

（3） A State which makes a declaration under paragraph （1） of thepresent Article in respect of an Optional Annex and which has notsubsequently accepted that Annex in accordance with paragraph （2） of thepresent Article shall not be under any obligation nor entitled to claimany privileges under the present Convention in respect of matters relatedto such Annex and all references to Parties in the present Conventionshall not include that State in so far as matters related to such Annexare concerned.

（4） The Organization shall inform the States which have signed oracceded to the present Convention of any declaration under the presentArticle as well as the receipt of any instrument deposited in accordancewith the provisions of paragraph （2） of the present Article.

Article 15 Entry into Force

（1） The present Convention shall enter into force twelve months afterthe date on which not less than 15 States， the combined merchant fleets ofwhich constitute not less than fifty per cent of the gross tonnage of theworld's merchant shipping， have become parties to it in accordance withArticle 13.

（2） An Optional Annex shall enter into force twelve months after thedate on which the conditions stipulated in paragraph （1） of the presentArticle have been satisfied in relation to that Annex.

（3） The Organization shall inform the States which have signed thepresent Convention or acceded to it of the date on which it enters intoforce and of the date on which an Optional Annex enters into force inaccordance with paragraph （2） of the present Article.

（4） For States which have deposited an instrument of ratification，acceptance， approval or accession in respect of the present Convention orany Optional Annex after the requirements for entry into force there ofhave been met but prior to the date of entry into force， theratification， acceptance， approval or accession shall take effect on thedate of entry into force of the Convention or such Annex or three monthsafter the date of deposit of the instrument whichever is the later date.

（5） For States which have deposited an instrument of ratification，acceptance， approval or accession after the date on which the Conventionor an Optional Annex entered into force， the Convention or the OptionalAnnex shall become effective three months after the date of deposit of theinstrument.

（6） After the date on which all the conditions required under Article16 to bring an amendment to the present Convention or an Optional Annexinto force have been fulfiled， any instrument of ratification，acceptance， approval or accession deposited shall apply to the Conventionor Annex as amended