Environmental Damage and UK Offshore Operations: Uncertain Liabilities in Deep Waters

Thomas Schoenbaum's article in this Journal (Liability for Damages in Oil Spill Accidents: Evaluating the USA and International Law Regimes in the Light of Deepwater Horizon (2012) 12 JEL 395) highlighted the difference between the US oil liability regime and the international regime, which is limited to oil spills from ships carrying oil as cargo in bulk, an issue of particular relevance due to the litigation arising out of the Deepwater Horizon blowout. The present article will review the EU's response to Deepwater Horizon, culminating in the Offshore Safety Directive 2013 that came into effect in the UK on 19 July 2015, and will analyse the current legal regime in the UK for dealing with a catastrophic spill in UK waters.