NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Kristian Lindhartsen, Lilly Kathrin Relling and Tobias Kilde, Kvale Advokatfirma DA
with the following Conventions (which have been incorporated into the Norwegian Maritime Code and the Norwegian Pollution Act): • the 1976, 1992 and 2003 Protocol on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage; • the 1976 and 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage; and • the 2001 International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage. 2.2 International Conventions: Collision and Salvage Norway has ratified the IMO International Con - vention on Salvage of 1989, which is incorpo - rated into Chapter 16 of the Norwegian Maritime Code. Regulation on collisions can be found in Chapter 8, Sections 161–164. The regulation is based on the Comité Maritime International (CMI) Collision Convention of 1910, and applies the same fault-based division of liability – ie, the party at fault covers the losses or, if the colli - sion was accidental, each party carries their own loss. 2.3 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Norway has ratified the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, with the subsequent amendments of the 1996 Pro - tocol, with certain reservations. In accordance with Article 7.1(a) of the 1996 Protocol, Norway has reserved the right to exclude from limitation under the convention claims made in respect of the raising, removal, destruction or render - ing harmless of a ship that is sunk, wrecked, stranded or abandoned, including anything that is or has been on board such ship, and claims in respect of the removal, destruction or rendering harmless of the cargo of the ship.
The above-mentioned claims will be limited in accordance with Section 172a of the Norwegian Maritime Code, which has substantially higher limitation amounts than the 1996 Protocol. The ship-owner (which includes the disponent owner and the manager, as well as charterers and sal - vors) can rely on the limitations in Section 171 of the Norwegian Maritime Code. 2.4 Procedure and Requirements for Establishing a Limitation Fund Under Norwegian law, a limitation fund can only be established after the creditors have initiated legal proceedings to pursue a claim that is sub - ject to limitation, or after the creditors have filed a petition for arrest to temporarily secure such a claim. In such instances, the defendant may request the creation of a limitation fund at the court where the action has been brought. The courts have the authority to order a fund to be established. Once a fund is established, either by transfer of the limitation amount or by way of other security (such as an indemnity), the credi - tors are given a time limit within which to notify their claims. The limitation fund can be created by all parties that are entitled to limitation under Section 171 of the Norwegian Maritime Code. This includes the ship-owner, the disponent owner, the man - ager, charterers and salvors, for example. Pursuant to Section 232 of the Norwegian Mari - time Code, the limitation fund amount is calcu - lated on the basis of the vessel’s tonnage and must also include interest calculated from the time of the incident until the establishment of the fund. This is in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (as amended by the 1996 Protocol).
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