SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Verónica Meana, José Antonio Domínguez, Enrique Ortiz and Mikel Garteiz-goxeaskoa, Aiyon Abogados
2. Marine Casualties and Owners’ Liability 2.1 International Conventions: Pollution and Wreck Removal Spain is a State party to the 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution (the “CLC Convention”), the 1992 International Con - vention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (IOPC Fund) and the 2003 Supplementary Fund Protocol and the 2001 International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage (the “Bunker Convention”). Owners’ and interested parties’ civil liability in the event of pollution is also regulated by the SSA, although the application of the aforemen - tioned Conventions is preferential over domestic law. Articles 386, 388, 389 and 391 of the SSA implement a strict liability regime for the owner of the polluting vessel, its right to limit liability and its obligation to subscribe a civil liability insurance covering liability for pollution. As for wreck removal, Spain is not a party to the International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks (the “2015 Nairobi Convention”). Accordingly, wreck removal is regulated by Arti - cles 369 to 383 of the SSA and by Article 304 of the Spanish State Ports and Merchant Navy Act. Spanish domestic law establishes owners’ direct liability for wreck removal and provides that the administration costs arising from wreck-removal activities are privileged. Owners do not have a right to limit liability under the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (the “LLMC 76/96”) in line with the reservation made by Spain to this Convention for wreck-removal claims.
2.2 International Conventions: Collision and Salvage Regulation of Collisions Collisions are regulated by the 1910 Collision Convention and other related Conventions, such as the International Convention for the Unifica - tion of Certain Rules relating to Penal Jurisdic - tion in the matter of Collisions or other Incidents of Navigation, made in Brussels in 1952 or the 1972 International Regulations for Prevent - ing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS). In Spanish domestic law, collisions are regulated by Articles Salvage is regulated by the 1989 International Convention on Salvage and Articles 357 to 368 of the SSA. 2.3 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 339 to 346 of the SSA. Regulation of Salvage Setting aside specific liability regimes to be applied in Spain, such as the Hague–Visby Rules, the CLC, the Athens Convention, the Bunker Convention, etc, owners are entitled to limit their liability in line with the 1976 Interna - tional Convention on Limitation of Liability and its 1996 Protocol. The SSA grants ship-owners and carriers the right to opt for the application of the LLMC 76/96 limit or the applicable specific limit. Articles 392 to 405 of the SSA also regulate the limitation of liability and state the LLMC 76/96 is the applicable regime. 2.4 Procedure and Requirements for Establishing a Limitation Fund Articles 403 to 405 of the SSA regulate the owners’ right to establish a limitation fund. The limitation fund must be constituted by plac - ing the amount of the limitation (including the
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