As may be recalled, in 2012 a report with a focus
on ship-source oil pollution was published by the
UNCTAD secretariat. The report, entitled Liability
and Compensation for Ship-Source Oil Pollution: An
Overview of the International Legal Framework for Oil
Pollution Damage from Tankers (UNCTAD, 2012b)
was prepared to assist policymakers, particularly
in developing countries, in their understanding of
the complex international legal framework and in
assessing the merits of accession to the latest of the
relevant international legal instruments. 42 As noted in
the report, accession could offer considerable benefits
to a number of coastal developing States that may be
vulnerable to oil pollution from tankers.