After the Torrey Canyon disaster in 1967, in which
120,000 tonnes of oil was spilled, IMO introduced a
series of measures designed to prevent tanker accidents
and to minimize their consequences. The most
important of all these measures was the International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships,
(MARPOL 73/78) (IMO, 1973). It covers not only
accidental and operational oil pollution, but also
pollution by chemicals, goods in packaged form,
sewage, garbage and air pollution.