A bill imposing civil liabilities on owners of ships which cause oil spills and damage the marine ecology was passed in its first reading by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Thursday.
The bill also requires both Thai and international ships with a freight capacity of more than 2,000 tonnes, that travel in Thai territorial waters to prove they have a sufficient financial guarantee or insurance to cover possible damage they might cause in the event of an oil spill.
The NLA also set up a committee to scrutinise the bill.
The measure is in line with the 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage by the International Maritime Organisation.
According to the bill, an oil pollution damage indemnity will be imposed on ship owners in two main areas — to cover the costs of work done or to be done to rehabilitate damage to the environment until it returns to its "normal" state, and the costs of implementing associated prevention measures, plus losses that may be caused as a result of such measures.
When such damage occurs, the owner of the ship involved in the incident will automatically be held responsible and be required to pay the indemnity.
The civil liability for oil pollution damage will apply only to incidents that occur in Thailand and Thai territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.
An exception will, however, be given to warships or any types of ship that are owned by the state for non-commercial purposes. Another exception will be given in the event of war or natural disasters.
The details regarding the amount of the minimum financial guarantee and insurance policies required will be specified later in a related set of ministerial regulations that will be issued after the bill is passed into law.
Sanit Aksornkaew, an NLA member, said it was extremely difficult to find practical indicators to prove an ecological system damaged by oil spills has returned to its normal state.
He said he had been involved in research concerning this issue but had not found indicators to determine the extent of such ecological rehabilitation.
Tuang Anthachai, another NLA member, welcomed the arrival of the bill, saying it is good to have legislation to directly force people found responsible for an oil leak that normally results in exponential damage to the ecological system to pay for the damage.
Between 1973 and 2011, there have been up to 215 oil leaks in Thai waters, he said.
Mr Tuang, however, argued that even without this bill, it is still possible to pursue civil cases against people found responsible for oil spills. But a crucial part he thought was still missing from the bill was how to ensure compensation for local people affected by such incidents.