Eligibility criteria

A successful claim meets the following criteria

Oil is involved

Oil includes any kind or any form of petroleum, such as:

Oil doesn’t necessarily need to be spilled. A threatened spill is enough.

Anyone who has suffered damages, losses, or contributed to the response efforts can submit a claim. This includes:

Some restrictions apply:

Polluting shipowners cannot be compensated by the Ship Fund.
Response organizations that are certified by Transport Canada must first sue the shipowner or insurer.
Those who are not in Canada must first sue the shipowner or insurer.

A ship or boat must be involved. This means anything that is designed, used, or usable for moving in water.

For more, read our blog: Ship 101.

We can also pay compensation in the case of mystery spills, when you can’t identify the ship or boat that caused the spill.

For more, read our blog: What is a mystery spill?

The incident must affect a body of water in Canada where any ship or boat can travel. This includes:

internal waters, the territorial sea, and the exclusive economic zone

both fresh and salt waters.

Claims must be submitted within two years of the incident.

Claims submitted after the deadline will not be eligible for compensation.

If you are unsure about the deadline or it has been more than two years since the incident, contact us.