The legal regime regulating ship safety and pollution provides an illustration of late-20th century trends in international law in general, and of the law of the sea and international environmental law in particular. The sources of law are expanding in several directions. The number of global instruments - both "soft" and "hard" law - is constantly increasing and regional organizations are more and more concerned with matters affecting traditional freedoms of the seas. Frequently, different levels of norms cover the same issues, thus creating competing - possibly even conflicting - rules. This volume provides a detailed examination of current legal issues relating to the variety of rules and rule-makers in the field of marine environmental protection, and also relates the recent developments to international law in a wider context. It contains revised and edited versions of the papers presented at a conference in the Aland Islands, Finland in August 1996, convened by the Department of LAw of Abo Akademi University, Finland.