1968

Major tanker owner/operators from around the world formed the International Tanker Owners' Pollution Federation (ITOPF) as a forum to study and address the issues of spill prevention and response. The new organization also administered the Tanker Owner's Voluntary Agreement concerning Liability for Oil Pollution (TOVALOP). By signing this agreement, participating owners agreed to provide compensation to governments and other parties affected by an oil spill, whether or not they were legally bound to do so. The agreement also included provisions on spill response and cleanup.

By 1997, enough maritime nations had signed onto international, government-based conventions for oil spill prevention and response that TOVALOP became redundant and was therefore dissolved.