The Act of Congress sustained the United States commitment to control the discharge of fossil fuel pollutants from nautical vessels and to acknowledge the embargo of coastal zones in trans-boundary waters.

The international meeting was convened to recognize the disposal of hazardous waste which could potentially yield toxic contamination to the marine ecosystems.

[1] The International Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954 original text was authored in English and French.

[2][3] The 1971 OILPOL amendments imposed irrevocable oceanic jurisdictions for the Great Barrier Reef located in the Coral Sea.

The 1973 United States public law was repealed by the enactment of Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships on October 21, 1980.