The case identified problems with the drafting of the convention, a response to which was the 2000 SCOPIC codicil which may be attached to the Lloyd's Open Form ("LOF") to vary the terms of the salvage reward.

After the collision some 12,000 tons of crude oil escaped into the sea and caught fire; both vessels were engulfed in flames.

Professional salvors agreed to salve the Nagasaki Spirit under LOF 1990 (which included Arts 13 and 14 of the convention).

Using several tugs, the fire was extinguished, the cargo transshipped and the vessel safely redelivered to her owners.

Articles 13 & 14 of the convention made provision for "special compensation", but The Nagasaki Spirit revealed that the convention had been poorly drafted, thereby limiting the amount that environmental salvors could be paid to mere out-of-pocket expenses, with no allowance for any profit margin.