Terms & Conditions

ISCO TERMS AND CONDITIONS; YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF ISCO’S DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY POLICY

Mainly but not exclusively concerning use of the website

1. By accessing any part of this website, you are deemed to have read, understood and accepted these ISCO Terms and Conditions. If you do not accept ISCO Terms and Conditions or are dissatisfied with any section of this website, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using this website.

2. Upon being notified of any inaccurate, misleading or incorrect information published on the website, ISCO will investigate this further and, where appropriate (and at ISCO’s discretion), take action as quickly as practicable to correct or delete such information.

3. Submissions received from third parties for publication on the website are accepted in good faith and ISCO does not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of published information and its publication on the ISCO website does not imply any endorsement on the part of ISCO.

4. For your protection ISCO makes use of a frequently updated and automatic scanning system to guard against potential threats to your computer. Documents uploaded on the ISCO website have been scanned prior to uploading but ISCO does not accept responsibility for any issues, howsoever caused, that may arise as a result of using this website and you use this website at your own risk.

5. Any information on the ISCO website, including the names of Professional Members and details of the vetting, assessment and accreditation process for Professional Membership should not be relied on for business, legal or other decisions and you agree to use it at your own risk.

6. ISCO, its directors, office bearers, employees and agents (ISCO and ISCO Personnel) make no express or implied guarantees, conditions, warranties or representations about the competence, experience, qualifications, integrity, creditworthiness or solvency of its Professional Members or of its Professional Members’ subcontractors, or about the standard of its members or their subcontractors’ work.

7. You acknowledge and accept that ISCO and ISCO Personnel take no responsibility (to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law) as a result of awarding Professional Membership, for any lack of competence or negligence of its Professional Members or of its Professional Members’ subcontractors.

8. You acknowledge and accept that ISCO and ISCO Personnel also take no responsibility (to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law) for their own negligence in the vetting, assessment and accreditation process and in awarding Professional Membership to individuals.

9. You agree that it is your sole responsibility to always seek independent information and advice on the competence, experience, qualification, suitability for the required tasks, integrity, creditworthiness and solvency of an ISCO member and any subcontractors they use before contracting with that member. 

10. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, ISCO and ISCO Personnel are not liable in any event for loss or damages of any kind however arising including from their own negligence, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, and including but not limited to:

i. damages that are direct; indirect; punitive; incidental; special; or consequential;
ii. loss of: business; sales; revenue; goodwill; profit; staff and management time; bargain; opportunity; anticipated savings; information; programs; reputation; or use of computer equipment, software or data; 
iii. damage to property;
iv. damages or losses relating to health and safety, personal injury or death;
v. damages or losses relating to remediation and environmental damage; and
vi. any other financial losses.

11. If you share any information from this website, including the names of ISCO Members, with any other party, you agree to inform that party of the ISCO Terms and Conditions that you agreed to in accessing this website, that they should not rely on the information given and that ISCO expressly disclaims all liability and responsibility (to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law) arising from use of this website and any information contained therein, and from any reliance placed on this information by anyone who accesses the ISCO website or is informed of its contents.


Mainly but not exclusively concerning ISCO Individual Members, Corporate Members and Industry Partners

12. ISCO membership in these categories is open to all individuals and organizations that are involved in or share an interest in the work of the international spill response community.

13. Applications for membership in these categories will not be unreasonably refused.

14. In order to maintain membership and enjoy the benefits of being a member it is required that members make payment of the annual membership fees applicable to that member at the time when they become due.

15. Obligations of members, their voting and other rights, and the rules of the organization, are defined in the ISCO Constitution which is available for viewing in the Members Area of the ISCO website.

16. Data Protection Act (1998) – You accept that ISCO will hold and use your personal data for administration purposes, to keep you informed of activities and to offer you goods and services provided by, or on behalf of the Organisation, including the delivery of the ISCO Newsletter. You accept and confirm your agreement with ISCO’s Data Protection and Privacy Policy.

17. A Register of Ordinary Members, Corporate Members and Industry Partners is maintained in the Members Area of the ISCO website.  From time to time, the names of new members joining the organization will be announced in the ISCO Newsletter.

Mainly but not exclusively concerning Professional Membership and Professional Members of ISCO

18. Individuals who have the relevant qualifications and the required level of experience can apply for election to Professional Membership of ISCO. Each grade of membership reflects an individual’s professional training, experience and qualifications. Academic qualifications are not a requirement if applicants can demonstrate equivalent levels of experience through their skills, knowledge and professional development. Please note that in submitting an application for Professional Membership you will also be confirming your acceptance of ISCO’s Data Protection and Privacy Policy.

19. Professional Members of ISCO are required to accept and abide by the Professional Membership Rules and Professional Membership Code of Conduct. These documents are available for viewing on the ISCO website.

20. The vetting process for election to Professional Membership does not include an actual detailed assessment or verification of the technical competence of the Member by way of formal examination, training or practical assessment. Instead, it requires the candidate to submit documentation relating to his/her skills and experience which is then considered by the Professional Standards Committee. In some cases there may be a formal interview to gain further information about the candidate but at no point does the process require physical demonstration or verification of those skills or a written assessment to be carried out which is then assessed and certified by ISCO. The vetting process is described in the document “ISCO Professional Membership – Guidelines for Candidate Assessment” which is available for viewing on the ISCO website.

21. ISCO, its directors, office bearers, employees and agents (ISCO and ISCO Personnel) make no express or implied guarantees, conditions, warranties or representations about the competence, experience, qualifications, integrity, creditworthiness or solvency of its Professional Members or of its Professional Members’ subcontractors, or about the standard of its members or their subcontractors’ work.

22. You acknowledge and accept that ISCO and ISCO Personnel take no responsibility (to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law) as a result of awarding Professional Membership, for any lack of competence or negligence of its Professional Members or of its Professional Members’ subcontractors.

23. You acknowledge and accept that ISCO and ISCO Personnel also take no responsibility (to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law) for their own negligence in the vetting, assessment and accreditation process and in awarding Professional Membership to individuals.

24. Any information on the ISCO website, including the names of Professional Members and details of the vetting, assessment and accreditation process for membership should not be relied on for business, legal or other decisions and you agree to use it at your own risk.

25. You agree that it is your sole responsibility to always seek independent information and advice on the competence, experience, qualification, suitability for the required tasks, integrity, creditworthiness and solvency of an ISCO member and any subcontractors they use before contracting with that member. 

26. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, ISCO and ISCO Personnel are not liable in any event for loss or damages of any kind however arising including from their own negligence, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, and including but not limited to:

i. damages that are direct; indirect; punitive; incidental; special; or consequential;
ii. loss of: business; sales; revenue; goodwill; profit; staff and management time; bargain; opportunity; anticipated savings; information; programs; reputation; or use of computer equipment, software or data; 
iii. damage to property;
iv. damages or losses relating to health and safety, personal injury or death;
v. damages or losses relating to remediation and environmental damage; and
vi. any other financial losses.


27. ISCO will review complaints received about its Professional Members in accordance with its Professional Membership Complaints Procedure (available for viewing on the ISCO website) but will not become involved in any dispute, contractual or otherwise, between a Professional Member and third party.


28. ISCO reserves the right to change the ISCO Terms and Conditions from time to time without prior notice. By accessing any part of this website, you are deemed to have acknowledged and accepted the current ISCO Terms and Conditions in full. You should therefore check these each time you visit the ISCO website. If you do not accept the current ISCO Terms and Conditions or are dissatisfied with any section of this website, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using this website.

29. In relation to all the ISCO Terms and Conditions, ISCO and ISCO Personnel do not exclude liability for death or personal injury resulting from their own negligence.

30. Subject to and without prejudice to the ISCO Terms and Conditions detailed in this document, the aggregate liability of ISCO and ISCO Personnel to you at any time whether in contract, tort or otherwise shall be limited to GBP 1000.00 and you shall be responsible for making your own arrangements for the insurance of any excess loss.

31. English law governs the ISCO Terms and Conditions, their interpretation and any non-contractual obligations arising from or connected with them. The courts of England have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising out of or in connection with the ISCO Terms and Conditions.

32. If, at any time, any provision of the ISCO Terms and Conditions is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable in any respect under any law of any jurisdiction, neither the legality, validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions nor the legality, validity or enforceability of such provision under the law of any other jurisdiction will in any way be affected or impaired.

Mainly but not exclusively concerning the ISCO Newsletter

33. By subscribing to the ISCO Newsletter or accessing the ISCO Newsletter via the ISCO website, you are deemed to have read, understood and accepted ISCO Terms and Conditions. If you do not accept the Terms and Conditions you should unsubscribe or refrain from accessing the Newsletter via the website. By subscribing you are also confirming your acceptance of ISCO’s Data Protection and Privacy Policy.

34.  For your protection ISCO makes use of a frequently updated and automatic scanning system to guard against potential threats to your computer. The Newsletter itself and articles / other information you can access by using the provided links have been scanned prior to uploading.  ISCO accepts no responsibility for problems that may arise and you download the Newsletter and make use of provided links at your own risk.

35. ISCO does not intentionally seek to infringe any copyright rights and ISCO policy is to seek permission before publishing any material protected by copyright. Most of the news stories published in the ISCO Newsletter are short excerpts from longer articles published elsewhere and are accompanied by acknowledgement of the source, either directly or by providing a link to the source publication.  Readers of the ISCO Newsletter are encouraged to use these links in order to read the complete text of news reports and this benefits the source publication by directing additional traffic to its own website.  If advised of copyright infringement, ISCO will immediately desist from reproducing any further material from the identified source.

36. Opinions expressed in reports and articles published in the ISCO Newsletter and the ISCO website should not be necessarily regarded as expressing the views of the organization.

37. While ISCO takes every care to ensure that information published in the Newsletter is accurate, unintentional mistakes can occur.  If an error is brought to our attention, a correction will be printed in the next issue of the Newsletter.

38. Products and services featured in the ISCO Newsletter and/or the ISCO website, including the International Directory of Spill Response Supplies and Services, have not been tested, approved or endorsed by ISCO.  Any claims made by suppliers of products and services are solely those of the suppliers and ISCO does not accept any liability for their accuracy.

39. Any complaint in regard to material published in the ISCO Newsletter should be made in writing by email or letter and addressed to the Editor.

ADDENDUM (MAY 2018 and Amendments of March 2019 and March 2021)

YOU ACCEPT ISCO’S DATA PROTECTION & PRIVACY POLICY

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new law coming into effect from 25 May 2018. Compliance is a requirement for all EC-based organizations that need to hold personal data. The regulations aim to give you more control over how your personal data is used and will ensure that you only receive communications that you have consented to. ISCO has a written Data Control and Privacy Policy.

This policy describes the personal information ISCO collects about you, why we collect it, how we use it, and when we share it with 3rd parties.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) is a regulation by which the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission intend to strengthen and unify data protection for all individuals within the European Union (EU). For the purpose of GDPR the International Spill Control Organization is deemed a data processor in the United Kingdom.

How do we collect personal data?

We ask you for your information in the following different ways:

•            Completion of online registration or written request to be sent the weekly ISCO news

•            Completion of an application form to join ISCO as an individual, corporate member or industry partner.

•            Completion of an application form for Professional Membership of ISCO.

What personal data do we collect?

We may ask for the following details from you

•            First Name, last name, Email for sending the newsletter.

•            For membership applications, your postal and email addresses, telephone and/or mobile phone numbers

•            For Professional Membership applications, information on your job description, qualifications, training certifications, and career history. We also require contact information for your nominated referee and references, together with confirmation that you have their permission for ISCO to have their contact details for the purpose of carrying out the assessment process.

Why do we collect this data?

We collect this information so that we can send you the weekly newsletter and other membership communications and for membership applications in order that we can assess and determine suitability and appropriate class of membership and to assist us in contacting you to collect annual subscriptions.

We process your personal data on the following legal basis:

  • We have a genuine and legitimate reason to contact you and we are not harming your fundamental rights and freedoms.
  • We do our best to provide you with a safe and convenient experience. We have in place certain physical, electronic, contractual, and managerial safeguards to help protect the security and privacy of your personal information. Our contracted processors for newsletter distribution “Campaign Monitor” are bound by contract to do the same.
  • We do not sell your data or share it with any third parties (except as detailed below)
  • This is based on your consent in that you have completed a paper or online form and wish to receive the newsletter or be contacted regarding the activities of ISCO.
  • That you are free at any time to change your mind and withdraw your consent by unsubscribing from the newsletter and/or terminating your membership of ISCO.
  • You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you and if you  have a concern about an organisation’s information rights practices, report it to ICO https://ico.org.uk or call the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113.

How we protect your data

  • At ISCO we aim to keep your electronic data no longer than necessary for completion of membership application process after which only one printed hard copy of the application is retained and drawn upon for only information required for annual fees collection, sending our newsletter and other membership communications.  Information is not accessible via the internet or to individual members but only to the secretariat.

How we share your information

  • We do share your contact details with our publishing partner “Campaign Monitor” only to the extent required (Name and Email address) to ensure that you receive the weekly news latter and other ISCO communications.
  • In the case of applications for Professional Membership, the completed form and supporting documentation will be shared with members of the ISCO Professional Standards Committee for evaluation purposes. Members of this Committee are required to delete or destroy this data as soon as they have made their recommendations in regard to award of Professional Membership.
  • In countries or regions with representation on the ISCO Council contact details of the appointed Member/s of Council for each country or region and the in-country/region Members of ISCO are shared on a mutual basis for communication purposes only.
  • We may compile numerical data only on membership and newsletter readership numbers and locations based on members’/subscribers’ email addresses in support of our consultancy or observer status at meetings of IMO, IOPC Funds and other international bodies but will only provide personal data on ISCO members if such information is a requirement for the purpose for meeting attendance registration.  

If you have any comments or questions

Please contact ISCO Secretary General, Neil Marson at [email protected]

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