Refuge for ships in distress at sea. Limitations within Law of the Sea Convention (PDF)

Essay from the year 2019 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Miscellaneous, grade: 4.5, Göteborg University (School of Economics, Business and Law), course: International Law in the Maritime Context, language: English, abstract: This case study presents two critical questions: What are the dangers of exposing a distressed tanker to the open seas over extended period of time? To what extent would providing relief (access to port) to a ship in distress harm the coastal state rendering such assistance?

These two questions present one of the most controversial and pressing legal issue within law of the sea in the wake of high profile incidents of vessel-source pollution. The unwillingness of coastal states to grant access to their ports to vessels in distress at sea has attracted parallel opinions from different schools of thought. This could perhaps be attributed to the fact that UNCLOS (1982) which is considered as the constitution of the ocean; fails to provide an express legal order to matters relating to such access.

An analysis of the shortcomings within the 1982 LOSC on issues relating to refuge for ships in distress at sea forms the basis of this discussion. Build-up to the discussion will include a brief overview to the customary law perspective on issues of refuge for such ships and the international attitude to this issue through present state practices.