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  • 2014 March 24

    Who will claim the Azov Sea?

    The joining of the Crimea with the Russian Federation entails the necessity to redivide the Sea of Azov. At the request of IAA PortNews, the situation has been analyzed by the international law experts.

    As of today, there ate 13 bilateral agreements between the Russian Federation and Ukraine regulating the parties’ bilateral relations in the sphere of maritime transport.

    Under Article 5 of the Agreement on Ukranian–Russian state border dated December 28, 2003, the status of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait is the subject of the further negotiations.

    On December 24, 2003, Presidents of Ukraine and Russia signed Agreement on cooperation in use of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait.

    According to the Agreement, the sea of Azov and the strait of Kerch are historically internal waters of the Russian Federation and the Ukraine and the sea of Azov must be delimited by the state border while dispute settlement regarding the issues pertaining to the defined area of water of Kerch must be regulated by agreement between the Parties.

    Under the Agreement, mercantile vessels and other state non-commercial vessels flying the flags of the Russian Federation and the Ukraine have free navigation in the sea of Azov and the strait of Kerch.

    Foreign vessels can enter the Azov Sea upon approval of both Parties. Commercial vessels flying the flags of the third state can enter the Azov Sea and pass the Kerch Strait if they sail to/from Russian or Ukrainian port.

    Warships or other non-commercial third state vessels can enter the Azov Sea and pass the Kerch Strait when bound for the port of one of the Parties for a visit or a business call upon its invitation or approval if it is agreed with the other Party.

    Russian-Ukrainian cooperation in the spheres of navigation, fisheries, protection of marine environment, ecological safety and life-saving in the sea of Azov and the strait of Kerch must be implemented on the basis of existing international agreements and by conclusion, in respective cases, of the new ones.
    Such new agreements include the one between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on measures to ensure safety of navigation in the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait signed in 2012.

    This Agreement covers the following issues:

    - Mutual recognition of national (non-convention) certificates confirming compliance with national requirements as per navigation in the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait.

    - Port control procedure for such vessels.

    - Exchange of information on the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait between parties using automatic data identification systems (AIS).

    However, the issue of boundary delimitation in the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait has not been solved yet.

    With the joining of the Crimea with the Russian Federation, Russia’s claims over the Azov Sea will change from 50х50 to 8/10 in favor of the Russian Federation. Then the issue of navigation in the Kerch Strait will be crossed out while the transit of Ukrainian and third flag vessels to Ukraine’s seaports will be a subject of special agreements between Russia and Ukraine.

    Team of experts specially for IAA PortNews

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