Non-Soviet shipping in the Northeast Passage, and the legal status of Proliv Vil'kitskogo

Abstract

AbstractWhen the United States dispatched icebreakers to Proliv Vil'kitskogo [Vil'kitskii Strait] in 1967, the Soviet Union did not allow the vessels to accomplish the passage, basing their refusal on a requirement, provided for in municipal legislation, that warships seek prior authorization. During the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973–82) the USSR reversed this policy: innocent passage was granted in principle to merchant and war vessels alike. This article analyzes whether this fundamental policy change, together with some other novelties in Soviet legislation, substantially influenced the regime applicable to Vil'kitskii Strait. Theoretical considerations would apparently answer this question positively. Actual state practice, though still open to conjecture, points rather in the opposite direction.