Russian parliament passes law limiting freedom of navigation along Northern Sea Route, thebarentsobserver.com

Foreign military vessels are now required to notify Russia through diplomatic channels three months in advance before sailing north of the Siberia coast between Europe and Asia.

Can Russia claim absolute control of all navigation along the Northern Sea Route, or will the freedom of navigation act under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) allow for innocent passage right through straights whose baselines are within territorial waters?

The question is again in dispute as the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, on November 30 approved the law promptly suspending the rights of foreign warships in what the country claims to be “internal waters”.

Three straits along the Northern Sea Route are important for the new limitations; the Kara Gate, the Vilkitskii Strait, and the Sannikov Strait.

Can Russia claim absolute control of all navigation along the Northern Sea Route, or will the freedom of navigation act under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) allow for innocent passage right through straights whose baselines are within territorial waters?

The question is again in dispute as the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, on November 30 approved the law promptly suspending the rights of foreign warships in what the country claims to be “internal waters”.

Three straits along the Northern Sea Route are important for the new limitations; the Kara Gate, the Vilkitskii Strait, and the Sannikov Strait. Läs artikel