Itlos flags its intent

The M/V “Saiga” (No. 2) (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines v. Guinea) (1999) 38 I.L.M. 1323 was, on the facts if not on the docket, the continuation and conclusion of The M/V “Saiga” 110 I.L.R. 736, the first case to be heard by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) established under the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. The cases arose out of an incident in which the Saiga—a Cypriot-owned, Scottish-managed and Swiss-chartered tanker flying the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—was detected refuelling fishing vessels at sea (“bunkering”) in the Exclusive Economic Zone, and in violation of the customs laws, of Guinea. Guinean patrol craft forcibly arrested the Saiga, injuring a Ukrainian crewman and a Senegalese painter, and escorted the ship to port, where its Ukrainian master was convicted of customs offences. As well as a suspended sentence of six months’ imprisonment, the court imposed a substantial fine, seizing the vessel and confiscating its cargo by way of guarantee.