Law of the Sea and Environmental Law acting together: Experience of laying submarine cable in the Arctic
| Autor | Daria Shvets |
| Páginas | 1-36 |
REVISTA CATALANA DE DRET AMBIENTAL Vol. IX Núm. 1 (2018): 1 – 36
- Monográfico -
[https://doi.org/10.17345/rcda2128]
LAW OF THE SEA AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ACTING TOGETHER:
EXPERIENCE OF LAYING SUBMARINE CABLES IN THE ARCTIC
DARIA SHVETS
PhD Candidate
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
daria.shvets01@estudiant.upf.edu
Reception date: 13th April 2018 / 7th September 2018
ABSTRACT: All states have the right to lay submarine cables on the seabed
Unlike submarine pipelines, cables are generally considered being
environmentally friendly, having minimum impact on the marine environment.
Currently, there are several projects on submarine cables planned to be laid in
the Arctic. In particular, the Quintillion Subsea Cable System is an ongoing
large-scale project, which major part will go through the Arctic waters. Despite
mostly local and moderate disturbance to the environment in other regions, it
causes certain concerns regarding the influence on the Arctic environment due
from other regions, and cables are laid there following the same conditions as
well as in other parts of the World Ocean. This article aims to examine the
international legal regime of submarine cables in the context of the ongoing
cable projects in the Arctic as well as to consider the applicability of the
precautionary principle and the provisions of the Polar Code for ensuring the
protection of the Arctic environment.
RESUM: Tots els estats tenen dret a establir cables submarins al fons marí
d'acord amb la Convenció de les Nacions Unides sobre el Dret del Mar de 1982
(CNUDM). A diferència de les canonades submarines, els cables generalment
es consideren respectuosos amb el medi ambient i tenen un impacte mínim en
el medi marí. Actualment, hi ha diversos projectes sobre cables submarins
previstos per a la instal·lació a l'Àrtic. En particular, el sistema de cable submarí
D. Shvets RCDA Vol. IX Núm. 2 (2018): 1 - 36
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de Quintillion està en curs en gran escala, la major part de la qual es collocarà
a l'Àrtic. Malgrat la perturbació local i moderada en el medi ambient d'altres
regions, hi ha certes preocupacions sobre l'efecte de l'esmentada construcció
sobre l'entorn àrtic, donat el seu ecosistema únic i sensible. La CNUDM no
separa l'Àrtic d'altres regions i els cables s'exposen seguint les mateixes
condicions que a les altres parts de l'Oceà Mundial. Aquest article pretén
examinar el règim jurídic internacional de cables submarins en el context del
projectes de cable en curs a l'Àrtic, així com considerar l'aplicabilitat del principi
de precaució i les disposicions del Codi Polar per garantir la protecció de
l'entorn àrtic.
RESUMEN: Todos los estados tienen el derecho a colocar cables submarinos
submarinas, los cables generalmente se consideran respetuosos con el medio
ambiente y tienen un impacto mínimo en el medio marino. Actualmente, hay
varios proyectos sobre cables submarinos que se planean instalar en el Ártico.
En particular, el sistema de cable submarino Quintillion es un proyecto a gran
escala en curso, cuya mayor parte se colocará en el Ártico. A pesar de la
perturbación en su mayoría local y moderada el medio ambiente de otras
regiones, dicha construcción causa ciertas preocupaciones con respecto a la
influencia en el medio ambiente ártico, debido a su ecosistema único y
colocan allí siguiendo las mismas condiciones que en otras partes del Océano
Mundial. Este artículo tiene como objetivo examinar el régimen jurídico
internacional de los cables submarinos en el contexto del proyecto de cable en
el Ártico, así como considerar la aplicabilidad del principio de precaución y las
disposiciones del Código polar para garantizar la protección del medio
ambiente ártico.
KEY WORDS: Submarine cables – LOSC – Arctic – Environmental protection –
Polar code – Law of the sea.
RCDA Vol. IX Núm. 2 (2018): 1 – 36 Law of the sea and environmental law…
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mediambiental – Codi polar – Dret del mar.
PALABRAS CLAVE: Cables submarinos – LOSC – Ártico – Protección del
medio ambiente – Código polar – Derecho del mar.
LIST OF CONTENTS:
I. Introduction. II. Historical background. 1. The 1884 Convention for the Protection of
Submarine Telegraph Cables. 2. The 1958 Geneva Conventions a) Geneva Convention on the
Continental Shelf 1958. b) Geneva Convention on the High Seas 1958. III. Current legal
jurisdiction. 2. Maritime zones where coastal states enjoy certain rights. 3. Maritime zones
beyond coastal states jurisdiction. IV. Submarine cables and the environment. V. Projects of
submarine cables in the Arctic. 1. Completed projects. 2. Proposed projects. 3. The current
project of Quintillion Subsea Cable System. VI. Environmental law aspect of submarine cables
in the Arctic. 1. Application of the precautionary principle. 2. The Polar Code requirements for
cable ships. VII. Conclusion. VIII. Bibliography
I. INTRODUCTION
Communications play an essential role in the life of modern society. It is hard to
imagine our community without the present-day means of communication
linking people and making the world connected. Individuals, private entities, and
governments geographically located in different parts of the world can have
business with their partners who are all the same can reside elsewhere. Internet
and telephony, text and voice messages, international videoconferences and
multimillion-dollar banking transactions, terabytes of photos and videos, as well
as other traffic data that runs daily around the world, requires modern
technology and reliable infrastructure ready to transmit an overwhelming
amount of information with a high speed. To date, this infrastructure is
represented by fiber-optic submarine cables transmitting around 97% of all
global traffic
1
.
Modern submarine cables ensure and provide the world with stable
communications. In the event of a break or damage to a submarine cable,
1
Douglas Burnett, Tara Davenport, Robert Beckman, Submarine cables: The Handbook of Law
and Policy, International Martinus Nijhoff. Leiden, 2014, p.3; Elena Perez-Alvaro, “Unconsidered
Threats to Underwater Cultural Heritage: Laying Submarine Cables”, in Rosetta, vol.14, 2013,
p. 4.
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