Caspian five developed legal mechanisms to ensure safe navigation at sea and in the air
The official website of the Ministry of defense of Kazakhstan published a draft Agreement on the prevention of incidents in the Caspian sea. It was approved at the meeting of the special working group in May in Astana and is expected to be signed by the Caspian countries during the August summit in Astana. It is assumed that the parties to the agreement - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan – by this intergovernmental instrument will ensure the safety of navigation of military ships and aircrafts of the armed forces at the Caspian sea. According to Article 2 of the agreement, its provisions will apply to warships and aircrafts of the parties operating in the Caspian sea, outside the territorial waters and airspace above. The document regulates the behavior of military ships in order to avoid the risk of collision and the use of signals (flag, sound or light), which are provided for by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972, the International set of signals and the Table of special signals contained in the Annex. The seven-page document also establishes the rules for maneuvering ships in various situations, in areas of intensive navigation and other zones of economic activities. At the same time, the actions of warships and aircraft should be carried out without prejudice to the sovereign and exclusive rights of the parties. "Warships and groups of warships of the parties in the areas of underwater cables and pipelines, as well as the location of artificial islands, installations, facilities will refrain from any actions that pose a threat to these facilities and their activities," Article 7 of the draft Agreement says. In addition, a separate article of the document prescribes the procedure for radio communication. For example, aircrafts and warships can use radio in the ultrashort waves range at frequencies of 121.5 MHz or 243 MHz. After initial contact is established, information is exchanged at 130 MHz or 278 MHz. The crews may contact in English or other acceptable languages. Also, the parties are obliged to notify each other 3 days before about the actions of their warships, which are dangerous for navigation, and 7 days before - about the actions that are dangerous for air navigation. Kazakhstan will act as the depositary of the Agreement. It will be concluded for an indefinite period and will enter into force on the thirtieth day from the date of receipt by the depositary of the last written notification on the implementation by the parties of the national procedures necessary for its entry into force.
