Workshop on Submarine Cables and the Law of the Sea

On 14-15 December 2009, CIL organised and hosted a Workshop on Submarine Cables and the Law of the Sea in close cooperation with the International Cables Protection Committee (ICPC). The workshop brought together experts from the cable industry, experts on the law of the sea and government representatives from the region to examine the practice of industry and governments on submarine cables in light of the legal regime governing submarine cables that is set out in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Topics discussed included:

• Planning and Surveying Cable Routes
• Permits for the Laying, Maintenance & Repair of Cables
• Damage to Cables from Fishing and Indiscriminate Anchoring
• Laws to Prevent the Damage or Destruction of Cables

When planning and organizing the December 2009 Workshop on Submarine Cables and Law of the Sea, CIL staff undertook a significant amount of research on the legal regime governing submarine cables. Some of the materials that were gathered were made available on the CIL web site prior to the Workshop. Other materials were made available to participants at the Workshop. These materials form part of our research project on Submarine Cables and Law of the Sea and can be found here.

Workshop Report

To download a copy of the Workshop Report, click on the button below.

PowerPoint Presentations presented during the Workshop

Session 1: The Setting

• Overview of UNCLOS Cable Provisions and Legal Issues by Douglas Burnett, Legal Advisor ICPC
• The Global Cable Network: The Need to Protect Critical Infrastructure by Lionel Carter, Marine Environmental Advisor, ICPC
• Legal Regime Regulating the Laying and Protection of Submarine Cables and its Implementation by Serguei Tarassenko, Director of the Office of Legal Affairs, UNDOALOS

Session 2: Surveying Cable Routes and Laying Cables

• Route Planning and Cable Route Surveys by Graham Evans, Director, EGS Survey Group
• Problems faced by cable planners and installers in laying of cables within a country’s maritime zones by Dr Ronald Rapp, Director of Cable Engineering and Technology, Tyco Telecommunications
• Surveying cable routes: international law issues by Professor Alfred Soons, Director, NILOS
• Submarine Cables, Resource Use and Environmental Protection by Ambassador Satya Nandan

Session 3: Repair of Broken or Damaged Cables

• Overview of Beijing Workshop and Focus on Cable Repair Issues, by Douglas Burnett, Legal Advisor to the ICPC
• Problems faced by the Cable Industry in the repair of damaged submarine telecommunications cables inside maritime jurisdictional claims by Wolfgang Rain, Marine Liaison Manager, Tyco Telecommunications
• Best Practices and Recommendations on Repair of Submarine Cables, Mick Green, Chairman of ICPC, Head of Subsea Centre for Excellence, British Telecommunications

Session 4: Problems caused by overlapping maritime boundaries

• Special Problems which arise from the laying and repair of cables in areas of overlapping boundary claims and best practices which can be adopted by Industries and Governments to overcome these problems, by Dr Hasjim Djalal, Director, Centre for South-East Asian Studies, Indonesia
• Overlapping Boundaries in East and Southeast Asia – the relevance of UNCLOS by Professor Robert Beckman, Director, CIL
• Problems caused by overlapping maritime boundaries, by Joshua Ang, Director (Submarine Cables), SingTel
• Best Practices for Overlapping Maritime Boundaries by Michael Costin, General Manager, International Networks, Telstra Operations

Session 5: Regulation of Competing Uses to Protect Submarine Cables

• Ocean Users, Now and the Future by Lionel Carter, Marine Environmental Advisor, ICPC
• Industry Practices on the protection of submarine cables by Mick Green, Chairman of ICPC, Head of Subsea Centre for Excellence, British Telecommunications
• Australian Submarine Cable Legislation by Professor Stuart Kaye, University of Melbourne

Session 6: Criminal Liability for the intentional destruction or damage of submarine cables or submarine cable infrastructure, theft of submarine cables and the intentional interference with cable ships engaged in cable laying or repair activities

• Overview of Criminal Law Requirements under International Law by Douglas Burnett, Legal Advisor to the ICPC
• Criminal Jurisdiction over persons who damage submarine cables, by Professor Alfred Soons, Director, NILOS
• A new international convention or protocol by Professor Robert Beckman, Director, CIL
• Possible ways to highlight to the international community the need for a new instrument regulating the laying and protection of submarine cables by Serguei Tarassenko , Director of the Office of Legal Affairs, UNDOALOS

Session 7: Damage to Submarine Cables from Indiscriminate Anchoring in Southeast Asia

• Damage to Submarine Cables: The case for holding wrongdoers civilly accountable by Douglas Burnett, Legal Advisor to the ICPC
• Indiscriminate Anchoring of Ships at Non Designated Anchorage Areas by Ahmad Nordin Bin Ibrahim, Principal Assistant Director, Marine Traffic Services Unit, Malaysia Marine Department
• Actions taken by MPA and the littoral states on ships anchoring indiscriminately in the Singapore Strait by Captain M Segar, Director (Port Division), MPA
• Damage to submarine cables from indiscriminate anchoring in Southeast Asia by P Soundiramourty, General Manafer (Engg), Tata Communications
• Best Practices for the prevention of damage by submarine cables by indiscriminate anchoring in the Singapore Strait by Mick Green, Chairman of ICPC, Head of Subsea Centre for Excellence, British Telecommunications

Agenda:

To download the eFlyer, including the agenda, please click on the button below.