Ismailova Ramida Mahir,
Master’s student of the II course of the Faculty of Law of the Baku State University, specializing in “Maritime and Energy Law”, specialist of the Law division of the Law and international relations department of the State Maritime and Port Agency
Address: Baku city, Khanlar street 2B
E-mail: [email protected]
A fundamental principle of international maritime law (IML) is the concept of exclusive jurisdictional rights over a ship in international waters belonging to the state under whose flag it is registered. This statement implies that only the said State has the authority to make legislative, judicial and executive decisions regarding a vessel and its crew in international waters outside the territorial waters. This rule is aimed at preventing unauthorized interference by third-party states in the affairs of ships engaged in maritime transport in international waters [8, p. 556].
The essence of flag state jurisdiction embodies the sovereignty of states over vessels flying under its flag in international waters, ensuring a single legal order that transcends territorial borders. However, this exclusive flag state jurisdiction (EJFS) principle, although important, is not without exceptions.
Right now the importance among these exceptions to the EJFS on the high seas are gained by piracy and terrorism. The fight against piracy has become especially important in recent years, but its implementation at the international level is difficult due to the lack of a universal definition of piracy and an international treaty that would coordinate the efforts of states in this direction. Until now, the international community has not been able to find an effective mechanism to combat maritime piracy, which emphasizes the inconsistency of current international legal means of combating piracy with the needs of our time [4, p. 88].
Terrorist groups and associated pirates play a role in breaking the political stability and, in particular, socio-economic and energy security in the world. These groups are distinguished by a high degree of technical equipment, organization and access to extensive financial resources [1].
A new round of the Arab-Israeli conflict that began on October 7, 2023 led to an active military offensive by Iranian proxy forces (Hamas, Hezbollah [2], Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ansar Allah, etc. [5] against Israeli actions. It is now evident that the actions of the above groups have become a serious threat not only to Israel, but to the entire world. It is proposed to consider the activities of the Houthi group, since it has become the most “successful” in terms of pressure on the world community as a whole.
From the end of November to the present, incidents have increased significantly. Which makes the passage of ships through this region dangerous or even impossible. According to available data (from December 2023 to January 2024) from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations on the analysis of incidents with sea vessels in the southern part of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, 14 cases of attack were recorded [7].
After decisions were made to redirect the ships, they were sent to bypass the problem region – along an alternative route through the Cape of Good Hope, skirting the entire African continent. Note that the sea route from Asia to Europe through the Suez Canal is the main route for the supplement (according to various estimates, from 7% to 12% of all maritime trade passes along it, including 30% of container traffic) from these regions.
In practice, figuring out what is terrorism and what is piracy is becoming increasingly difficult. In the Red Sea region, where strong ties have long existed between pirates and terrorist organizations, and some groups (the Houthis) combine both concepts.