The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea delivered its Order today in The “Arctic Sunrise” Case (Kingdom of the Netherlands v. Russian Federation). It ordered that the vessel Arctic Sunrise and all persons detained in connection with the dispute be released and allowed to leave the territory and maritime areas under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation upon the posting of a bond in the amount of 3.6 million euros. 

THE DISPUTE 

A request for the prescription of provisional measures under article 290, paragraph 5, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was submitted to the Tribunal on 21 October 2013 by the Kingdom of the Netherlands in a dispute with the Russian Federation concerning the arrest and detention of the vessel Arctic Sunrise and its crew by authorities of the Russian Federation. The Arctic Sunrise, which flies the flag of the Netherlands, is an icebreaker operated by Greenpeace International. The public hearing in the case was held on Wednesday, 6 November 2013. The Russian Federation informed the Tribunal by note verbale from the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Berlin dated 22 October 2013 that it did not intend to participate in the proceedings before the Tribunal.