The US-Soviet Incidents at Sea agreement is a 1972 bilateral agreement between the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
to reduce the chance of an incident at sea between the two countries and, in if one occurred, to prevent it from escalating.
The United States proposed having talks on the agreement in 1968, and the Soviet Union accepted. Talks were conducted in Moscow on October 11, 1971 and in Washington, D.C. on May 17, 1972. The final agreement was signed during the
Moscow Summit on May 25, 1972, by
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On Mar ...
John Warner
John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Republican Party, Republican United Stat ...
and Soviet Navy Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral of the Soviet Union
Sergey Gorshkov
Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov (; 26 February 1910 – 13 May 1988) was an admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union. Twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, he oversaw the expansion of the Soviet Navy into a global force during the Cold ...
.
Provisions
The agreement provides for:
* steps to avoid ship collisions
* not interfering in the "formations" of the other party;
* avoiding maneuvers in areas of heavy sea traffic;
* requiring
surveillance ships to maintain a safe distance from the object of investigation so as to avoid "embarrassing or endangering the ships under surveillance";
* using accepted international signals when ships maneuver near one another;
* not simulating attacks at, launching objects toward, or illuminating the bridges of the other party's ships;
* informing vessels when submarines are exercising near them; and
* requiring aircraft commanders to use the greatest caution and prudence in approaching aircraft and ships of the other party and not permitting simulated attacks against aircraft or ships, performing aerobatics over ships, or dropping hazardous objects near them.
In addition, both sides agreed to provide notice three to five days in advance, as a rule, of any projected actions that might "represent a danger to navigation or to aircraft in flight"; to channel information on incidents through naval attachés assigned to the respective capitals; and (3) to hold annual meetings to review the implementation of the Agreement.
See also
* - an incident of violation of Incident at Sea agreement
*
Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea
Further reading
* ''Cold War at Sea'' by David F. Winkler. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, copyright 2000.
External links
The text of the agreement
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S.-Soviet Incidents at Sea agreement
Cold War treaties
1972 in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union–United States treaties
Treaties concluded in 1972