CONTROVERSIAL INNOCENT PASSAGES IN THE BLACK SEA, 1982 - 2021
Journal: Calhoun: The Naval Postgraduate School Institutional Archive (Naval Postgraduate School)
Year: 2022

How and why has Russia disputed innocent passages by Western warships in the Black Sea since the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) in 1982, and how has the West justified conducting these passages? This thesis focuses on the historical, geopolitical, and legal context surrounding four instances of innocent passage conducted by USS Yorktown and USS Caron (1986 and 1988), HMS Dragon (2020), and HMS Defender (2021) within 12 nautical miles of Crimea,