Lloyd's Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly
THE USSR MARITIME ARBITRATION COMMISSION (PART 1)*
W.A. Timmermans †
1. Introduction
1.1. Expansion of the USSR Merchant Marine
During the 1970s, the Soviet merchant fleet increased considerably. The gross tonnage increased from 14.8 million in 1970 to 23.4 million in 1980 and 24.7 million in 1985.1 The Soviet merchant fleet operates not only in bilateral traffic but also in cross trade. The increase in the volume of goods carried by Soviet vessels has mostly been at the expense of West European shipping companies. The USSR merchant marine has succeeded in obtaining more cargo by undercutting Western freight tariffs, by selling import goods from Western countries on c.i.f. terms and buying goods on f.o.b. terms.2
In recent years West European governments have been studying countermeasures, among which have been the setting up of a monitoring system and the promulgation of EEC ordinances which are intended to restore a situation of balance.3 Other measures are more bilateral, such as the inquiry of the Dutch Minister of Communications into the volume and tariffs of the Soviet-owned Rotterdam-based Transworld Marine Agency.4 The French Government recently renewed the treaty of commercial navigation with the USSR with the stipulation that the bilateral carriage of goods will be apportioned more evenly.5
With the expansion of East-West trade and a corresponding expansion of maritime transportation, the chances of disputes occurring will increase. The Soviets will always try to have these disputes settled by way of arbitration and preferably by their own Maritime Arbitration Commission (MAC) in Moscow. Its jurisdiction was extended in 1980 to cover practically all civil law disputes arising in the field of merchant shipping.
1.2. Settlement of disputes
A provision for arbitration in Moscow is standard in most contracts concluded by Soviet Foreign Trade Organizations and shipping companies with foreign partners.
* The second and final part of this study will be published in the November issue.
† Documentation Office for East Law, University of Leiden. The author wishes to express his gratitude to Professor R. E. Japikse, Professor of Maritime Law in the University of Leiden, Partner in Nauta van Haersolte, Rotterdam, for his invaluable assistance.
1 Lloyd’s Register of Shipping: Statistical Tables 1985, table 14.
2 Maritime Transport 1983, OECD. Paris 1984, 88–89.
3 Documents of the Commission of the European Communities, COM (85) 90 def.
4 “Geen Sowjet-gegevens over scheepstarieven”, Trouw, 31 July 1986; “Smit-Kroes weigert Russen inzage belastend materiaal”, De Volkskrant, 20 November 1986.
5 Financieel-Economische Tijd, 18 November 1986.
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