The MV Saiga (No. 2) case: St Vincent and the Grenadines v Guinea

Abstract

The third of the ‘trinity’ of oft-cited hot pursuit/use of force in maritime law enforcement cases, MV Saiga (No. 2), is an International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) decision which significantly updated (and in some respects diverged from) the conclusions reached in the earlier I’m Alone and Red Crusader cases. This chapter analyses the background to the incident and its progression to ITLOS, before assessing the key legal issues that arose in the case, including the excessively claimed Guinean customs radius, and the conduct and legitimacy of the claimed hot pursuit. The chapter concludes by noting that it is this case which most accurately reflects modern maritime law enforcement practice in respect to the procedure of hot pursuit and the regulation of use of force in associated maritime law enforcement operations.