dY FORFOREIGN AFFAIRS
OFFINLAND
REQUEST
To the Registrarof the International Courtof Justice,
1. I have the honour to refer to the Application dated17 May 1991 by
.whichFinland has institutedproceedings against Denmark relatingto
-fheright of free passage through the Great Belt; and hereby to
submit, in accordancewith Article 41 of the Statute andArticle 73 of
the Rules of Court, a request forthe indicationby the Court of
provisional measures of protectionfor thepreservationof the rights
of Finland pending the finaldecision in ri::icproceedings.
A. Rights to be preserved
2. The rightsof Finland to be preserved arethose relatingto the
continued passageof ships, includingdrill ships and oil rigs coming
to or from Finnishports and shipyards, throughthe strait of the
Great Belt betweenthe Baltic and the North Sea.
B. Grounds of Request
3. According to Danish LawNo. 380 of 10 June 1987 afixed traffic
connectionwill be constructedover the Great Belt. The Danish
Governmenthas decided that the traffic connection inthe main
navigable channel in the Great Belt - the East Channel - will be a
fixed suspensionbridge which will allow free passage toships of up
to 65 metres height. Inthe exchanges betweenthe Danish and Finnish
Governmentsit has become apparent thatthere is no intentionto build
the bridgein such a fashion (by means of openings, adraw bridge or a
"bascule" construction) that ships of more than 65 metres' height
could also pass under it.
4. The unilateral exclusion by Denmark of ships of over65 metres
height, including drill ships and oil rigs, fromenjoying the right of
free passage throughthe Great Belt constitutes the object of the 2
application towhich the present request relates.
5. The Danish authoritieshave informed the Governmentof Finland that
they do not consider there to be any reason for engaging in
negotiationsto safeguard passage to and £rom Finnishports and
shipyardsin the futureby ships exceedingthe heightof 65 metres. In
a letter of 20 February 1991by the Prime Ministerof Denmark,Mr.
pou1 Schlüter, to the Prime Ministerof Finland,Nr. Harri Holkeri,he
States that "there can be no question of modifying,let alone
consideringanother alternativeto the project at this advanced
stage" (cf. annex 7 to the Application).The East Channel bridge
projectwill, then, continue on schedule and is expected to be
completedin 1996.
6. constructionwork for the East Channel bridge wouldprejudicethe
very outcome of the disputebrought beforethe Court by the
aforementionedApplication.The object of the Application relates
preciselyto the right of passagewhich the completion ofthe bridge
project in its planned form will effectivelydeny. In particular,the
continuationof the constructionwork prejudicesthe negotiating
resultwhich the Finnishsubmissionç inthe Applicationaim to attain.
C. The Facts of the Passage
7. Drill ships and oil rigs which extend to over 65 metres' height
have been constructedat the shipyardof Rauma-RepolaOffshore @y in
Pori on the Baltic Sea £rom 1972. The Company has built altogether 23
drill-ships,semi-submersibleand jack-up oil rigs.Al1 of them have
been delivered for use outsidethe Baltic Sea. Most of them have
navigatedto their productionor exploration fields through the Great
Belt.
8. The drill ships and oil explorationrigs manufactured by
~auma-~epolaOffshore @y are fully assembledalreadyat the shipyard.
Their navigatingheight thus varies between80 metres (drill ships) to
150 metres (rigs).Offers have been made by Rauma-RepolaOffshore for
rigs of 170 metres height.The competitivenessof Finnish craftin the
international offshore market is based preciselyon the fact thatal1
constr-~ctiownorks can be completedalready at the shipyardwhich is
speciallyequipped for that purpose. It has been estimated that
completingthe constructiononly after the craft has passed the Great
Belt, in the North Sea,will involve both an additional costof
approximately30-55 millionFinnmarks (US$ 7,5-13,75million) plus an
extensionof the time of delivery of upto four months.This will
inevitablydestroy their competitiveness onthe internationalmarket.
9. The production of drill ships and oil exploration rigs is an
importantpart of the Finnishmarine industry.During the period
1982-1980the value of exports from offshoreindustryin Finlandwas
between 8,s to 24 per cent of thetotal value of exports £rom Finnish
shipyards.Shipbuilding, again, accounted for approximately10 per
cent of the value of exports from metal 6nd engineeringindustry.The
cost ofone drill ship or oil explorationrig is approximately403
million Finnmarks (US$ 100 million). It has been estimated thatthe
offshore oil exploration market will be needinq £rom 200 to 400 new ifshore explorationrigs or drill shipsin the 1990's.Assuming a
OffshoreOyrecan be assumed to have a demand for 10-20 drill shipsand
. rigs in the 1990's. Currently,two jack-upsare being constructedin
cooperation witha corporation£rom the Soviet Union. Both of these
will, when assembled,exceed the height of 65 metres.
10. The geographical situation of Finland in relationto world oceans
has been explainedin detail in the Application.The onlydeep-water
route betweenthe Baltic and the North Sea traverses through the Great
Belt. For many of the craft producedin Finland, the Great Belt
remains the only available passage-way.
D. Urgency ofthe Request
11. Constructionwork for the East Channel bridge has not yet
commenced.The submissionof tenders for the bridge, however,took
place in December 1990and, as Finland understandsthe matter, the
contractsare due to be signed during late spring or early surnmer of
1991. This means that the Danish Government, througa hgreements
entered intoby the State-ownedbridge Company (The Great BeltA.S.),
is close to binding itself legallywith private contractorsto
undertakingthe project as planned.
12. The very existenceof the Danish bridqe Frsjeît as presently
planned willmake it difficultfor The Finnis?] rcmùcny Rauinc-3e?ol~
OffshoreOy to obtain, even less to accept, new oraersfor the
construc~ionof drill stirs and oil exzlcrsticn rI;;, siven trlitth+J-
can no longer relyon the continuedpa;sage of such vessels through
the Great Belt.The startingand, even more so, possible completionof
the bridge project by Denmark in its presentlyplanned form will
aggravatesuch harm. Inabilityto deliver completed drillships and
oil rigs will necessitateat least a temporary closure ofthe shipyard
at Pori. The losses to Raur3-RepolaOffshoreOy and its approximately
900 employees which willresult from the impossibilityto deliver to
their world-widecustomersdrill ships and oil explorationrigs
constructedin Finland cannot be offset by eventual compensation
should the Court decide in favour of Finland on the merits of the
case. The granting of the provisional measuresrequestedis the sole
means to ensure that Finnishrights and interestsare not irreparably
prejudiced during the currencyof the present proceedings.
E. ProposedProvisionalHeasures
13. In the light of the foregoingconsiderations,Finlandhas the
honour to request that the Court indicatethe following provisional
measures to protect the Finnish riqhtsand interests whichare the
object of theApplication of17 May 1991 institutingproceedings
against Denmark in this case:
(1) Denmark should, pending the decision by the Court on themerits of
the present case, refrainfrom continuingor otherwiseproceedingwith
such construction worksin connectionwith the planned bridge project
over the East Channel of the Great Beltas would impede the passage of
ships, including drill ships and oil rigs, to and from Finnish ports and shipyards; and
- (2) Denmark should refrain from any other action that might prejudice
the outcome of the present proceedings.
Helsinki, 22 May 1991
/r (", - --
4l L- 1 -~
Tom Gronbery' j
-
Agent of the Government of Finland
Request for the Indication of Provisional Measures of the Government of the Republic of Finland