Any Port in a Storm
Perhaps the outraged of Tumbridge Wells should examine the following for precident.
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/lawjournal/issues/volume63/number5/murray.pdf
This involved the denial of two oil tankers in distress the right of shelter for policical and economic reasons, it also involved the very real chance of loss of crew.
Here is a summery of the Castors Fate
"Next, in December 2000, the Castor was navigating the Mediterranean Sea on its voyage from Constanza, Romania to Lagos,
Nigeria.[40] Castor, a Cyprus flagged tanker[41] built in 1977,[42] was carrying 29,500 tons of gasoline.[43] Encountering severe
winter weather, including a force-12 gale, the Castor developed a twenty-six meter crack across its main deck.[44]
Thus began Castor’s forty day, 1000 mile saga.[45] Nearly crippled by rough seas, the Castor sought sheltered waters in which
it could offload its cargo, for the safety of the ship, her crew, and nearby coastal states.[46] On New Year’s Eve, Morocco
denied Castor’s request.[47] Castor’s plea for shelter was subsequently denied by Algeria, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy,
Malta, Spain, and Tunisia.[48]
Spain allegedly feared that the grinding metal from the crack on the ship’s deck would create sparks that might cause the
ship’s cargo to ignite.[49] However, there is serious doubt that the Castor posed any risk of explosion.[50] In addition, Castor
was merely seeking sheltered waters, a place of protection from which to offload her cargo and effect minor repairs, so Castor
need not have entered a port facility.[51] Spanish search-and-rescue authorities evacuated many of the ship’s crew on the high
seas.[52]
Finally, after forty days as a homeless pariah, wandering the Mediterranean for 1000 miles, Castor’s gasoline cargo was
offloaded onto two shuttle tankers in a risky at-sea transfer operation in exposed waters off the coast of Malta.[53]
Malta’s
refusal to grant shelter to the Castor is perhaps ironic, given that Malta was the flag state of the Erika.[54]
Many of the coastal states involved in the incident decried the Castor as a substandard ship.[55] They argued that their citizens
should not be put at risk because of a substandard ship.[56] Yet there is a dispute over the facts as to this point. According to the
American Bureau of Shipping, the vessel’s classification society, the Castor was a properly maintained, seaworthy vessel that
simply incurred damage from heavy weather.[57] The fact that the Castor was able to remain afloat for forty days on the high
seas, despite the large crack in its deck, arguably supports this contention."
Dispite some posters contentions that this action is without precendent, it is clear that denial of port does happen.
This is not to condone the Chinese actions, but perhaps it would do to keep a bit of perspective, esp as the ships in question are military vessals.
