1. We have the honour to submit to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (the “Tribunal”) on behalf of the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines against Guinea this Request for the prescription of provisional measures pursuant to Article 290(5) of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the “Convention”). The Request has as its object the preservation of the rights of St Vincent and the Grenadines and vessels flying its flag to enjoy freedom of navigation and other internationally lawful uses of the exclusive economic zone of Guinea, pending the final decision of the Arbitral Tribunal to be established to resolve the dispute between the two states concerning the interpretation and application of the Convention which arose with the arrest and detention by Guinea of the m/v “SAIGA” on 28 October 1997.

2. On 22 December 1997 St Vincent and the Grenadines notified to the Government of Guinea a document instituting arbitral proceedings pursuant to Articles 286 and 287 of the Convention (the “Arbitration Document”). The Arbitration Document was notified that day by telefax to the Office of the President, the Permanent Representative of Guinea to the United Nations in New York, and to the Guinean Agent in Hamburg, and the following day by courier. In accordance with Article 89(4) of the Rules of the Tribunal a certified copy of the document instituting arbitral proceedings may be found at Annex 1  to this Request.