Convention with regard to navigation by Finnish merchant and cargo vessels on the Neva between Lake Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland

The Government of the Republic of Finland and the Government of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, being desirous of determining the conditions under which effect may be given to the provisions of Article 17 of the Treaty of Peace between the two Powers which was signed at Dorpat on October 14, 1920, with regard to granting Finnish merchant and cargo vessels the right of unhindered navigation on the Neva between Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland, have decided in order to complete and expand the provisions .of the above-mentioned Article, to conclude the present Agreement and for this purpose appointed:

For the Government of the Republic of Finland:
A.Ahonen
A.V.Hackzell

For the Government of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic:
S.M.Frankfurt
A.V.Rubinin

Who, having communicated their full powers found in good and due form, have agreed as follows:

Article 1.

Finnish trading and cargo vessels, both with and without cargoes shall be entitled freely to navigate the Neva from Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland and in the opposite direction, on the same conditions as Russian vessels, subject to the provisions laid down in the present Convention.

Article 2.

The Finnish vessels specified in the foregoing Article shall not transport war material or articles of military value, or goods the import of which into the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic is absolutely prohibited by reason of their constituting a danger to public safety or health.

Article 3.

Finnish vessels navigating on the Neva shall be obliged to observe the regulations and ordinances laid down for Russian vessels with regard to navigation, the preservation of public safety, and Customs supervision.

Article 4.

Finnish vessels must call at Petrograd Harbour before discharging, loading or transhipping, but in the event of storm or accident, these vessels may also call at other protected harbours and there execute necessary repairs.

Article 5.

The Russian Government shall not take measures calculated to hinder or render difficult through navigation and communication vessels on the Neva.

Russia however reserves the right to make exceptions:

(1) In case Russia or Finland should be at war with any third Power;

(2) In case the Petrograd or North districts should be threatened by any military danger;

(3) With regard to contraband of war;

(4) For the protection of persons and animals against infectious disease, and

(5) For the regulation of traffic in accordance with traffic requirements on the Neva.

Article 6.

Finnish vessels specified in this Convention shall not, within the boundaries of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, be liable for any income or capital tax, nor for any other higher dues or charges, of whatever kind or description, than are levied on Russian private vessels of a corresponding nature.

Goods in transit shall not be subject to Customs or other dues. nor shall special transit dues in any form be levied.

The provisions of this Article shall also be observed in the event of goods in transit being discharged in Russia and being at a later date forwarded to Finland or some other country by the same or another vessel. However, the prescribed charges for storage may be levied in respect of goods stored in transit or bonded warehouse or stored in a similar manner.

In the case of shipwreck, no Customs or other dues shall be levied on goods salved from a Finnish vessel, provided that the goods do not remain in Russia for use in that country.

Article 7.

Finnish merchant -and cargo vessels shall observe the following regulations during their passage:

(1) When proceeding from the Gulf of Finland to Ladoga, vessels shall touch at Kronstadt, and when proceeding in the opposite direction at Schlüsselburg.

(2) Vessels shall be provided with papers issued by the Finnish authorities authorising them to navigate on the Neva, such papers shall establish that the vessel is of Finnish nationality and state:

(a) The name and port of registry of the vessel,

(b) The name of the person responsible for the vessel,

(c) Detailed particulars of the nature and quantity of the cargo, and

(d) A list of the crew. Further, a certificate of seaworthiness, issued by the competent Finnish authority for each period of navigation, must be produced.

(3) Every vessel (or with the approval of the competent authority of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic every group of vessels) must carry a representative of the Customs and Frontier Control while it is proceeding through Russian waters.

Note. The Russian State shall receive compensation from the shipper for expenses incurred through the above-mentioned Customs formalities, according to the regulations in force in the public laws of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic with regard to Customs supervision of goods in transit.

(4) The persons mentioned in sub-section (3) of this Article shall be entitled to inspect the vessels and cargo on their arrival in Russian waters to satisfy themselves that goods and articles specified in Article 2 are not being carried on the vessel.

(5) On the arrival of a vessel at Kronstadt on the way from the Gulf of Finland to Lake Ladoga, or at Schlüsselburg on the way from Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland, the Russian authorities mentioned in sub-section 3 of this Article shall seal its hatches with leaden seals or otherwise. On the arrival of the vessel at Schlüsselburg or Kronstadt the above-mentioned authorities shall inspect the seals and remove them. Should a Finnish vessel call at another port before discharging or transhipping, the Customs representative shall remove the seal; a special record of this operation shall be made, and a copy of it shall be given to the captain of the vessel. If the vessel subsequently proceeds to load, the Russian authorities specified in sub-section (3) of this Article shall seal the hatches with a leaden seal or otherwise when loading is concluded this seal shall be removed later by the Customs representative at Schlüsselburg or Kronstadt. Should it be found that the seal is damaged or has disappeared, the competent Russian authorities shall have the right to inspect the vessel’s cargo to establish that it corresponds with the manifest.

Note. Timber, wood, paper-pulp, cellulose and paper in rolls may be shipped without being sealed with a leaden seal or otherwise, but on condition that permission shall be granted in each separate case by the Russian Customs authorities.

(6) Finnish vessels navigating on the Neva shall as far as possible be collected in groups at Kronstadt or Schlüsselburg and proceed along the Neva in flotillas at the time of day fixed by the competent Russian authority.

(7) The Customs and other formalities specified in this Article shall not delay or interrupt the passage of vessels on the Neva.

(8) The ship's crew shall be entered in due order on the ship’s roll; this shall excuse them from being in possession of duly vised passports.

The rules to be observed in going ashore by persons belonging to a vessel’s crew shall be governed by the regulations laid down by the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic.

Note. This regulation does not hold in the case where landing takes place in the immediate neighbourhood of the vessel in consequence of shipwreck or storm.

Article 8.

Should a Finnish vessel run aground or be wrecked on the Neva, the vessel and cargo shall enjoy the same privileges and immunities which are granted to Russian vessels in similar circumstances,

Article 9.

Should a Finnish vessel sink in Russian waters, or should Russian harbour or other works be damaged through its action, the cost of clearing the fairway or repairs to works shall be made good in accordance with the regulations in force for Russian private vessels in similar circumstances, and the competent Russian authority shall have the right to detain vessel and cargo as security for the payment of compensation, in so far as the persons liable do not offer in place thereof other security which is accepted by the authority in question. Should the vessel and cargo not suffice to cover the damage in question, the Finnish Government pledges itself to make good to the Russian Government the balance of the costs.

The valuation of the damage shall be determined by a committee which shall meet at Petrograd and shall consist of three members. Each Government, or the authority to which it delegates this duty, shall appoint one member, to sit for one year, while the Russian Government shall appoint the chairman. The decision of the Committee shall be a majority of votes and shall be final.

Article 10.

The Russian Government shall communicate at the earliest opportunity to the Finnish Government all rules and regulations affecting navigation on the Neva, Customs formalities and other particulars.

Article 11.

The decisions of this Convention, which are a consequence of the special geographical position of Finland and of its immediate neighbourhood to Russia, cannot by virtue of the most-favoured-nation principle be extended to the vessels of a third State, with the exception of the Soviet Republics, which are united to the Federative Socialist Republic of the Russian Soviets.

Article 12.

Differences of opinion which may arise as to the interpretation or application of this Convention, shall be decided by the method of diplomacy.

Article 13.

The present Convention shall be ratified and the exchange of ratifications shall take place at Moscow as soon as possible.

Article 14.

This Convention shall come into force immediately after ratifications have been exchanged in due form, and shall be valid for nine months, reckoned from the day that one of the contracting parties shall give the other notice of the denunciation of the Convention.

Article 15.

The present Convention is done in two copies in Finnish, Swedish and Russian, and each text shall possess the same validity.

In faith whereof the plenipotentiaries appointed for that purpose have signed this Convention and have thereto affixed their seals. Moscow, June 5, 1923.

A.Ahonen
A.V.Hackzell

S.M.Frankfurt
A.V.Rubinin

At the signature of the Convention regarding the navigation of Finnish vessels in transit through the Neva, the following Notes were made in the Protocol

At the general meeting of the Finnish and Russian plenipotentiaries on 5th June, 1923, the following notes were made in the Protocol:

I. The plenipotentiaries of both Governments have agreed that, in accordance with Article 4, Finnish vessels shall be entitled to call at Petrograd Harbour for the discharge and loading of goods in transit, which are shipped through the Neva. Finnish vessels shall accordingly be allowed to proceed from Ladoga to Petrograd Harbour and vice-versa, as well as from the Gulf of Finland to Petrograd Harbour and vice-versa.

II. With regard to Article 5, sub-section 2 of the Convention, the Russian plenipotentiaries explain that the district of Petrograd and North district include the following provinces and territorial units: The provinces of Petrograd, Novgorod, Pskov, and Tscherepovets, the Karelian Workers’ Commune, the district of Komi (Murman) and the province of Archangel.

III. In explanation of Article 7 of the Convention, the plenipotentiaries of the contracting parties have agreed as follows:

(1) That the crews of Finnish vessels specified in sub-section 8 must not include such persons of Russian birth who have forfeited Russian nationality in accordance with the Decree of the Council of the People’s Commissaries of December 20, 1921, nor persons who have taken part in active operations against the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and who have not been acquitted of responsibility by virtue of special agreements or by Decree of the Government.

(2). That no person on a Finnish vessel shall be in possession of fire-arms, ammunition, or photographic or cinematographic apparatus. While the vessel is on its passage through the Neva, such articles may only be kept in a place sealed by the Russian frontier authorities.

Note. The regulation regarding fire arm shall not apply to persons who cay produce a licence issued in due form by the Russian authorities, entitling them to be in possession of and to bear arms.

(3) That Finnish vessels, equipped with receiving apparatus for wireless telegraphy or telephony undertake not to make use of such in Russian waters between the meridian of Tolbukin Light in the Gulf of Finland and the parallel of Osinovets Light on Lake Ladoga. In consequence hereof, the officials of Russian frontier control shall be entitled to seal up the cabin in question on board the vessel, or to disconnect the aerials and remove the lead in wires sufficiently far from the terminals, and to seal them up or attach them by seals to some metal part of the ship.