TheUS-Soviet Incidents at Sea agreement is a 1972 bilateral agreement between theUnited States and theSoviet Union to reduce the chance of an incident at sea between the two countries and, in if one occurred, to prevent it from escalating.

The United States proposed having talks on the agreement in 1968, and the Soviet Union accepted. Talks were conducted in Moscow on October 11, 1971 and in Washington, D.C. on May 17, 1972. The final agreement was signed during theMoscow Summit on May 25, 1972, byUnited States Secretary of the NavyJohn Warner and Soviet Navy Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral of the Soviet UnionSergey Gorshkov.

The agreement provides for:

• steps to avoid ship collisions
• not interfering in the "formations" of the other party;
• avoiding maneuvers in areas of heavy sea traffic;
• requiringsurveillance ships to maintain a safe distance from the object of investigation so as to avoid "embarrassing or endangering the ships under surveillance";
• using accepted international signals when ships maneuver near one another;
• not simulating attacks at, launching objects toward, or illuminating the bridges of the other party's ships;
• informing vessels when submarines are exercising near them; and
• requiring aircraft commanders to use the greatest caution and prudence in approaching aircraft and ships of the other party and not permitting simulated attacks against aircraft or ships, performing aerobatics over ships, or dropping hazardous objects near them.

In addition, both sides agreed to provide notice three to five days in advance, as a rule, of any projected actions that might "represent a danger to navigation or to aircraft in flight"; to channel information on incidents through naval attachés assigned to the respective capitals; and (3) to hold annual meetings to review the implementation of the Agreement.

• Korean Air Lines Flight 007 § Search for KAL 007 in international waters - an incident of violation of Incident at Sea agreement
• Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea

• Cold War at Sea by David F. Winkler. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, copyright 2000.ISBN 1-55750-955-7

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Agreement on the Prevention of Incidents at Sea

• The text of the agreement

• Cold War treaties
• 1972 in the Soviet Union
• Soviet Union–United States treaties
• Treaties concluded in 1972

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