1986 Black Sea incident
Coordinates: 44°13.5′N 34°09.3′E / 44.2250°N 34.1550°E
In the 1986 Black Sea incident on 13 March the American cruiser USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Caron, claiming the right of innocent passage, entered the Soviet territorial waters near the southern Crimean Peninsula. The warships passed within six miles of the Soviet coast, where they were soon confronted by the Soviet frigate Ladny. The commander of the Ladny notified the U.S. warships that they had violated the Soviet territorial waters and requested that they depart immediately. The U.S. warships confirmed receipt of the warning but did not change course. The Soviet command placed its Black Sea air and naval forces on combat readiness and dispatched border guard vessels and naval aircraft to intercept the U.S. warships.
The Yorktown and Caron stayed in Soviet territorial waters for roughly two hours. The situation de-escalated when the U.S. ships left Soviet territorial waters, but diplomatic repercussions continued for several weeks.
"The Rules of Navigation and Sojourn of Foreign Warships in the Territorial Waters and Internal Waters and Ports of the USSR", enacted by the Soviet Council of Ministers in 1983, acknowledged the right of innocent passage of foreign warships only in restricted areas of the Soviet territorial waters in the Baltic, Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. There were no sea lanes for innocent passage in the Black Sea. The United States meanwhile, starting from 1979, conducted a freedom of navigation program as the U.S. government believed that many countries were beginning to assert jurisdictional boundaries that far exceeded traditional claims. The program was specifically implemented because diplomatic protests seemed ineffective. The U.S. actions in the Black Sea were challenged by the Soviet Union several times prior to the 1986 incident, particularly on 9 December 1968, August 1979 and on 18 February 1984.
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