Argentina asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg on Tuesday to order the UK government to prevent oil production at Sea Lion, a project north of the Malvinas (Falkland Islands), a day after Buenos Aires’ two-week ultimatum expired.
ITLOS confirmed in a press release that it received the request on Oct. 13. It rests on article 290 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which lets either side in a dispute seek interim orders, known as provisional measures, while a separate arbitration panel is still being formed. Milei’s government opened that arbitration on Sept. 28 and set the deadline the same day. The tribunal can order measures only if it finds the future panel would appear to have jurisdiction and that the situation is urgent.
Argentina asks ITLOS to order the UK to do four things: prevent oil exploitation from starting or continuing at Sea Lion; refrain from using information gathered in exploring the disputed waters against Argentina’s rights; stop preventing Argentina from protecting the marine environment there; and avoid any step that could worsen the dispute, in particular granting new permits.
Filing the request does not stop any work. The judges decide whether to grant it. Sea Lion is operated by Navitas Petroleum, an Israeli company with 65% of the project, with Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration holding 35%. Argentina’s filing cites company statements that development drilling is expected to begin in early 2027.
Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno called the filing “unprecedented” on X and again invited London to return to bilateral talks on the sovereignty dispute. The government said the request seeks to preserve Argentina’s sovereign rights over its continental shelf, the seabed that extends from its coast.
The UK government in London said the same day, in a separate statement on Argentina’s sanctions on companies tied to the islands, that it is preparing measures under its Protection of Trading Interests legislation, a 1980 law that bars UK companies from complying with foreign measures reaching beyond that country’s borders, to shield them from Argentine sanctions, with the aim of bringing them into force before the end of the year. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government “will act where Argentina seeks to impede lawful UK commercial activity,” and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called Argentina’s attempts to intimidate businesses “unacceptable.” The statement said decisions on development belong to the Falkland Islands Government, the islands’ own administration in Stanley, and the companies.
Argentina’s filing says London answered its arbitration notice on Oct. 11 by refusing the interim measures and saying it will vigorously contest the arbitration panel’s jurisdiction.
Rockhopper said on Oct. 5, relaying a Navitas statement, that the project is continuing with the support of the Falkland Islands Government and the UK government, and that it expects no material adverse effect.
ITLOS rules require its president to fix the earliest possible date for oral hearings, and the tribunal says it will announce it shortly.
