The Issue of Granting Access to Sheltered Places when Ships are in Distress Does it still remain a Controversial Topic?

Abstract

According to IMO, the issue of providing refuge for ships in distress was
raised during the late 1980s, when the Legal Committee of IMO was preparing
a draft document regarding the International Convention on Salvage which
was eventually adopted in 1989. During the exchange of information some
states expressed the view to admit vessels in distress into their ports. Other
states expressed their doubt on including a public law rule into a private law
convention, let alone that coastal state interests could not be ignored...