The article provides a detailed characteristics of the concept of marine scientific research on the grounds of the existing norms of the international law of the sea, normative acts of the Republic of Poland and in terms based on the most recent and significant scientific publications constituting the literature on the subject. One of the core studies being conducted by the Committee on the International Legal Status of Submarine Cables and Pipelines established in 2018 under the International Law Association is the field of application of UNCLOS standards to hydrographic surveys carried out as part of the process preceding the laying of submarine cables and pipelines. This paper presents a hypothesis on the separate treatment of the concept of marine scientific research and hydrographic surveys, and presents the legal impediments that the State or the laying company may face.