4/13/2011. The Law of the Sea. How far offshore does a coastal State s sovereignty extend? And why does it matter?

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1 The Law of the Sea How far offshore does a coastal State s sovereignty extend? And why does it matter? Police power (jurisdiction in matters of crime and smuggling) National defense concerns Freedom of navigation (Can ships go anywhere? What about straits and marine bottlenecks?) Regulation of ocean dumping and pollution (sewage outfalls, sludge dumping, ballast dumping) Accident investigations and fines Control and management of marine resources (fisheries, natural gas, petroleum, seafloor mining) 1

2 A nautical mile (nm) is a unit of length that corresponds to one minute of arc along any line of longitude. Widely used in navigation because of its direct link to the Earth s shape and to the global system of latitude and longitude. Because Earth is not a perfect sphere, the length of a nautical mile may vary slightly. An internationally standardized unit measuring 6, feet ( statute miles; 1,852 meters) has been recognized as official by the United States since July 1, Territorial Sea/Waters A long-standing concept in international law that gives coastal States sovereignty over a certain amount of the bordering ocean. Until the 1870s the traditional distance was 3 nautical miles (nm) then the effective range of coastal artillery (canon balls). With the advent of the rifled artillery shell, seaward boundaries were extended as far as 12 nm. More recently, and due mainly to resource issues, some countries went to a 200nm limit. The Cod Wars Confrontations between Britain and Iceland during the 1950s and 1970s resulting from Iceland s unilateral extension of its sovereign waters. Ended traditional British access to fishing areas. Royal navy sent warships to protect fishing vessels. In the photo, an Icelandic coast guard vessel (right) maneuvers to cut net lines extending from a British trawler (left). Net Cutting During the Cod War Continental Shelf is the relatively shallow ocean-bottom plain that lies immediately offshore the continents. It averages between feet in depth, and is separated from the abyssal plain (deep-ocean bottom averaging about 15,000 feet in depth) by a steep drop-off called the continental slope. Continental t shelf is the most economically important t part the ocean because: Fish tend to congregate there in greatest abundance (due to food supply); and It is where most offshore drilling and mining occurs (due to its relatively shallow waters). 2

3 Generalized View of the Undersea Realm The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Defines the rights and responsibilities of countries in their use of the oceans. Standardizes issues of offshore sovereignty, plus access to and management of marine resources. The result UN-based negotiations from 1973 through h Came into force in 1994, after the 60 th State (Guyana) ratified the treaty. As of today, 161 countries have joined the Convention The U.S. has signed, but not ratified the treaty. The Law of the Sea (U.N.C.L.O.S.) Four Offshore Jurisdictional Zones Territorial Sea (0-12 nm): Total sovereignty Contiguous Zone ( nm): Police power Exclusive Economic Zone (0-200 nm): Exclusive ownership and management of marine resources High Seas/International Waters (200+ nm): Open to ships of all States. The Right of Innocent Passage is a broad body of international law that permits the transit of ships flying the flag of one country through the territorial waters of another; and/or permits modes of surface transportation (e.g., trucks) registered in one country to transit the surface of another country; and/or permits civilian aircraft of one country to transit the air space of another country provided that such passage is innocent meaning that it poses no threat to the peace, good order or stability to the State whose sovereign space is being transited. 3

4 Exclusive Economic Zone (deep blue) Is this Dokdo or Takeshima? Rockall The various zones are measured from a mean low tide line that is generalized ( smoothed ) with respect to prominent coastal features. 4

5 Offshore oil rig in transit to drilling site 5

6 Chinese Maritime Boundary Claims Caribbean Maritime Boundaries Russian deep-sea submersible plants the flag on the Arctic Ocean seafloor (8/3/2007) Norway-Russia Maritime Boundary Dispute 6

7 Concerning the Guyana-Suriname Maritime boundary dispute Gulf of Fonseca Maritime Boundary Dispute 7

8 Bay of Piran Boundary Disputes 8

9 4/13/2011 Gulf beach clean-up after BP oil spill Part of the Panama Canal The Strait of Malacca The Strait of Hormuz 9

10 Strait of Bab el Mandeb The Dardanelles and Bosporus Flag of Convenience a country that allows ships to be operated with a minimum of government interference or regulation. Ship owners often register their vessels in such countries (e.g. Liberia and panama) and fly their flags, as a matter of convenience. 10