Author Archives: N.F. Coelho

Turkey and Libya have signed (27 November 2019) a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the delimitation of the maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean.

The MFA of Greece considered (28 November 2019) that “the signing by Turkey and Libya of a memorandum of understanding cannot violate the sovereign rights of third countries” and that “such an action would be a flagrant violation of the International Law of the Sea and would produce no legal effect”. The Minister also noted that “between the two countries there is the large geographical mass of Crete”.

In response, the MFA of Turkey stated (1 December 2019) that “islands cannot have a cut-off effect on the coastal projection of Turkey” and that “the islands which lie on the wrong side of the median line between two mainlands cannot create maritime jurisdiction areas beyond their territorial waters and that the length and direction of the coasts should be taken into account in delineating maritime jurisdiction areas”.

Turkey had submitted earlier in the month (13 November 2019) to the UN a list of geographical coordinates, concerning the outer limits of Turkey’s continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, where Turkey exercises ipso facto and ab initio exclusive sovereign rights and jurisdiction stemming from international law (A/74/550).

Turkey has not signed the UNCLOS and has opposed the new international legal regime of islands during UNCLOS III in two occasions (160th meeting and 189th meeting).

Base points for Turkey-Libya Continental Shelf/EEZ Coordinates List. Source: T.C. Resmi Gazete, 6 December 2019.

The Government of India (Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai) has issued an Order on the prohibition of use of single use plastics on board ships. This ban is applicable to all Indian ships and to foreign ships in port or within Indian waters. The enforcement shall be undertaken on the basis of flag and port state capacity surveys, inspections and audits.

Surveyors carrying out port state inspection of foreign flag vessels are expected to ensure that single use plastics are not in use and are kept locked in a store during their stay in Indian ports and on their passage through the territorial waters of India. A foreign ship intending to enter an Indian port is required to make a log entry identifying “Single Use Plastic Items” on board the ship. No single use plastic items are to be discharged to port reception facilities at an Indian port. The Order further clarifies that no detention of foreign ships is to be enforced.

DGS Order No. 05 (16 October 2019) is available here.

The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) has approved and endorsed a joint claim from the Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The joint claim over 600,000 square kilometers of additional seabed, on what is known as the Ontong Java Plateau, was lodged in 2009. More information is available here and here.

 Map of final foot of continental slope (FOS) positions in the North and South Regions, received from the Joint Delegation on 26 July 2016. Source: Commission on the Limits
of the Continental Shelf.

Tuvaijuittuq is the first Marine Protected Area to be designated by ministerial order under the Oceans Act for interim protection. Under the order, no new or additional human activities will be allowed to occur in the area for up to five years, with the following exceptions: the exercise of Inuit rights respecting wildlife harvesting as provided for under the Nunavut Agreement; marine scientific research consistent with the conservation objectives of the MPA; safety, security and emergency activities; certain activities carried out by a foreign national, entity, ship or state. The objective of this MPA is to contribute to the conservation, protection and understanding of the natural diversity, productivity and dynamism of the High Arctic sea ice ecosystem. This MPA encompasses an area of 319 411 km2. More information is available here.

Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area. Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey’s territorial seas shall increase in size on 23 July 2019. The current limit of the Bailiwick’s territorial seas is 3 nautical miles (nm) from the baselines. The new limit will be 12 nm. The territorial sea would extend to less than 12 nm wherever the distance between the baselines of the Bailiwick and the baselines of another party (France or Jersey) is less than 24 nm. Fishing access in the waters around the Bailiwick, from 0 to 12 nautical miles, will remain unchanged on the date of extension. The Bailiwick fisheries management regime will also remain the same as it was before extension until any new regime is subsequently agreed. More information is available here.

Bailiwick of Guernsey maritime boundaries. Source: States of Guernsey.

The Governments of Malaysia and of Singapore have entered an agreement to mutually suspend the implementation of their overlapping port limits and apply their port limits in effect prior to 25 October 2018 and 6 December 2018 respectively. They furthermore agreed to not authorise and to suspend all commercial activities in the area and to not anchor government vessels in the area. The agreement became effective on April 8, 2019. According to a statement issued by representatives of both Governments, negotiations for maritime boundary delimitation in the area are expected to commence within one month following implementation of said agreement. That March 2019 joint statement may be found here / here; a more recent joint statement confirming the schedule is available here / here. The relevant Circulars of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore are here and here.

Maritime boundaries between Singapore and Malaysia (Source: Singapore Ministry of Transport)

The Supreme Court of Norway has rejected the appeals of a Russian captain and a Latvian shipping company that was convicted in the Court of Appeal for having caught snow crab without a Norwegian permit. The catch took place in the fish protection zone at Svalbard, on the Norwegian continental shelf. The Supreme Court stated that the snow crab is a sedentary species within the meaning of the UNCLOS, which the coastal state of Norway, under international law, has the exclusive right to exploit. It also understood that the Svalbard Treaty does not prevent penalising the person who catches without permission and that this applies regardless of nationality. The verdict of 14 February 2019 (reference: HR-2019-282-S, case no. 18-064307STR-HRET) may be found here (in Norwegian); an English translation has also been made available here.

The Senate of Argentina has approved the creation of two new Marine Protected Areas (MPA), Yaganes and Namuncurá-Banco Burdwood II. These areas are located in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Argentina. Yaganes is approximately 69 thousand km2, while Namuncurá – Banco Burdwood II covers more than 32 thousand km2. The respective legal text (Ley 27490), published 17 December 2018, can be found here (Spanish). The press releases from the Government of Argentina may be found here (Spanish) and here (Spanish). More information about these areas may be found here.

Location of the National Marine Park of Yaganes and the National Marine Reserves of Namuncurá – Banco Burdwood II. Source: Wildlife Conservation Society

The Singapore Government on 12 December 2018 filed a declaration under Article 298(1)(a) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This declaration means that other States Parties to UNCLOS cannot unilaterally commence third party arbitration or adjudication against Singapore in respect of maritime boundary disputes. Singapore likewise cannot unilaterally commence third party arbitration or adjudication against other States Parties for such disputes. A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore on the matter may be found here.

Japan has designated two coastal areas, Shizugawa-wan (Ramsar Site no. 2358) and Kasai Marine Park (Site no. 2357), as Wetlands of International Importance, while extending a third, Lower Maruyama River and the Surrounding Rice Paddies (Site no. 2055), in order to reinforce its conservation value. This designation took place under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat. More information is available here

Denmark and Poland have agreed on a maritime boundary that, once it enters into force, will delimit the Continental Shelfs and the Exclusive Economic Zones of the two countries in the Baltic Sea, south of Bornholm. The disputed area is approximately 3.600 km2. It is the last outstanding delimitation in the area of Bornholm. The maritime boundaries between Bornholm and Sweden were settled in 1984 and between Bornholm and Germany in 1988. The joint press statement may be found here and here.