Rockall Island.
The territory[]
The Territory of Rockall, Hasselwood Rock and Helen's Reef covers those islets, stacks, rocks and skirries.
- Rockall- 573546.695N 134114.308W.
- Hasselwood Rock- 573558N 134119W.
- Helen's Reef- 57365N 133929W.
History[]
The UK annexed them in 1955 and ratified this in 1972, despite of all the nations having various claims since 1938.
Several states had claimed interests over the islands and sea bed adjoining Rockall. Denmark (for the Faroe Islands), Iceland, Scotland, Ireland and the United Kingdom had all made submissions to the commission set up under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
In November 2007, talks were held in Copenhagen. Here a deal was secured by Irish, Danish, British, Scottish and Icelandic diplomats on the issue of who could own the islands and EEZ. They agreed to internationalise the EEZ and they all share it out equally. The islands became a British territory for legal reasons, such as stopping drug smuggling, but all the other claimant nations still have limited access to them.
Ownership[]
The EEZ is an internationalised zone and the claimant nations share it out equally. The islands themselves became a British territory for legal reasons, such as stopping drug smuggling, but all the other claimant nations still have limited access to them.
The Irish Naval Service vessel, LÉ Róisín (P51), went on the last of the routine 12th of October patrol at Rockall, 230 nautical miles off the north-west coast of Ireland, on the 12th of October 2012. Thepatroles first started in 2007.
Fish[]
It is inside a modestly productive fishing zone, but the sea bead contains no meaningful mineral reserves or any hydrocarbon fuels.