Who owns Rockall?

mcscrub

I know it's been a question that's been around for years, but I was wondering what people know on this topic. Who owns Rockall, is it the Irish, the British, the Danes or the Iclandics?

What is the Irish claim to the rock/island? Was the British claim by Elizabeth II fair? Considering Icland seems furthest away do they have any legitimate claim, and likewise with the Danes?

Should only Ireland and Britain be in the running for a legitimate claim on Rockall? Or should it just be of Irish claim because it has been part of Irish folklore and Béaloideas for centuries.

drakshug

Iceland don't lay any claim to Rockall itself but they do lay claim to the shelf...
Denmark is the same or to be more exact, the Faroes

Ireland have no formal claim to it. They actually signed a treaty giving the rock to the UK.

Rockall lies within the UK EEZ and is only about 300 klicks from the outer hebrides. If Scotland gets full independence it will actually belong to Scotland.
As for QEII, the first British, and recorded, landing was in 1810.

Basically ownership of the rock itself is a waste of time. It is ownership of the continental shelf that everyone wants for black Gold.

Tabnabs

We have a hugely substantial claim on the area.

Minister sets deadline date for Rockall licence bids

Monday November 24 2008

OIL and gas companies will be able to apply for exploration licences in over 117,000sqkm of the Rockall basin after Minister of State Sean Power announced the opening of the 2009 Rockall Licensing Round.

Mr Power said the basin, off the north-west coast, is relatively under-explored.

"This Licensing Round represents an exciting new opportunity for the exploration industry to invest in exploration offshore Ireland," he said.

He said that in recent years there had been an upswing in the level of investment in exploration for oil and gas off the Irish coast.

Mr Power added he was "confident that the industry will react positively to the opening of the Rockall Basin for further exploration opportunities".

Applications for frontier exploration licences may be submitted up to noon on April 22 2009, and may be made for a minimum of two blocks and for a maximum of eight blocks.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/minister-sets-deadline-date-for-rockall-licence-bids-1550795.html

drakshug

Dyflin wrote: »

We have a hugely substantial claim on the area.


http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/minister-sets-deadline-date-for-rockall-licence-bids-1550795.html

Are we talking the rock or what?

The Rockall basin doesn't refer to Rockall the rock. The basin is actually East of the rock and is in a part that could be Irish and could be Danish. This refers to the seabed. In actual fact, as rockall is uninhabited it has no influence on theEEZs of states. So it doesn't really matter who lays claim to the rock. It is the claim to the topgraphy of the seabed which is important. Ireland lays claim to about 1000km of extended continental shelf which, in such a busy area gets into a bit of conflict between Scotland, The Faroes, Iceland and ROI.

Capt'n Midnight

on old British maps Rockall was part of Donegal

no one is laying claim to the rock apart from the Brits as everyone else agrees it is irrelevant with regards to mineral / fishing rights.

mcscrub

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

on old British maps Rockall was part of Donegal

Really? Where did you find out about that? Are old maps available online?

What do you think of the idea of splitting the ocean floor up between the four countries as proposed by the Irish government last year?

Svenolsen

Nice photo of it here:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Rockall-photo.JPG

(The Seagulls owned it at the time the photo was taken.)

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