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Coordinates: 57°35′48″N 13°41′19″W / 57.59667°N 13.68861°W / 57.59667; -13.68861
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| locator map =
| map_custom =
| map_custom =
| native name = Rockabarra
| native name link = Rocabarraigh
| other_names = Rockol, Sgeir Rocail, Rocail, Rookol
| location = [[Atlantic Ocean]]
| location = [[Atlantic Ocean]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|57|35|48|N|13|41|19|W|display=inline}}
| coordinates = {{Coord|57|35|48|N|13|41|19|W|display=inline}}
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The ownership of Rockall is disputed, as are the exploration and fishing rights on the surrounding [[Rockall Bank and Trough]], and the [[Rockall Plateau]]. Exchanges continue between the countries involved: The [[Republic of Ireland]], [[Denmark]] (for the [[Faroe Islands]]), the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Iceland]]. Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom have all made submissions to the commission set up under the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]]. Denmark will make a submission before 2014, delaying a resolution until then.
The ownership of Rockall is disputed, as are the exploration and fishing rights on the surrounding [[Rockall Bank and Trough]], and the [[Rockall Plateau]]. Exchanges continue between the countries involved: [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Denmark]] (for the [[Faroe Islands]]), the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Iceland]]. Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom have all made submissions to the commission set up under the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]]. Denmark will make a submission before 2014, delaying a resolution until then.


==Etymology==
==Etymology==

Revision as of 14:00, 29 December 2009

Rockall
Map
Geography
LocationAtlantic Ocean
Coordinates57°35′48″N 13°41′19″W / 57.59667°N 13.68861°W / 57.59667; -13.68861
Administration
none
Rockall, a small, isolated rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean
Winter waves breaking over the islet in 1943

Rockall is a small, uninhabited, rocky islet in the north Atlantic Ocean. It gives its name to one of the sea areas named in the shipping forecast, provided by the British Meteorological Office and Met Éireann. It could be, in James Fisher's words, "the most isolated small rock in the oceans of the world". [2]

The ownership of Rockall is disputed, as are the exploration and fishing rights on the surrounding Rockall Bank and Trough, and the Rockall Plateau. Exchanges continue between the countries involved: Ireland, Denmark (for the Faroe Islands), the United Kingdom and Iceland. Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom have all made submissions to the commission set up under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Denmark will make a submission before 2014, delaying a resolution until then.

Etymology

The origin of the name Rockall is debatable but it has been suggested that it derives from the Gaelic Sgeir Rocail, meaning "skerry (or "sea rock") of roaring", [3] although rocail can also be translated as "tearing" or "ripping".[4][5] There may also be an etymological link with the Old Norse hrukka.

The first literary reference to the island, where it is called Rockol, is found in Martin Martin's A Description of the Western isles of Scotland published in 1703. In the book he gives an account of a voyage to St Kilda where the locals knew the isle as Rockabarra (Rocabarraigh). [6]

Dutch mapmakers P. Plancius and C. Claesz show an island Rookol northwest of Ireland in the their Map of New France and the Northern Atlantic Ocean (Amsterdam, c. 1594).

The name Rocabarraigh is also used in Gaelic folklore for a mythical rock which is supposed to appear three times, the last being at the end of the world:

"Nuair a thig Rocabarra ris, is dual gun tèid an Saoghal a sgrios."
(When Rocabarra returns, the world will likely come to be destroyed/ruined.)

Geography

Rockall makes up the summit of the eroded core of an extinct volcano and is one of the few pinnacles of the surrounding Hellen’s Reef. It is located 301.4 kilometres (187.3 mi), or 162.7 nmi,[7] west of the islands of St. Kilda, Scotland, and 430 kilometres (267.2 mi) [8] north-west of Donegal in Ireland. The surrounding elevated seabed is called Rockall Bank, lying directly south from an area known as the Rockall Plateau. It is separated from the Western Isles by the Rockall Trough, itself located within the Rockall Basin. Anton Dohrn Seamount is a submarine elevation on Rockall Trough about halfway between Rockall and the Outer Hebrides.

Rockall is mapped by the Ordnance Survey, but as it is officially outside the OSGB grid it is usually shown as an inset without gridlines on a mainland sheet.[citation needed]

Rockall is about 25.3 metres (83 ft) wide and 31 metres (102 ft) long at its base[9] and rises sheer to a height of approximately 21.4 metres (70 ft).[10] It is regularly washed over by large storm waves, particularly in winter. There is a small ledge of 3.5 by 1.3 metres (11 by 4 ft), known as "Hall's Ledge", 4 metres (13 ft) from the summit.[11]

The rock's only permanent inhabitants are periwinkles and other marine molluscs. Small numbers of seabirds, mainly fulmars, gannets, kittiwakes, and guillemots, use the rock for resting in summer, and gannets and guillemots occasionally breed successfully if the summer is calm with no storm waves washing over the rock. There is no natural source of fresh water.

Rockall is also close to the Darwin Mounds, deep-water coral mounds about 185 km (100 nmi or 115 mi) north-west of Cape Wrath.

Nearest mainland

  • 430 kilometres (267.2 mi)[8] north-west of Bloody Foreland, Donegal, on the mainland of Ireland.
  • 461.5 kilometres (286.8 mi) from Ardnamurchan Point, the nearest point on the Scottish mainland, and thus of mainland Great Britain.[12]

Nearest islands

Rockall lies:

Geological surveys

1889 illustration of Rockall.[18]

The exact position of Rockall and the size and shape of the Rockall Bank was first charted in 1831 by Captain A.T.E. Vidal, a Royal Navy surveyor.

The first scientific expedition to Rockall was led by Miller Christie in 1896 when the Royal Irish Academy sponsored a study of the flora and fauna.[19] They chartered the Granuaile.[2][20]

The RV Celtic Explorer surveyed the Rockall Bank and North West of Donegal in 2003.[21]

The ILV Granuaile was chartered by the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), on behalf of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (DCMNR), to conduct a seismic survey at the Rockall and Hatton Banks in July 2004.[22] The seismic survey was part of the National Seabed Survey which has been ongoing for four years.[22]

Rockall is made of a type of granite that is relatively rich in sodium and potassium. Within this granite are darker bands richer in the alkali pyroxene mineral aegirine and the alkali amphibole mineral riebeckite. The dark bands are a type of granite that geologists have named "rockallite", although use of this term is now discouraged. In 1975, a new mineral was discovered on Rockall. The mineral is called bazirite, (chemical composition BaZrSi3O9), named after the elements barium and zirconium.[23] Rockall was formed approximately 55 million years ago, when the ancient continent of Laurasia was split apart by plate tectonics. Greenland and Europe separated and the north-east Atlantic Ocean was formed between them.[24]

Disasters

There have been disasters on the neighbouring Hasselwood Rock and Helen's Reef (the latter was not named until 1830).

  • 1686 — a Spanish, French, or Spanish-French ship ran on Rockall. Several men of the crew, Spanish and French, were able to reach St. Kilda in a pinnace and save their lives. Some details of this event were recounted by Martin Martin in his A late voyage to St. Kilda, published in 1698. The ship was perhaps a fishing vessel based in the Bay of Biscay and bound for North Atlantic cod fisheries.
  • 1812 — survey vessel Leonidas foundered on Helen's Reef.
  • 1824 — brigantine Helen of Dundee, bound for Quebec, foundered at Hasselwood Rock; "the crew left most of the passengers to drown, including seven women and six children".
  • 1904 — DFDS steamer SS Norge, 3,318 tons with 727 emigrants and a crew of 68, bound for New York on 28 June 1904; 635 lives were lost with the 163 survivors being taken to Stornoway.[3]

There have also been reports in national newspapers in both Ireland and the United Kingdom that at least two unexploded bombs from World War II lie within a 250-metre radius of Rockall. At present, no attempts have been made to remove them.

Law of the Sea

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states, “Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.” Ireland, Denmark, and Iceland all acceded to the convention. The United Kingdom acceded to the convention on 25 July 1997.

The twenty-fourth session of the Commission to be held in New York from 10 August to 11 September 2009. Iceland,[25] Ireland,[26] and the United Kingdom[27] have made submissions. Denmark will make a submission before 2014.[28]

The United Kingdom and Ireland have agreed to a delineation which ignores Rockall's existence and have granted exploration rights.[29][30] This bilateral agreement is disputed by Iceland and by Denmark.[28]

History and conflicting claims

Irish claims to areas around Rockall

Historically, Ireland's claim to the rock was based on its distance from a mainland[31] (Ireland being nearer to the rock than mainland Great Britain) while Britain's was based on its distance from nearby islands. Rockall is 430 kilometres (267 miles) from Donegal in Ireland.[32] Ireland regards it as merely an uninhabitable rock without any territorial waters and thus irrelevant when determining the boundaries of the exclusive economic zones.[33][34] According to a Written Parliamentary Answer from the Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs on 14 June 1990, an agreement.[29][29] was reached between the British and Irish governments on delimitation of the continental shelf between the two countries and that this included a line of delimitation across the Rockall Plateau.[35] As a result, a very extensive area under Irish jurisdiction, including part of the Rockall Trough and Plateau, is not disputed by the United Kingdom. No further negotiations were taking place in relation to the rock at the time.

More recently, on 11 June 2003, the Irish Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources gave a Written Parliamentary Answer, stating: "Ireland claims an extended continental shelf ... up to more than 500 nautical miles (926 km), particularly in the Hatton–Rockall area".[36]

As the United Nations[37] has no mandate regarding issues of delimitation between neighbouring states and cannot consider an area under dispute without the agreement of all the parties concerned, Ireland has participated in informal discussions with Iceland and the Faroe Islands in an attempt to resolve the dispute before making its submission to the Commission.

Independent Irish politician Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus (b. 1927), a former Lord Mayor of Dublin (1995–1996), has long advocated that Ireland make a territorial claim on Rockall, and enthusiastically supported Greenpeace's occupation. Loftus, who had changed his name by deed poll to "Seán Dublin Bay Loftus" to highlight his campaign for the protection of the environment of Dublin Bay, changed it again, adding "Rockall" to demonstrate his commitment to an Irish claim on the islet.

The United Kingdom's claims

Rockall is within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) claimed by the United Kingdom.[38][39] In 1997, the UK ratified[40] the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and thus relinquished any claim to an extension of its EEZ beyond the islet. The remaining issue is the status of the continental shelf rights of surrounding ocean floor. These are the exclusive rights to exploit any resources on or under the ocean floor (oil, natural gas, etc.) and should not be confused with the EEZ, as continental shelf rights do not carry any privileges with regard to fisheries. Ownership of these rights in the Rockall area are disputed between the United Kingdom, Denmark (for the Faroe Islands), Ireland and Iceland.

The United Kingdom formally annexed Rockall under the Island of Rockall Act 1972.

Lt. Cdr. Scott hoists the Union Flag in 1955

The nearest permanently inhabitable land to Rockall is Hirta, and the nearest actually inhabited land is North Uist, both of which are in the United Kingdom (see above). In 1997 the United Kingdom ratified the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In doing so it relinquished its right to claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nmi (370 km) extending onward from the rock, as the agreement states that "Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf". However, as Rockall lies within 200 nmi (370 km) of both St Kilda and North Uist, the island itself remains within the EEZ of the United Kingdom and, as such, under international law the UK can claim "..the sovereignty of the coastal state in relation to the exploitation, conservation and management of natural and living resources fishery and mineral resources" of the rock itself and an area of territorial waters extending for 12 nmi (22 km) around it. Furthermore, the United Kingdom and Ireland have signed a boundary agreement which includes Rockall in the United Kingdom area.

Rockall, and a large sea area around it, was declared as coming under the jurisdiction of Scots law under the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order (map) in 1999.

Further information: HMS Endymion (1797) and HMS Endymion's landing on Rockall

The earliest recorded landing on the island was on 8 July 1810 when a Royal Navy officer named Basil Hall led a small landing party from the frigate HMS Endymion to the summit. The frigate was taking depth measurements around Rockall when it drifted away in a haze. The expedition made a brief attempt to find the frigate in the haze, but soon gave up and returned to Rockall. After the haze became a fog, the lookout sent to the top of Rockall spotted the ship again, but it turned away from Rockall before the expedition in their boats reached it. Finally, just before sunset, the frigate was again spotted from the top of Rockall, and the expedition was able to get back on board. The crew of the Endymion reported that they had been searching for five or six hours, firing their cannon every ten minutes. Hall related this experience and other adventures in a book entitled Fragment of Voyages and Travels Including Anecdotes of a Naval Life.

The next landing was accomplished by a Mr Johns of HMS Porcupine, whilst the ship was on a mission, from June and August 1862, to make a survey of the sea bed prior to the laying of a transatlantic telegraph cable. Johns managed to gain foothold on the island, but failed to reach the summit.

On 18 September 1955 at precisely 10.16 am, in what would be the final territorial expansion of the British Empire, the island was officially annexed by the UK when Lieutenant-Commander Desmond Scott RN, Sergeant Brian Peel RM, Corporal AA Fraser RM, and James Fisher (a civilian naturalist and former Royal Marine), were deposited on the island by a Royal Navy helicopter from HMS Vidal (coincidentally named after the man who first charted the island). The team cemented in a brass plaque on Hall's Ledge and hoisted the Union Flag to stake the UK's claim.

The inscription on the plaque reads:

"By authority of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and in accordance with Her Majesty's instructions dated the 14th day of September, 1955, a landing was effected this day upon this island of Rockall from HMS Vidal. The Union flag was hoisted and possession of the island was taken in the name of Her Majesty. [Signed] R H Connell, Captain, HMS Vidal, 18 September 1955."

The formal annexation of Rockall was announced by the Admiralty on 21 September 1955. The initial incentive for the annexation of Rockall had little to do with any territorial claim to rights of exploitation of the seas around the island. It was the test firing of the UK's first guided nuclear weapon, the American-made Corporal missile. The missile was to be launched from South Uist and over the North Atlantic. The Ministry of Defence was concerned that the unclaimed island would provide a unique opportunity for the Soviet Union to spy on the test by placing surveillance equipment on the island; and so in April 1955 a request was sent to the Admiralty to seize the island, and declare UK sovereignty lest it become an outpost for foreign observers.

On 10 February 1972 the Island of Rockall Act received Royal Assent to make the island administratively part of the Isle of Harris (St Kilda being administratively part of Harris), in what was then Inverness-shire, fully incorporating it into the United Kingdom. A navigational beacon was later installed on the island and the UK declared that no ship would be allowed within a 50-mile (80 km) radius of the rock. In United Kingdom law, it now falls administratively under the Outer Hebrides.

Former SAS member and survival expert Tom McClean lived on the island from 26 May 1985 to 4 July 1985 to affirm the UK's claim to the island.[41]

Rockall 2011 is an expedition to be undertaken by Nick Hancock in order to raise money for the charity Help for Heroes.[42] The challenge is to land on Rockall and survive solo for 60 days thereby setting a record for the longest occupation of Rockall.

It is proposed that this landing will coincide with the 200th anniversary of the first recorded landing on Rockall, by the Royal Navy in 1811.

Icelandic claims in the area

Iceland does not claim the rock itself, considering it irrelevant as far as delimitation of EEZs and continental shelf is concerned. Iceland however claims an extended continental shelf in the Hatton-Rockall area.

Iceland considers St Kilda to be "a minuscule, effectively uninhabited, islet, categorized under article 121(3) of the Law of the Sea Convention". Furthermore St Kilda lies outside the British territoral sea limit. Therefore it is not an "equitable basepoint for an equidistant line".[43]

Iceland ratified UNCLOS in 1985; it was the first Western country to do so. A regulation was issued by the government in that same year outlining the area where Iceland claimed continental shelf rights for itself; the regulation was based on legislation from 1979 claiming for Iceland the exclusive right to research and exploitation of continental shelf-based resources within the limits of the Icelandic continental shelf. Regarding the Hatton-Rockall area, it claims the area within 60 nautical miles (110 km) from the foot of the continental shelf and assumes that the UK and Ireland cannot claim a continental shelf outside their EEZs. To its fullest extent, this area reaches about 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) to the south from Iceland's coast, which is further south than the United Kingdom's southernmost point.

In 2001, Iceland began working on its submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf; it is scheduled to finish in 2007. The most important aspect of this work is to survey the entire ocean floor in the areas claimed outside the EEZ and, in Iceland's case, a part of the area inside the EEZ as well. In all, 1.3 million square kilometres (500,000 sq mi) have been surveyed by Icelandic marine research institutions for this purpose, an area 13 times larger than the land area of Iceland. The commission does however not make proposals regarding areas that are claimed by two or more states unless they have already reached an agreement on its division. Therefore Iceland's submission is expected to deal only with the area that just Iceland has claimed and not the Hatton-Rockall area. Iceland also hosted an informal meeting of all parties to the dispute in 2001. It was the first such meeting regarding the dispute where all four countries participated.

Danish/Faroese claims in the area

The Faroe Islands are an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. Since 1948 they have had self-government in almost all matters except defence and foreign affairs. Consequently their interests in Rockall are represented by Denmark. On their behalf, Denmark claims continental shelf rights in the Hatton-Rockall area. A communiqué issued by the Prime Minister's Office on 7 May 1985 announced the designation of not only the seabed in the immediate vicinity of the Faroes but also a vast area of the Rockall plateau to the south west. The press release which accompanied the communiqué indicated that the legal basis of this designation was the assumption that "the Faroe Islands are part of the microcontinent" formed by the "Faroes-Rockall Plateau", an "elevated plain with its summit in the Faroe Islands".[44]

"Waveland" and the Greenpeace occupation

In 1997 the environmentalist organisation Greenpeace occupied the islet for a short time,[45] calling it Waveland, to protest against oil exploration under the authority of the British. Greenpeace declared the island to be a “new Global State” (in this case qualifying it as a micronation) called Waveland, and offered citizenship to anyone willing to take their pledge of allegiance. The British Government's response was simply to give them permission to be there, and otherwise ignore them. Indeed, when asked, the Home Office responded that since Rockall was part of the United Kingdom, and since the UK was a free country, Greenpeace were perfectly entitled to be at Rockall.

The project continued until 1999, when the company sponsoring it collapsed and the experiment ended. However a solar-powered beacon was set up on the top of the islet and remains there in order to prevent future shipwrecks. A tablet to the left of the beacon reads:

ROCKALL SOLAR BEACON


Let the sun and wind
do their work,
Leave the oil beneath
the waves.

Greenpeace
July 1999

Negotiations

Ongoing talks have been held over the last five years with the aim of reaching an agreement which will end the dispute over territorial rights to Rockall-Hatton basin.

Reykjavík conference

Representatives from the UK, Ireland, Iceland and Denmark (the last acting on behalf of the Faroe Islands), met in Reykjavík, Iceland in September 2007[46] for negotiations over territorial rights over the continental shelf in the area. The final boundary will be determined by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The parties have until May 2009 to submit reports to the commission, which it will take into account when determining the boundary. The involved nations have the option of submitting separate reports, or a joint one.

Ownership of the rock itself did not form part of the negotiations.[47]

Copenhagen conference

In November 2007 talks were held in Copenhagen. Here a template for a deal was secured by Irish, Danish, British and Icelandic diplomats.

Dublin conference

As a follow-up to Copenhagen, the Government of Ireland will host negotiations. They were due to commence in January 2008, but have been postponed because of elections in the Faroe Islands. The talks are hoped to bring the four nations closer to reaching an agreement over the Rockall-Hatton basin. It is understood a final deal is not likely to be agreed at the Dublin meeting.[48]

The Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern said "There have certainly been protracted talks, but that is not unusual when one considers the complexity of the issue at hand and the competing interests. However, there was some progress made at the last talks in Copenhagen. I believe further progress can be made in Dublin. The deadline is May 2009 so we have time on our hands. It is in the interests of Ireland, UK, Denmark and Iceland to come to a deal on the division of the seabed area. We have come to outline agreements in relation to other parts of our seabed in the Atlantic. There is no reason ultimately why we also can't do a deal on this protracted issue. Finding a deal is a significant challenge but the rewards are there for future generations from all four countries"

References to Rockall in popular culture

  • Ben Fogle made a claim to Rockall by sticking a post-it note onto the rock bearing the words "Property of Ben Fogle" in his book Offshore.
  • It has been suggested that Rockall is the rock which forms the setting for William Golding's novel Pincher Martin.
  • The 1955 British landing, complete with the trappings of hoisting the flag etc., caused a certain amount of popular amusement, with some seeing it as a sort of farcical end to imperial expansion. The satirists Flanders and Swann sang a successful piece entitled "Rockall", playing on the similarity of the word to a then taboo expression.
  • Popular Irish rebel music band, the Wolfe Tones released a track called "Rock on Rockall" that argues against the supposed British ownership of the rock and supports an Irish claim.[49]
  • The Master, a 1957 novel by T. H. White, is set inside Rockall.[50]
  • English post-punk band Gang of Four reference the rock in the 1979 song "Ether" (from the album Entertainment!), in the line "There may be oil ... under Rockall," possibly a reference to the disputed exploitation rights.
  • Icelandic jazz-funk band Mezzoforte in 1983 released a piece of music entitled Rockall.
  • Musty Mind, the parody of Mastermind on the lunchtime radio programme of Noel Edmonds featured a send-up subject, The Cultural and Social History of Rockall.
  • Rockall was the launching site for the prototype "Jet propelled guided NAAFI" in the Goon Show episode of the same name.
  • In Steve Bell's Guardian cartoon, one of the characters —a penguin— annexes and claims Rockall as the "People's Republic of Rockall".
  • William Sarjeant's series of fantasy novels, The Perilous Quest for Lyonesse is set in an imaginary version of Rockall.
  • The cast of I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again claimed to have spent the break between two series of the programme making a "triumphant tour of Rockall".

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Written Answers. - Rockall Island". Dáil debates. Dáil Éireann. 22 May, 1985. Retrieved 26 July 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b Fisher, James (1956). Rockall. London: Geoffrey Bles. pp. 12–13.
  3. ^ a b Keay and Keay (1994) p. 817.
  4. ^ "Sgeir" ceantar.org. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  5. ^ "Rocail" ceantar.org. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  6. ^ Martin, Martin (1703)
  7. ^ a b Gob a' Ghaill, Soay, St Kilda approximately Mean Low Water Springs/Mean High Water Springs ETRS89/WGS84 57°49’40.8”N 8°38’59.7”W, grid reference NA 05518,01471. Distance to Rockall approximately 301.370km (187.263mi) (162.728nmi). To determine the coordinates of the most likely closest points, I used Memory-Map 1:25,000. Measured the distances by using the Geoscience Australia website; to determine which of the points is the most probable closest point. Did the same for Hirta and North Uist. Checking these grid references on O.S 1:25 000 Explorer 454 and 460 paper maps, will confirm the accuracy of the grid references. O.S Coordinate transformer will confirm the accuracy of the latitudes-longitudes. Regarding the distances stated. They are based on the assumption, that the coordinates for Rockall in this article are correct.
  8. ^ a b Method: With the Ordnance Survey Ireland, Discovery, Donegal, 1, 1:50 000, 3rd Edition, 2005 map. Used a ruler to measure grid references, at the most likely closest points. Imputed the grid references into Ordnance Survey Ireland's Co-ordinate converter, to obtain the latitudes and longitudes. Then used the Geoscience Australia website, to determine which of the points is closest. Rinardalliff Point, Bloody Foreland, Low Water Mark, approximately grid reference B 81037,33888 = ETRS89 55°9’6.52”N 8°17’53.472”W. Distance to Rockall approximately 429.948km (267.157mi). With my GPS and Google Earth, I determined that Bloody Foreland is the closest part of mainland Ireland to Rockall. Having checked the coast down to Mayo. My GPS displays FL.W.G.7.5s Lighted Navaid at WGS84 55.15832°N 8.28335°W (55°9’29.952”N 8°17’0.06”W), on Bloody Foreland. This is possibly the Light Beacon shown on the map. Distance to Rockall approximately 430.178km (267.300mi). However, the coordinates seem to be about 60 metres from Light Beacon shown on the map. Tory Island closest point, approximately grid reference B 84093,47575 = ETRS89 55°16’29.486”N 8°15’3.684”W. Distance to Rockall approximately 423.296km (263.024mi).
  9. ^ MacDonald, Fraser (2006) 'The last outpost of Empire: Rockall and the Cold War", (pdf) Journal of Historical Geography, 32 627-647. University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
  10. ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 314.
  11. ^ "About Rockall" Rockall2011.com. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
  12. ^ Point of Ardnamurchan. Ordnance Survey grid reference "141499.7,767502.0". O.S Coordinate transformer = ETRS89 56°43’38.34029”N 6°13’38.78674”W. Distance to Rockall approximately 461.468km (286.743mi)
  13. ^ An Campar, Hirta, St Kilda approximately Mean Low Water Springs / Mean High Water Springs ETRS89/WGS84 57°49’30.4”N 8°37’3.6”W, grid reference NA 07396,00962. Distance to Rockall approximately 303.269km (188.443mi) (163.752nmi).
  14. ^ Maclean (1977) page 142.
  15. ^ "Advice for visitors" (2004) National Trust for Scotland. Retrieved 18 March 2007.
  16. ^ Aird an Runair, North Uist approximately Mean High Water Springs ETRS89 57°36’10.42010”N 7°32’56.63226”W, grid reference NF 68686,70560. Distance to Rockall approximately 366.966km (228.022mi) (198.146nmi). Mean Low Water Springs approximately ETRS89 57°36’6.69076”N 7°32’58.17475”W, grid reference NF 68651,70447. Distance to Rockall approximately 366.946km (228.010mi) (198.135nmi).
  17. ^ Hogha Gearraidh / Hougharry centre approximately ETRS89/WGS84 57°36’33”N 7°31’7”W, grid reference NF 70559,71108. Distance to Rockall approximately 368.755km (229.134mi) (199.112nmi).
  18. ^ Harvie-Brown et al (1889) Facing p. LXXXI.
  19. ^ "Brochure" (PDF). The Royal Irish Academy. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  20. ^ John Hamilton (1999/2000). "Granuaile — Not the Irish Lights tender..." BEAM Magazine. 28. Retrieved 2007-08-01. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Irish National Seabed Survey". 2004. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  22. ^ a b Dermot Gray (2004/2005). "Granuaile carries out seismic survey at Rockall" (PDF). Beam. 33. Irish Lighthouse Service: 14–16. Retrieved 2007-08-01. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Minerals of Scotland by Alec Livingstone, 2002, National Museums of Scotland
  24. ^ Igneous Rocks of the British Isles edited by D.S. Sutherland, 1982, Wiley
  25. ^ "The Icelandic Continental Shelf" (pdf). Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  26. ^ "Hatton-Rockall Area Continental Shelf Submission of Ireland" (PDF). Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  27. ^ "Submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf" (PDF). Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  28. ^ a b "Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations" (PDF). Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  29. ^ a b c "Agreement concerning the delimitation of areas of the continental shelf between the two countries" (PDF). United Nations. 7 November 1988. Retrieved 26 November 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "treaty" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  30. ^ Protocol Supplementary to the Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom concerning the Delimitation of Areas of the Continental Shelf between the two Countries (7 November 1988)8 December 1992
  31. ^ Symmons (1993), p. 35. "As a matter of international law fall within Irish jurisdiction" and "which are closer to the Irish than the British coast"
  32. ^ "The significant fact is that the island is 300 miles (480 km) west of Scotland and 250 miles (400 km) north-west of the coast of Donegal." [1]
  33. ^ The law of the sea: the European Union and its member states By Tullio Treves, Laura Pineschi
  34. ^ Dáil Éireann - Volume 384 - 29 November, 1988 Continental Shelf Delimitation Agreement between Ireland and Britain: Motion.
  35. ^ "Written Answers — Rockall Ownership". Dáil Éireann. 399. 14 June 1990. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  36. ^ "Written Answers — Exploration Rights". Dáil Éireann. 568. 11 June 2003. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  37. ^ "Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf". Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  38. ^ EEZ of the UK
  39. ^ EEZ of Ireland
  40. ^ Statutory Instrument 1997 No. 1750 - The Fishery Limits Order 1997
  41. ^ "Written Answers — Rockall Island". Dáil Éireann. 358. 22 May 1985. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  42. ^ http://www.rockall2011.com/Rockall_2011_Home_Page.html
  43. ^ Symmons, Clive Ralph (2000). Ireland and the Law of the Sea. Dublin: Round Hall Sweet & Maxwell. p. 236 & 397. ISBN 1858001684.
  44. ^ Symmons, Clive R (1986). "The Rockall Dispute Deepens: An Analysis of Recent Danish and Icelandic Actions". International & Comparative Law Quarterly. 35 (2). Retrieved 2009-03-05. Published online by Cambridge University Press 17 Jan 2008 {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  45. ^ SchNews issue 131, Justice?, Brighton, 22 August 1997; see also SchNEWS Annual, Justice?, Brighton, 1998, ISBN 0-9529748-1-9
  46. ^ "Parliamentary Debates". Written Answers. - UN Conventions. Dáil Éireann. 23 October, 2007. Retrieved 2009-09-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  47. ^ Ross, John (2007-09-27). "Why a barren rock in the Atlantic is the focus of an international battle of wills". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  48. ^ "Government to host Rockall talks". RTÉ News. 2007-12-29. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  49. ^ "Rock On Rockall". Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  50. ^ White, T. H., The Master: An Adventure Story (1957) J. Moulder and M. Schaefer. Retrieved 28 March 2008.

References

  • Harvie-Brown, J. A. & Buckley, T. E. (1889) A Vertebrate Fauna of the Outer Hebrides. Edinburgh. David Douglas.
  • Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate ISBN 1841954543
  • Keay, J., and Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins ISBN 0002550822
  • Maclean, Charles (1977) Island on the Edge of the World: the Story of St. Kilda, Edinburgh, Canongate ISBN 0903937417
  • Martin, Martin (1703) "A Voyage to St. Kilda" in A Description of The Western Islands of Scotland. Appin Regiment/Appin Historical Society. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  • Symmons, Clive Ralph (1993). Ireland and the law of the sea. Blackrock: Round Hall Press. ISBN 185800022X.
  • Symmons, Clive Ralph (1978). The maritime zones of islands in international law. The Hague ; Boston: M. Nijhoff. ISBN 9024721717 9789024721719. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)

Other sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rockall.

External links

57°35′48″N 13°41′19″W / 57.59667°N 13.68861°W / 57.59667; -13.68861

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