Rock on Rockall......

Discussion about miscellaneous topics not covered by other forums
macliam
Posts: 11221
Joined: Thu Jul 18 2013 12:26pm
Location: By the Deben, Suffolk
Has thanked: 1629 times
Been thanked: 9277 times
Contact:

Rock on Rockall......

Post by macliam » Sat Jun 08 2019 6:25pm

Scotland have warned Irish fishermen that enforcement action will be taken if they venture within 12nm of the stump. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48566832. This seems a very odd time for the Scots to annoy their neighbour and unlikely to help them in any future negotiations with the EU.

Britain "annexed" Rockall in 1955 - but it's ownership is not recognised by other claimants, Ireland, Denmark and Iceland....... so sabre-rattling based on "clear ownership" is a bit OTT as "claiming ownership" is not the same as having it. Back then, it was thought that ownership of this stump of extinct volcano would enable the UK to claim mineral rights to a big swathe of the North Atlantic and extend its Economic Exclusion Zone. But then, in 1982, the UK ratified the UN convention on the law of the sea (Unclos), which states that: “Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.” Whoops...... https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politic ... -1.3919668

It'll be interesting to see whether the Scottish government are really prepared to pursue this, in order to lay claim to a few fish...... :shifty:
Thanked by: blythburgh
Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get me

Constantine
Posts: 669
Joined: Fri Jul 02 2010 1:04pm
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 363 times
Contact:

Re: Rock on Rockall......

Post by Constantine » Sat Jun 08 2019 10:54pm

Interesting.

Ireland has a navy. Granted it's a small navy, but it does have ships with guns.

Scotland has three 'Marine Protection Vessels'. They don't appear to have any guns.

My money's on Ireland. :)
Thanked by: blythburgh

macliam
Posts: 11221
Joined: Thu Jul 18 2013 12:26pm
Location: By the Deben, Suffolk
Has thanked: 1629 times
Been thanked: 9277 times
Contact:

Re: Rock on Rockall......

Post by macliam » Sat Jun 08 2019 11:59pm

Hmmmm.... shake in yer boots! The Naval Defence Forces carry a single 76mm and twin 20mm cannon at best.

LÉ Eithne (1984), the flagship and a helicopter patrol boat with no helicopter (see, it's not only the UK that can have useless ships!!), is getting a bit long in the tooth
LÉ Ciara and LÉ Orla are ex-RN 1980s corvettes,
LÉ Niamh and LÉ Róisín are offshore patrol vessels from the 1990s,
But LÉ Samuel Beckett, LÉ James Joyce, LÉ William Butler Yeats and LÉ George Bernard Shaw are all pretty new (2015-2019).......

Given the current state of the Royal Navy, I guess they're in with a chance!
Thanked by: blythburgh
Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get me

Constantine
Posts: 669
Joined: Fri Jul 02 2010 1:04pm
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 363 times
Contact:

Re: Rock on Rockall......

Post by Constantine » Sun Jun 09 2019 6:13pm

macliam wrote:
Sat Jun 08 2019 11:59pm
,....

Given the current state of the Royal Navy, I guess they're in with a chance!
The Royal Navy doesn't take orders from Holyrood. :)

No indication of what the UK government think of all this, Perhaps they have actually read the Common Fisheries Policy?

https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/fish ... -waters_en

I have no idea whether the 12 mile temporary exceptions applies in EU terms.
Thanked by: blythburgh

macliam
Posts: 11221
Joined: Thu Jul 18 2013 12:26pm
Location: By the Deben, Suffolk
Has thanked: 1629 times
Been thanked: 9277 times
Contact:

Re: Rock on Rockall......

Post by macliam » Sun Jun 09 2019 6:26pm

The Irish government has stated that they have never accepted the claim to Rockall but chose not to challenge it after the UN ruling and since membership of the EU made it unnecessary. They have warned Irish fishermen about Scotland's proposed action, but seem to be playing down the matter as far as possible. When, or if, any enforcement action is taken this may change, as the Scots seem to think that the Irish boats would accept being boarded - but that's not a given. Bring popcorn.

Simon Coveney, the Irish Tánaiste and Minister for foreign affairs and trade has said today he is prepared to take the Rockall question before the EU or UN. Since the UK has never pressed its claim to the fisheries, it may not thank Scotland for this..... especially at such a "delicate" time.
Thanked by: blythburgh
Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get me

kevinchess1
Posts: 23770
Joined: Mon Jun 28 2010 11:02pm
Location: Miles away from the sea
Has thanked: 12599 times
Been thanked: 17167 times
Contact:

Re: Rock on Rockall......

Post by kevinchess1 » Sun Jun 09 2019 7:11pm

Scotty seems to be on thin ice here.
Any attempt to illegally board Irish boats could be deemed an act of piracy and dealt with accordingly
Bring popcorn
Thanked by: blythburgh
Politically incorrect since 69

macliam
Posts: 11221
Joined: Thu Jul 18 2013 12:26pm
Location: By the Deben, Suffolk
Has thanked: 1629 times
Been thanked: 9277 times
Contact:

Re: Rock on Rockall......

Post by macliam » Sun Jun 09 2019 8:04pm

kevinchess1 wrote:
Sun Jun 09 2019 7:11pm
Scotty seems to be on thin ice here.
Any attempt to illegally board Irish boats could be deemed an act of piracy and dealt with accordingly
Bring popcorn
Yeah, I didn't want to mention the "P" word...... ;)

I'm watching you, bhoy! :mrgreen:
IrishNavy.gif
IrishNavy.gif (54.8 KiB) Viewed 2086 times
Thanked by: blythburgh, kevinchess1
Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get me

BeautifulSunshine
Posts: 26721
Joined: Tue Sep 14 2010 8:23pm
Location: [The Finest City in the World: London]
Has thanked: 192 times
Been thanked: 3686 times
Contact:

Re: Rock on Rockall......

Post by BeautifulSunshine » Mon Jun 10 2019 7:15am

Constantine wrote:
Sat Jun 08 2019 10:54pm
Interesting.

Ireland has a navy. Granted it's a small navy, but it does have ships with guns.

Scotland has three 'Marine Protection Vessels'. They don't appear to have any guns.

My money's on Ireland. :)
My money's on Scotland. :)

Never underestimate what the Scots can do.
[imutual Cashback Investment Club]

macliam
Posts: 11221
Joined: Thu Jul 18 2013 12:26pm
Location: By the Deben, Suffolk
Has thanked: 1629 times
Been thanked: 9277 times
Contact:

Re: Rock on Rockall......

Post by macliam » Mon Jun 10 2019 9:44am

AAAlphaThunder wrote:
Mon Jun 10 2019 7:15am
Constantine wrote:
Sat Jun 08 2019 10:54pm
Interesting.

Ireland has a navy. Granted it's a small navy, but it does have ships with guns.

Scotland has three 'Marine Protection Vessels'. They don't appear to have any guns.

My money's on Ireland. :)
My money's on Scotland. :)

Never underestimate what the Scots can do.
I'm not sure that foreign policy is a devolved matter, so apart from whingeing it's hard to see what they can do. The claim to Rockall is based on a 1955 UK landing....... but this claim is disputed and has never been established in international law..... so, it's sabre-rattling by a government that has no sabre!

I love the way action is supoported "under UK law....." - because that's rather the point, UK law doesn't apply. ;)
Thanked by: blythburgh
Just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get me

blythburgh
Posts: 17728
Joined: Tue Jun 29 2010 7:14pm
Location: The Far East
Has thanked: 34993 times
Been thanked: 6104 times
Contact:

Re: Rock on Rockall......

Post by blythburgh » Mon Jun 10 2019 10:55am

But it shows we will not take any nonsense from Johnny Foreigner, especially those in EU
Thanked by: macliam
Keep smiling because the light at the end of someone's tunnel may be you, Ron Cheneler

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 4 guests