Britain fighting for ‘the rock5 and its fish and oil

Press, 12 March 1985, Page 19

Britain fighting for ‘the rock 5 and its fish and oil

The rest of the world took little more than amused notice when the Royal Marines hoisted the Union Jack on the tiny island of Rockall 30 years ago. Now, the remote rock is the centre of a fierce wrangle involving Britain, Ireland, Iceland, and Denmark. JOSEPH MARSHALL of Features International reports.

At first sight, it’s hardly the most desirable residence on the property market — a bare piece of rock in a cold, unfriendly climate. There is no electricity, no telephone, and the nearest neighbours are 368 km away. The only running water is the Altantic Ocean, which lashes against it all year round. Yet, this is the prime piece of real-estate on which four countries are battling to build a fortune. Just 30 years after Britain laid claim to it, Rockall — a hunk of granite, only 19.8 metres high and 33.5 metres in diameter — is suddenly at the centre of a fierce wrangle over sovereignty, fishing, and mineral rights. For centuries, Rockall has been nothing more than a resting place for seabirds and a navigational hazard for ships venturing into the vast expanse of ocean between Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland. The rest of the world registered only mild amusement when Royal Marines made a risky and apparently pointless landing on the rock in 1955, to hoist the Union Jack and claim for it Britain ... but that was before anybody had heard of

oil crises, drilling rigs, and the exploitation of resources below the sea bed. Today, Rockall is second in importance only to Antarctica as an untapped — and disputed — source of mineral wealth. American experts say it lies at the heart of a potentially massive oilfield. Britain, Ireland, Iceland — and Denmark — ail want to cash in. The British claim is based on the 1955 landing, and the fact that the country’s deep-water trawler fleet used to fish the area around Rockall extensively in the 1950 s and early 19605. Last summer, Britain sent a Royal Navy fisheries-protection vessel to the rock to replace the now-tattered Union Jack and clear away debris which had accumulated on the brass plaque installed by the Marines. While it was there, the Vigilant turned away an Irish trawler from Killybegs in Co. Donegal and ordered her skipper not to come within six miles of Rockall. British trawler skippers are being encouraged to go more frequently to Rockall, partly because

of the excellent catches of haddock reported there, but also to reinforce their country’s claim to the rock. All this goes down badly in Ireland, where Rockall has become an emotive issue. The man who represents north-east Donegal in the Dail (Irish Parliament), Paddy Harte, claims that Rockall is Irish territory and, as such, is in his constituency. “The European Law of the Sea Conference does not recognise it as an island, only as a rock, and therefore not something over which any nation can claim sovereignty,” he says. “It is surrounded by thousands of square miles of unpolluted fishing grounds and large, untapped reserves of oil and natural gas. We should go out and put the Irish flag on it.” An attempt to do just that ended in tragedy last year, when a retired trawlerman, heading for Rockall to plant the Irish Tricolour, was swept overboard and lost in heavy seas. Throughout Ireland, passions run high about the rock. One Dublin

barrister has even changed his name by deed poll to Sean RockallLoftus. “I’ll be damned if I’ll let the British get away with this,” he says. Particularly angry are the fishermen of Killybegs, who are converting their trawlers to take advantage of an expected boom season in the Rockall fishing grounds this year. Their spokesman, Frank Gallacher says: “Our lads are livid. They fail to see how any country can lay claim to a lump of rock in the middle of the ocean. “Britain might just as well say she owns Everest because she was the first to put a flag on top?

Staying aloof from the angry exchanges is Denmark, which says quite simply that Rockall is Danish because it is nearest to the Faroe Islands, and part of the same underwater ridge. Seabed geography also plays a part in Iceland’s claim. It sits on the same plateau, the Hatton Bank, and says Rockall belongs to Reykjavik, because of “natural prolongation.” Even so, Iceland is not trying to dismiss altogether the claims of the other three countries. Instead, it is seeking a four-power agreement on Rockall which would be acceptable to the United Nations.

Iceland’s United Nations ambassador recently visited the capitals of the other three interested nations, spelling out the proposals. They contained a veiled threat: if agreement could not be reached, Iceland would go to the United Nations Seabed Committee to ask for a ruling. This might invite other claims, from the United States or Scandinavia, possibly even from the Soviet Union.

Ireland apparently gave the Iceland ambassador a dusty answer, and Rockall-fever is growing there. A postcard of the rock, claiming it for Ireland, is now widely on sale. Several of the cards have been sent to Mrs Thatcher at No. 10, Downing Street. London appears unshaken. A Whitehall spokesman says: “Sovereignty is no longer disputed between governments. We believe we have a valid claim on the area known as the Rockall plateau.”