| Disputed islands | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
  Serranilla Bank (Colombia)
|
|
| Location | Caribbean Sea |
| Coordinates | 15°50′N 79°50′W / 15.833°N 79.833°WCoordinates: 15°50′N 79°50′W / 15.833°N 79.833°W [1] |
| Total islands | 4 |
| Major islands | Beacon Cay |
| Administered by | |
 Colombia |
|
| Department | San Andrés and Providencia |
| Claimed by | |
 Nicaragua |
|
 United States |
|
| Territory | unorganized, unincorporated |
| Demographics | |
| Population | |
Serranilla Bank (Spanish: Isla Serranilla or Banco Serranilla) is a partially-submerged reef, with small uninhabited islets, in the western Caribbean Sea. It is situated about 350 kilometres (217 miles) northeast of Punta Gorda, Nicaragua, and roughly 280 kilometres (170 miles) southeast of Jamaica.[1] The closest neighbouring land feature is Bajo Nuevo Bank, located 110 km to the east.
Serranilla Bank was first shown on Spanish maps in 1510. It is administered by Colombia as part of the department of San Andrés and Providencia.[2][3]
Contents |
Geography
Serranilla Bank is a former atoll, now a mostly submerged carbonate platform consisting of shallow reef environments. It is about 40 km in length and 32 km in width, covering an area of over 1200 km2, almost entirely under water. Several very small cays emerge above the water to form the bank's islands. These are West Breaker, Middle Cay, East Cay and Beacon Cay.[4] They are largely barren, with sparse vegetation of bushes and some trees. Most of the reef is drying and many sunken shipwrecks are located in its vicinity.[5]
Beacon Cay is the largest islet in the Bank. It is overbuilt small military facilities. There is a lighthouse on a coral ledge in the southwest approach to the bank. It is a 33 m (108 ft) tall skeletal tower (built atop a 3-storey crew residence). The lamp emits a focal plane beam of light as two white flashes every 20 seconds. The lighthouse is inhabited and active today and has been in operation since 1977.[6] It is currently operated by the Colombian Navy.[4][7]
Territorial Dispute
Serranilla is the subject of conflicting claims made by a number of sovereign states. In most cases, the dispute stems from attempts by a state to expand its exclusive economic zone over the surrounding seas.
Between 1982 and 1986, Colombia maintained a formal agreement with Jamaica which granted regulated fishing rights to Jamaican vessels within the territorial waters of Bajo Nuevo and nearby Serranilla Bank.[8] In 1993, the two states agreed upon a maritime delimitation treaty establishing a "Joint Regime Area" to co-operatively manage, explore and exploit living and non-living resources in designated waters between the two banks.[9] However, the territorial waters immediately surrounding the cays themselves were excluded from the zone of joint-control.[10]
Nicaragua lays claim to all the islands on its continental shelf,[11] covering an area of over 50,000 km2 in the Caribbean Sea, including the Serranilla Bank and all islands associated with the San Andrés and Providencia archipelagoes. It has persistently pursued this claim against Colombia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), filing cases in both 2001 and 2007.[12][13]
The United States claim was made in the 19th century under the Guano Islands Act.[14] Most of the guano islands claimed by the U.S. in the area of San Andrés and Providencia were officially ceded to Colombia in September 1972,[15] but it is unclear whether Serranilla Bank was included in the agreement. On some records, it is stated that the U.S. considers the reef to be an unorganized, unincorporated United States territory.[14][16] According to other records, as well as claims made within the ICJ, Colombia is recognised by the United States as having sovereignty over Serranilla Bank through the treaty of 1972, which took effect in September 1981.[11][17]
Honduras, prior to its ratification of a maritime boundary treaty with Colombia on 20 December 1999,[18] had previously also laid claim to Serranilla and nearby Bajo Nuevo Bank. Both states agreed upon a maritime demarcation in 1986 that excluded Honduras of any control over the banks or their surrounding waters.[3][19] This bilateral agreement ensured that Honduras implicitly recognises Colombia's sovereignty over the disputed territories. The move proved to be controversial within Honduras[20] because Serranilla Bank was proclaimed to be Honduran in Article 10 of its Constitution.[21] Nicaragua, which has not resolved its maritime borders with Honduras or Colombia, disputed Honduras' legal right to hand over these areas before the ICJ.[11][22]
See also
References
- ^ a b Sailing Directions (Enroute), Caribbean Sea, II (7th ed.), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, 2001, http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/pollux/pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/pub148/148sec05.pdf, p. 95
- ^ (Spanish) Armada de la República de Colombia: Forces and Commands — area is under the jurisdiction of Comando Específico de San Andrés y Providencia.
- ^ a b "Mapa Oficial Fronteras Terrestriales y Maritima Convenciones". Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi. http://ssiglapp.igac.gov.co/ssigl/mapas_de_colombia/galeria/IGAC/Oficial_F2004.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-25. An official map of Colombian borders, with treaty dates.
- ^ a b Sanandresislas — description and photographs of Serranilla Bank.
- ^ Shipwrecks in the Americas, Robert F. Marx. New York (1987), p414-17. ISBN 978-0486255149.
- ^ University of North Carolina: Lighthouses of Colombia — Serranilla (with picture) and Bajo Nuevo Bank are still claimed by the U.S.
- ^ (Spanish) "Contract No. 153". Colombian Government, Ministerio de Defensa Nacional. February 2008. http://www.contratos.gov.co/archivospuc1/2008/C/115001007/08-11-78323/C_PROCESO_08-11-78323_115001007_755461.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-23. Contract detail between Colombian Defense Ministry and private contractor, Tecnosoluciones Ltda, for the replacement of various metal lighthouse structures, including on Serranilla Bank.
- ^ "Fishing Agreement Between Jamaica and the Republic of Colombia". United Nations. November 1982. http://untreaty.un.org/unts/60001_120000/10/4/00018176.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-20. Fishing agreement which permits regulated fishing rights to Jamaican vessels around Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Banks.
- ^ Colombia Jamaica Joint Regime Treaty
- ^ (Spanish) "Sentencia No. C-045/94". Government of Colombia, Secretaría del Senado. February 1994. http://www.secretariasenado.gov.co/senado/basedoc/cc_sc_nf/1994/c-045_1994.html. Retrieved 2009-11-22. Review of the 1993 Maritime Delimitation Treaty between Colombia and Jamaica.
- ^ a b c The Republic of Nicaragua v. The Republic of Colombia, CCJ Case File
- ^ (Spanish) El Espectador: Colombia could lose territory, despite the Hague failure
- ^ "Territorial and Maritime Dispute". International Court of Justice. December 2007. http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/124/14305.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-17. Nicaragua v. Colombia, Preliminary Objections.
- ^ a b "Acquisition Process of Insular Areas". United States Government, Department of the Interior. http://www.doi.gov/oia/Islandpages/acquisition_process.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-13. Lists Serranilla Bank as an insular area under U.S. sovereignty.
- ^ (Spanish) Treaty of exchange between Colombia and the United States, 1972
- ^ "Application of the U.S. Constitution". United States Government, General Accounting Office. November 1997. http://www.gao.gov/archive/1998/og98005.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-13. Page 39 states that U.S. sovereignty over Serranilla Bank is disputed. "Currently, the United States conducts maritime law enforcement operations in and around Serranilla Bank and Bajo Nuevo consistent with U.S. sovereignty claims." This is the only archived document from this source that mentions Serranilla Bank as an insular area.
- ^ "Revisions to the Table of Frequency Allocations". United States Government, Federal Communications Commission. http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Orders/1999/da992743.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-13. States on page 3 that Serranilla Bank is no longer under U.S. jurisdiction; transferred to Colombia effective September 1981.
- ^ (Spanish) Affirmation of Maritime Delimitation Treaty between Honduras and Colombia, 1999
- ^ (Spanish) Treaty between Colombia and Honduras, 1986
- ^ "Key Elements of the Honduras-Nicaragua Territorial Conflict". Zamora, Augusto; Central American University. January 2000. http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/1397. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
- ^ (Spanish) Republic of Honduras: Political Constitution of 1982 through 2005 reforms
- ^ Nicaragua-Honduras Territorial Dispute De Mar, Rebecca. American University, June 2002.
Sources & External links
- Statoids — states Serrana Bank and Serranilla Bank transferred from United States to Colombia.
- Oceandots — aerial image of Serranilla Bank.
- WorldStatesmen.org — lists the bank under the United States.
- Panoramio — photos of the islands here and here.
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