Spain and Morocco to monitor Gibraltar Strait traffic; UK side-lined
Britain has been side-lined from a proposal to change the mandatory reporting system for ships sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar, despite its jurisdiction over Gibraltar and the surrounding waters, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) gave preliminary approval to the joint initiative by Spain and Morocco and delegates from over 50 countries - including the UK itself - agreed that the changes would help improve navigational safety in this area.
But for British officials there was one important problem with the plan: it was drafted without their input. In effect, Spain and Morocco failed to acknowledge Britain’s voice in maritime issues affecting this region.
Although the focus of the proposal is purely technical, there are underlying political issues at stake. The Gibraltar Government, which had raised concerns with the UK about this proposal, is keeping a close eye on developments at the IMO, the United Nations’ maritime body.
“Our status as a geographically interested, regional player has got to be acknowledged,” said Chief Minister Peter Caruana in an interview late July.
“The IMO, which is the international community for shipping and navigation purposes, shouldn’t get to think of the Strait of Gibraltar as being a place where there are only two jurisdictions.”
“There are three jurisdictions and it’s important for that reason.”
At a meeting last July, British officials told delegates at the IMO’s Subcommittee on Safety of Navigation that Britain should have been consulted while the proposal was being drafted.
They said there had been “no effective cooperation” between the three governments which each had “a common interest” in this area, according to the official record of the meeting.
The UK asked Spain and Morocco to withdraw the proposal and draft a revised, “fully collaborative” version with British input. But Spanish officials countered that the UK had had seven weeks to comment on the proposal prior to the meeting and had not done so, choosing instead to flag its concerns at the final plenary session.
They said the subcommittee’s remit was purely technical and that in this respect, the proposal was sound.
The subcommittee agreed and approved the scheme as presented by Spain and Morocco, noting the UK’s reservations.
It will now be rubber-stamped at a full meeting of the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee next year, though changes are possible between now and then.
“We hope to have our concerns properly reflected in the text,” one British official told the Gibraltar Chronicle.
The proposal – as approved by the IMO – will change the current system in place and should be implemented by the end of next year.
At present, all ships sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar are obliged to report to a vessel monitoring station in Tarifa. Once the new system is in place, however, all ships sailing into the Mediterranean will report to a new vessel monitoring station in Tangier, while all outbound ships will continue reporting to Tarifa.
In practice, it means Spain and Morocco will share the task of monitoring shipping through the Strait. The traffic separation scheme – which creates lanes for east and westbound ships to avoid collisions - will remain unchanged.
Suggested Stories
-
Feb 07th 2012
Britain steps up its claim to the Falkland Islands
-
Feb 07th 2012
Malvinas dispute anticipates visits of Cristina Fernandez and Hague to Chile
-
Feb 06th 2012
Portsmouth prepares to receive the Royal Navy’s biggest warships ever
-
Feb 06th 2012
Chavez supports Russia/China veto on UN Syrian resolution as “very positive”
36 comments Feed
Note: Comments do not reflect MercoPress’ opinions. They are the personal view of our users. We wish to keep this as open and unregulated as possible. However, rude or foul language, discriminative comments (based on ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation or the sort), spamming or any other offensive or inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated. Please report any inadequate posts to the editor. Comments must be in English. Thank you.
free falklands!!
The Falklands are free, the oppressive Argentine military regime was kicked out on June 14 1982.
as a chilean living in the falklands & in the mailand I can tell that there is no freedom in the falklands. the only freedom you have here is to drink & drink & drink.
free falklands!!
freedom means no more conflict, means negotiation & a solution.
free falklands!!!
No one is making you stay there.
in falklands there are no political parties, there is no political discussion, there is no independent media; democracy is a lie in falklands, always the same summers & co. Alternative thinking is forbiden in falklands; but this, sooner than later, will change. More & more people are begining to think that this status quo is dead.
Free falklands!!!!
Alternative thinking is not forbidden, its a democracy. No independent media - errr what website are you on?
Love it, you chose to come and work in the Falklands for economic benefit, equally if you don't like it you can exercise your democratic freedoms and leave.
look at table 12 please.
www.falklands.gov.fk//documents/Census Report 2006.pdf
jajajjaja...democracy??? what´s that in falklands??
about alternative thinking... anywhere when people feel scared about thinking in a different way of the stablished power you can say that alternative thinking is forbiden....but don´t worry, this is changing.
yes, I can leave anytime; but this will not change the situation in falklands.
PD: Mercopress is not a falklands´s media.
“”Alternative thinking is not forbidden, its a democracy. No independent media - errr what website are you on?“”
Do you realize that mercopress claims to be a news agency based on Montevideo, Uruguay?.
So Justin, how is that a news agency based on Uruguay become part of the falklands independent media?.
Do they had to be exiled to Uruguay to become that independent?.
You make no sense at all.
The first action of any nation that doesn't like free speech is to censor the Internet, aside from the fact that Mercopress reports on Falklands issues, utterly independently. Its location is immaterial.
Scraping the barrel are we?
Billy,
Looked at your table, do you have a point? Funny that a democratic Government openly publishing census stats. Kind of undermines your point. And if the people living there don't like their government, they can vote them out. Nothing to stop them.
The situation in the Falklands is one of the choice of the people living there. So whats your solution, imposing an Argentine Government they don't want. Mmm, very democratic.
I´ve never talk about argentina, I´ve only talk about UK and their colonial link with falklands.
funny is the fact that you talk about democracy when less than 20% of the population can vote...funny democracy.
Do you realize Justin that if mercopress is Uruguayan, it means it is not falklander? ergo it is not a falkland media?. At least that Montevideo, Uruguay belongs to the territory of the empire of the falkland islands.
Luis,
So at what point did I claim Mercopress was a Falklands Media? I said independent media, Mercopress is merely an example of a independent media reporting on Falklands issues. Ergo you're full of it and ergo as always you attempt to distort what people say, merely to have a cheap shot. But as always fall flat on your face.
When Billy said:
“”in falklands there are no political parties, there is no political discussion, there is no independent media...“”
You said:
“”Alternative thinking is not forbidden, its a democracy. No independent media - errr what website are you on?“”
Is not a big deal, you made a mistake, dont hide it, you will look dummy.
a) Mercopress is independent
b) It reports on Falklands matters
Nationality is immaterial.
I said no such thing, to be honest you're simply being a dumb ass.
penguin news; finn & sartma etc are falklands media; they are not independent; they are tools of the colonial stablishment.
About The Newspaper
Penguin News was founded in October 1979 by islander Graham Bound. The first edition was an A5-sized black and white publication, a far cry from today’s A4 paper which is usually 24 pages long with plenty of colour. Originally launched as a monthly publication, Penguin News is now published weekly each Friday and is the Falkland Islands ’ only newspaper.
In 1989 the paper began to receive a subsidy from the Falkland Islands Government, and the Media Trust was formed by Ordinance to ensure independence from Government and/or other influential parties in the Falklands . Today the paper is once again financially independent, and the role of the Media Trust is similar to that of Directors of a company with most responsibilities delegated to the Managing Editor on a day to day basis.
-------
Didn't take too long to find that did it. The briefest of searches shows your allegations to be untrue.
jajajajajajajaja....and what do you expect the penguin to say??
freeeeeeeeedom for the falklands!!!!!
I know you. In stanley I meet a lot of british like you, I call them nostalgic nazionalists.
you talk about kelpers but don´t care a damm about them; kelpers are an excuse for people like you. what you only want to defend here are the last remains of a dying empire.
keep walking kuntz
UK go home & freedom for the falklands!!
And for Billy, the Chilean without “freedom” in the Falklands, if you make the effort and integrate and become naturalised, you will have a voice, can vote, you can even stand for council. If you don't want to do that, why not exercise your freedom to go back to Chile?
No one talks of Empire anymore, the British Empire is long gone. The situation in the Falklands has nothing to do with it.
I love british democracy.
Yea, I will make the effort, in falklandsutopia a non british with anticolonial thoughts can be a councellor...jejejeje...keep dreaming. But perhaps sooner than later we can have a british councellor with anticolonial thoughts...I hope he has the balls to try it. Come on my friend!!!
If I interpret correctly, you perhaps would like the Falklands to be independent. Well, with Argentina as the big bullying neighbour, ready to take over, that is just not possible. If they drop the claim, then yes, it could be, BUT don't forget that the rest of the population also has to agree with that.
Also, as you may know, Falkland politics is not about confrotation and party politics, but rather about consensus-->a good debate leads to a commonly held view. I think rather good, and I don't think this is colonial either.
Anyway, maybe you just need a holiday back in Chile to be able to appreciate what the good points about the Falklands are!
In an ideal world we would be free from all those restrictions everywhere, but please do not blame the Falklands for this not being the case.
Regarding Kelpers, well, it is an endearing term for a people that now call themselves Falkland Islanders instead, and an identification with the country Falkland Islands. It belongs to an era though that has gone since 1982.
But to get back to my original posting, I just can't see why an article on Gibraltar causes this debate. We should be on another page instead!
Thanks to Mercopress for having this discussion forum. Keep it up guys!
you are wrong when you say that you have to be chilean to own land in Chile, you don´t need, that restrictions only exists in falklands.
about good medical facilities or good education I don´t agree, we don´t have university and we need the mainland hospitals for difficult operations for example.
when you say that the political system in fkl is consensual for me is a kindly way of saying that here there is no alternative thinking, all political system needs the ideas to be confronted.
To blame arg for everything is part of the stablished way of thinking, so arg is guilty for everything nothing can be done to solve the problems, flk are paralized because of that, arg shouldn´t be the perfect excuse to do anyting that can put in danger the stablished colonial situation...bravo!!
you say that if they don´t drop the claim and bla bla bla; but what about if they never drop the claim.....where is plan B?? are you saying that this status quo will last forever without an exit??? ok, but I don´t agree, can I?? please don´t ask me to leave.
I think that fkl needs to grown up and start to discuss other options, only discuss alternatives to solve the situation, we need tourism, we need a sustainable fishing industry, we need to atract investors here, we need the camp to be prosperous, and like it or not this status quo is not good for our development like a modern society integrated with the world.
I don't really know all the laws in Chile or any other country for that matter, but I don't think it is unreasonable to ask for so called foreigners to identify themselves with the country they migrate to, adapt to the laws and customs, adopt their nationality if need be to be able to be regarded as full citizens. If I would choose to live in Chile I would want to do the same, rather than trying to change it into a new Falklands!
You can argue about the quality of the medical facilities, but compare it with any small community in Chile of around 3000 people, and I bet you that we have a much better system, and free! Of course you need to go elsewhere for cancer treatment, do you really expect to have top quality staff based here permanently. Maybe speak to the radiographer, who conducts all of 20 x-rays per week.! And that's just x-rays. No we don't have a university, but really, who are you kidding, do the villages in Chile each have theirs? Don't be pedantic about the issues that are so obvious, they just don't make sense at all. Anyone that wishes to study would want to go to good universities, with good professors, not go to the university of Stanley...
OK the political system is based on consensual thinking does not mean at all that there is no alternative thinking. Of course there is. You cannot assume that all councillors always agree on everything, just that they find a middle way which serves the majority of views. Of course this is not perfect for everyone, but this is the right of the majority. And of course views and ideas can be confronted, you can do this in the media (anonymously if you so wish).
Argentina is not blamed for everything at all, just for continously making life difficult (not allowing charter flights, harassing fishing companies that operate in both their and our EEZ, ceasing oil negotiations, ceasing fisheries research negotiations, not agreeing to the UN principles of self determination, the list goes on). In the end you should know that the Islanders are quite resourcefull in continuing to live here, believing it is right what they do, and wanting to belong to Britain!
Plan B? Invade Patagonia, and claim it for the Falklands, as Rio Gallegos was founded by farmers that came from the Falklands, so why shouldn't we have it back!
You are right about discussing other options, that is a positive step forward, and I invite you to come up with some concrete and sensible ideas. How are you suggesting we do this?
I await your reply.
please don´t compare stanley with chilean villages, we deserve more, stanley is the capital of our home; now it´s a village but it has the potential to be a city of 30.000 people with hospitals, university, macdonalds, shoppings, hotels, etc, like our neighbour cities, you know that, we are 3.000 in fkls only because of our politcal choice. I want that city, that would be genuine growth and development. If you have traveled you know what I´m talking about; forget villages, think in cities.
Your plan B...ok...you don´t have one.
My plan B.... the falklands to be like a new Uruguay, the 2º Uruguay for Argentina; let´s be free, let´s cut the colonial links and then negotiate with them our neighbourhood without the british in the middle. thanks britain, but I think that know they are an obstacule for our development and growth. I think that falklanders needs to think about their own interests, not british interest anymore. Now british interest and falklands interest are not the same, and I´m afraid that now they are opposite.
Lot of kelpers talk about new zeland and sometimes they compare fkls with nz; let´s be libe the kiwis, but first we need to be free and integrated with our region like them; now we are isolated, we are out of the map; and that´s a cost for us.
There is a fact, falklanders & argies will always live together in the same geographical space; you can´t change that. british are in europe, with their own problems different of ours. I think it´s our choice, be friends or be like that chilean villages you told me.
The last thing for today. I think that we are not the problem for argentina, the problem for them are the british; and now the problem for us are the british too, beacuse it´s their problem and they punish us. I don´t want to be punished anymore for the british cause, I want to see the falklands growing and developing, I want my children to stay here when 18 years old. Perhaps today you don´t see all this but our children surely will. This status quo is unsustainable, you know that.
The FIG has proposed direct talks with Argentina and would be happy to do so. However, its the Argentine Government that refuses to countenance direct talks and has torn up every single agreement related to the Falklands. At least be honest about the fact that the Falklands are not on good terms with Argentina is rather one sided and largely down to the intransigence and bad tempered attitudes from that country.
As far as any British Overseas Territory goes its the stated policy of the British Government to grant independence on request and to devolve Government on those territories as far as possible.
There is no British cause, the only cause that keeps the British in the South Atlantic is that the Falklanders determine their own future. There is no desire to maintain a permanent presence there and the British would happily pack up Mount Pleasant.
So instead of blaming the FIG and the British for the current situation, I suggest you actually look at where the problem lies.
And as regards the current “Status Quo”, Argentina has no intention of allowing the Falklanders to determine their own future. The only thing it is currently prepared to accept is total capitulation to Argentine demands. So what do you propose the Falklanders negotiate about when the Government of Argentina won't even speak to them.
I don´t think that the arg demand is the total capitulation; I think that they want the british to leave, not us, that´s the conflict. they accepted a free uruguay, why could´t they accept a free falklands?? I think that if we negotiate without the british here we can achieve that.
Argentina's position is that the only acceptable solution to Argentina is the full transfer of sovereignty to Argentina in direct contravention of the wishes of the islanders. You blame the British Government when it has neither created nor sustained the dispute.
Prior to the 1982 invasion, the British presence was essentially negligible and progress on the Falklands economy was stymied by British refusal to act for fear of antagonising Argentina.
And as you've noted Argentina will only talk to the British Government, it pretends that the FIG doesn't exist.
I understand you don´t like my idea, and I understand why; nostalgic and nazionalism are very powerfull feelings.
Well, let´s try it, why not??
I would call argentina and offer them....hey argentina!!! I will ask the british to leave....but.....you will recognize our freedom, independence & selfdetermination...what do you say???
are you sure they will say no?? if you are sure...why dont´ we try it??
If they say no...long live status quo!!!
If they say yes...freedom, growth and development!!
It´s a win win alternative.
Argentina denies that the Islanders have any right to self-determination, they state that quite explicitly; they even concoct the most ridiculous reasons to deny it.
And again if the Falkland Islands want independence its theirs, Britain has no desire to remain in the South Atlantic. The policy is openly and publicly stated.
And again its Argentina that refuses to speak with the FIG. Its very much a one sided issue in that respect.
Put the blame where it belongs, the British have neither created nor sustain this dispute.
For the people that don't know, one of the properties of mercury is that it makes fabrics waterproof. Hatters used to rub mercury on the hats they made, however, when they did this, the mercury got absorbed through their skin. When handled in large amounts without protection, mercury has the unfortunate effects of messing with the functions of the brain, making people quite loopy. This is where “Bubba” comes from.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!