Scramble for the seabed: how Rockall could be the key to a British oil bonanza

UK, France and Russia plan to exploit new UN rules to claim huge swaths of ocean

Britain is poised to get much bigger. South Africa, Russia, France, Brazil, Australia and Ireland are hoping to expand too. In fact, 45 countries with coastlines qualify for potential “extended underwater territory” rights under the new UN Law of the Sea Convention.

This new law, due to come into force in a few years time, has provoked a scramble for underwater land almost as fierce as the one for Africa in the 19th century when European countries divided up the continent between them.


The 21st century land rush is likely to be the last big shift in land ownership in centuries and reflects the necessity to claim new seams of the Earth’s resources.

In total, as much as 2.7m square miles – an area similar in size to Australia – is believed to be at stake. It includes the Arctic where Russia recently claimed land below the north pole, new islands off India which have emerged from the sea, and Pacific ocean islands claimed by Australia. But to claim the new underwater land, countries must be able to show that it is an extension of their own topography, and not just a gratuitous land grab. All claims must be staked by spring 2009, which is why there is a rush to gather scientific evidence to support submissions.

The Guardian