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expert team is working hard to gain a large offshore territory around
the island The report to be completed well ahead of the 2009 deadline set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) bears testimony to years of hard work and diplomacy and is being made giving due consideration to law, science and strategy. Sri Lanka has been allowed to make the claim for this offshore territory around the island after it successfully argued its case before the UNCLOS and formally signed an agreement in 1982. The agreement was signed in Jamaica by Dr. Hiran W. Jayewardene, Sri Lanka's Special Representative on the Law of the Sea and Ocean Affairs. (See box story) If Sri Lanka wins its claim, it would give the country control of an area 20 times as large as the country's land area in addition to a sea area extending up to 350 nautical miles - a general claim any country with territorial sea can make. If successful, Sri Lanka stands to benefit economically as the new territory is believed to be rich in oil and other mineral resources. The task of gathering technical details that would give credence to the country's claim is being carried out by a group of Sri Lankans working on the project, which is titled "Delimitation of the outer edge of the continental margin of Sri Lanka". Their work is now at a crucial point. Next year, they hope to venture into the most decisive aspect of their work - demarcating the area that the country is seeking to claim. The team is headed by marine geologist Dr. N. P. Wijeyananda and comprises representatives of the Survey Department, the Sri Lanka Navy, the National Aquatic Resource Agency, members of the exploration unit of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Sri Jayawardenepura University's Physics Professor D. N. Tantrigoda, who is an expert on gravity. To carry out the demarcation task, a seismic vessel is to be chartered with tenders being called from international firms by the end of the year. The data collected by the seismic vessel is vital to reinforce Sri Lanka's claim to a wider continental margin, which has to come within one-kilometre sediment thickness in the outer Bay of Bengal sedimentary fan. It would basically be like putting a fence around the area that Sri Lanka hopes to claim for itself, Dr. Jayewardene said. A UN resolution recognises that "a state may establish the outer edge of its continental margin by straight lines not exceeding 60 nautical miles in length connecting fixed points, defined by latitude and longitude, at each of which the thickness of sedimentary rock is not less than one kilometre”. The resolution also makes specific reference to this part of the world stating, "the conference requests the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf set up pursuant to Annex II of the Convention, to be governed by the terms of the Statement of Understanding concerning the specific method to be used in establishing the outer edge of the continental shelf, when making its recommendations on matters related to the establishment of the outer edge of the continental margins of these states in the southern part of the Bay of Bengal”. To demarcate a 6,000 kilometre stretch and measure and prove it falls within the required one kilometre sediment thickness, the team will conduct studies for two months using the sophisticated echo-sounding and seismic-reflection technology that the vessel is equipped with, according to Dr.Wijeyananda. The measuring of the thickness is done by sending out a sound impulse into the water using a sound transmitter mounted on the bottom of a vessel. This sound wave is reflected off the ocean floor back to the sea surface where it is recorded by a listening device called a hydrophone. The data are recorded on a graph paper and used to make a topographic profile of the seabed. As the only common maritime boundary Sri Lanka has is with India, officials engaged in the project have also had to seek India's support for Sri Lanka's case before the UNCLOS. Dr. Wijeyananda said talks with India had progressed cordially but more talks needed to be held before a final agreement was reached between the two countries. The entirety of the maritime boundary between India and Sri Lanka in the Palk Bay, the Palk Straits, the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal upto the outer boundary of the EEZ was settled by the 1974 and 1976 maritime country agreements between the two countries. "We are quite optimistic. That is why we are working very hard on this," Dr. Wijeyananda said. Explaining that he had the highest confidence in local expertise in the field, he however, added that some foreign experts too will be involved in the compilation of the necessary technical details. Once Sri Lanka submits its report, a seven-member UNCLOS technical committee will evaluate it. The members of this committee are drawn from countries that have no vested interest in the case. While it is Sri Lanka's future generations who stand to enjoy the fruits of the hard work that has and is being put in by the present team, Dr.Wijeyananda says this is an opportunity that has to be grasped and pursued until the mission is accomplished. "If we don't grasp this chance then future generations will curse us," he says. |
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