In 1955, the annexation of Rockall was to ensure national security. But within decades, the government has been interested in securing the rights to the rich water of Locor fish, with potentially vast oil buried at the seabed. Ireland, Iceland and Denmark (acting on behalf of the Faroe Islands of Denmark) have begun to soak up the claims of rivals against these favorable seas. Parliament, eager to solidify its UK ownership, voted to formally incorporate Rockall into the UK in 1972, making it part of Scotland’s Western Islands.
However, other countries were not aware of the UK’s claims. Further blows occurred when the United Nations Sea Treaty was ratified in 1982, effectively preventing unmanned rocks where the economy was not used as the basis for territorial claims. This meant that Rockall’s ownership was no longer critical in the battle for oil rights below the seabed.
Rockall Activists and Adventurers
It was a patriotic desire to reaffirm the British claims about the island that former SAS soldier Tom McLean urged in 1985 to set up camps at Rockall. He spent 40 days and nights there to prove that the rocks could maintain a human settlement known as “wooden boxes” and become the first person known to reside in Rockall. When Britain first annexed the island in 1955, “the other countries were not interested,” MacLean said. The BBC World. “It lasted about 10 or 20 years, then oil started popping up and everyone was interested in Rockall.”
McLean is not the only person living in Rockall with the aim of issuing political statements. In June 1997, three Greenpeace activists landed on helicopters, claiming Rockall as the capital of the whole new micronation, “The Global Condition of Waveland,” as a stunt to protest the grant of government mining licenses. Greenpeace said he wanted to “borrow” the island until it was “freed from development threats,” and offered Waybrand citizenship to those ready to make a pledge of loyalty.
Something like this:
• In 1960, the CIA spyplane fired down Russia
• The first man to conquer the “Zone of Death” in Everest
• The biggest sailing rescue ever made
The activists spent a total of 42 days on the island, breaking MacLean’s record. Shortly afterwards, when the UK was registered in the United Nations Marine Treaty in July 1997, it finally accepted that Rockall was legally “lock.” The huge ocean belt was defined as “international waters” and was opened for negotiations between stakeholders.
Former seafarer Scottish worker Peer Lord Kennett said of Locall: But it has not stopped the lucrative oceans around the islands fought by some countries. And the desolate outcrop continues to invite adventurers. One of them, Nick Hancock, survived on the rocks for 43 days in 2014, setting a new world record. However, the merciless situation describes a disaster for others. In 2023, Army veteran Cam Cameron had to be rescued midway through his own world record attempt after rough weather damaged his kit. “I don’t think it’s as scary as being on that rock. It’s 300 miles from people and 200 miles from the nearest land.” He told the BBC’s Sunday show. “It was a lonely time.”
Source: BBC Culture – www.bbc.com
