Unfortunately Spain's interpretation of the Treaty of Utrecht prevents this unless Spain is willing to forgo Utrecht. However Spain is only interested in regaining Gib in order to destroy it and put many thousands of Spaniards out of work

The territorial waters dispute is part of the long term effort to regain Gib. Spain still claims Gib cannot be independent, but in the event that it ceases to be British it must be returned to Spain.

Correct and it is noticeable that this latest argument over areas of special interest only affects Gib waters and not the Spanish side of the bay where Spain carries out refueling.

These territorial disputes over Gib always get Spanish media attention when it is necessary to hide other more important problems like the economy.

I wonder why

Written Ministerial Statement by William Hague
10 December 2012
Gibraltar: Sites of Community Importance

Any attempt by a Spanish State vessel, or vessel acting on behalf of the Spanish State, to exercise jurisdiction within BGTW is a violation of British sovereignty and we will respond accordingly.

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/c...-Gibraltar.pdf

so Spain is going to find out what it is like to be hit by a wet lettuce ? ?

sorry, no faith in Hague - any backbone he had was knocked out of him by Labour's Bliar when they called him racist at the 2001 General Election, didnt know how to react to it and hasnt been the same since.

`

The wet lettuce failed.

A Spanish warship made a two-hour incursion into Gibraltar waters on Monday evening, in a defiant response to Britain’s warnings to stay away.

http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=27157

Fred you probably thought I was being unkind about Hague,
The problem is that the RN boats can only harry the intruder, they have no positive instructions and rules of engagement. The Spanish know how long it takes for the information to get passed on and for the Ambassador to the Court of St James to be called and for him to arrive - so he can say that it was an error or some other twaddle, but the ship has now returned to Spanish waters.

Are we in a new Budget Spending Round at the Gobierno ? ?

Seems the Spanish Navy are keeping themselves in the National Press at the moment, this incident has had heavy reporting

http://www.europapress.es/andalucia/...207155157.html

(Spanish only)

Domino interfering with a vessel in International Waters sounds very much like piracy to me.

depends on where you want to draw the line, and based on Gibraltar experiences over the past year (and longer) it would appear that the new IVA increase on stationery has left the Spanish without the ability to actually draw that line. Surely the harrassment of vessels in Gib waters by Spanish ships is just another indication of their pirate mentality.

ISTR there is bad blood about similar incidents vis a vis the american company and Spain over their wreck searching off Trafalgar and similar sites over a number of years.

Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes was sunk off the coast of Portugal although Spain often quoted it as being in their waters and not Gibraltars.

However I am not aware of any laws that prevent searches for wrecks in International Waters which are measured by reference to the distance from the shore and not by the depth of water.

The arguments begin when establishing the ownership of any wreck / treasure etc. found. Sovereign vessels normally belong forever to their originating country. Merchant vessels belong to their owners or if an insurance company has paid out then they become the property of the insurance company who my sell them on to someone else.

What is the reason for holding on to Gibraltar ? I can see no valid strategic interest. You may not have noticed but the Empire went some time ago - and so did the Merchant Navy !

Are you sure????????????

so you have a little plot of grass on the side of your house, never gets used, youd don't seem interested in it so I will have it. Lets close Rosyth because the Grand Fleet haven't used it much since the Jutland debacle in 1916 - ooopps can't do that, so many "loyal Scots" will lose their jobs.

in case you didn't get the email/memo the Empire has been modernised to become The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 54 independent member states.

The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). King George V bestowed the title of "Merchant Navy" on the British merchant shipping fleets following their service in the First World War.
Whilst it is much smaller than it used to be this is because companies have changed hands, been bought up by foreign interests and their ships are now registered in places that don't even have a shoreline, letalone a port. However, that doesn't mean the expertise of British Merchant Officers isnt recognised the world over.
Just remember that similarly British Steel is now owned by TATA, an Indian company, but you aren't shouting about that.

Gibraltar as an international port will fuel, water and feed any nationality of vessel that calls in - for a fee, especially as its importance to the Royal Navy is much less. But that doesn't diminish its importance to NATO and the US Navy in ensuring a busy channel is kept open.

Hope you find this little bit of maritime history of use and perhaps when you have visited Gib a few times you will come to understand its importance.

`

Daily Mail has picked up the story now.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-The-Rock.html

Where do they get their photos from?

The first one is positively ancient, and I've no idea where the second one was taken