Legal Research

Where was the HMS Cornwall?

By MaryMcCormick

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has released the location of the HMS Cornwall at the time 15 of its Marines were detained by Iran: "...the merchant vessel was 7.5 nautical miles south east of the Al Faw Peninsula and clearly in Iraqi territorial waters...The position was 29 degrees 50.36 minutes North 048 degrees 43.08 minutes East. This places her 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi territorial waters."

The FSU College of Law Library has scanned and placed on its website documents and maps from the International Boundary Studies and Limits in the Seas series.  The 1978 International Boundary Study No. 164, Iran-Iraq Boundary, contains a brief description of the boundary, the historical background for the boundary setting, an analysis of the boundary alignment (including latitude and longitude markings at pp. 6-7), and a list of documents. 

The subsequent Limits in the Seas study, No. 114, Iran's Maritime Claims, analyzes the 1993 Iranian "Act on the Marine Areas of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea."  A map of Iran's claims is part of the study.  Annex 1 (p. 27) contains the text of the Act.

Posted by Mary McCormick

Full post as published by FSU College of Law Library Blog on March 29, 2007 (boomark / email).