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Below a obtrusive sky, Mauritian survey groups set off in two tender boats to measure Blenheim Reef.
A line of breakers marked the outer line of the atoll. An inflatable, carrying two Swedish marine specialists retained by the Mauritian authorities, discovered an entrance via submerged rocks and surf into calmer water inside.
Within the shallows, the 2 Swedes positioned tide gauges on the ocean ground to measure the water top – essential proof for a forthcoming case on the Worldwide Tribunal for the Legislation of the Sea.
The survey and the tribunal case are proof that Mauritius is intent on asserting its rights to the Chagos Archipelago, as confirmed by successive worldwide legislation rulings and a UN basic meeting vote.
The International Workplace, outflanked by authorized judgments, has thus far prevented confrontation with Mauritius, claiming in its statements that it’s cooperating with environmental analysis. The UK authorities nonetheless maintains that it holds sovereignty over British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot).
The aim of the Mauritian survey is to determine whether or not any a part of the reef stays above water even at excessive tide. If it does, the UN conference on the legislation of the ocean will enable the nation to increase its baseline in calculating its 200-mile unique financial zone. It could take solely a small rock or shingle seashore staying above water on a regular basis for the baseline to be prolonged.
The dispute over marine boundaries is with neighbouring Maldives. The worldwide tribunal has already dominated that the UK has no professional claims within the space.
The second Mauritian survey group set off in an open motor boat, scanning the outer reef for indicators of boulders or sand bars showing above the ocean swell.
At one level, one small protruding rock was seen within the troughs between waves. A barely submerged rock platform, maybe a metre under the floor, was seen additional alongside the reef.
The outer survey group motored across the perimeter, a distance of at the very least 10 nautical miles till, at one level, the mom ship was a distant smudge on the horizon.
Dolphins raced alongside beside the bows of the boat, leaping playfully out of the water. Flying fish erupted from the seas, remaining airborne for remarkably lengthy durations.
Again on the Bleu De Nîmes, the cruise ship chartered by the Mauritian authorities, Zola Oskarsson, the Swede main the survey, mentioned it will take time for tide calculations to be accomplished.
“Once we come again to select up the tide gauges we will work out the reef ranges,” he mentioned. “It could have been extra enjoyable if we had seen some fowl shit, however we didn’t. Should you see guano, that’s an indication {that a} rock is completely above water.”
He added: “There was a spot the place I may stand on the sandy backside with my head above the water. If you end up measuring a reef, dwelling coral doesn’t rely: it will be like utilizing the highest of a tree to document a mountain top. However lifeless coral is OK. That counts.”
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