Bajo Nuevo Bank (), also known as the Petrel Islands (), is an uninhabited reef with some grass-covered islets in the western Caribbean Sea. The closest neighboring land feature is Serranilla Bank, located to the west.
The reef is subject to a sovereignty dispute involving Colombia, Jamaica, and the United States.Bajo Nuevo: What you should know about the disputed island Jamaica ‘gave up’ On 19 November 2012, regarding Nicaraguan claims to the islands, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Colombia had sovereignty over both Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Banks.
Geography Bajo Nuevo Bank is about long and wide. It has two atoll-like structures separated by a deep channel wide at its narrowest point. The larger southwestern reef complex measures northeast-southwest, and is up to wide, covering an area of about . The reef partially dries on the southern and eastern sides. The smaller northeastern reef complex measures east-west and is up to wide, covering an area of .
The most prominent cay is Low Cay, in the southwestern atoll. It is long and wide (about ), no more than high, and barren. It is composed of broken coral, driftwood, and sand. The light beacon on Low Cay is a metal tower, painted white with a red top. It emits a focal plane beam of light as two white flashes of light every 15 seconds. The beacon was erected in 1982, Legal status of the Banks of Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo, page 8. and reconstructed by the Colombian Ministry of National Defence in February 2008. It is currently maintained by the Colombian National Navy and overseen by the state's Maritime Authority. Contract detail between Colombian Defence Ministry and private contractor, Tecnosoluciones Ltda, for the replacement of various metal lighthouse structures, including on Bajo Nuevo Bank. Photographs of Colombian lighthouses, with Bajo Nuevo Bank shown, pages 4–5.
Territorial dispute The Royal Decree of 20 November 1803 resolved that the Archipelago of San Andrés, as well as the part of Mosquitia between Cabo Gracias a Dios and the Chagres River, be separated from the Captaincy General of Guatemala and placed under the jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. With the advent of the independence struggles of the Hispanic American colonies, Colombia secured sovereignty over the islands when they subscribed to the Constitution of Cúcuta in June 1822.
Bajo Nuevo Bank is the subject of conflicting claims made by several sovereign states. In most cases, the dispute stems from attempts by a state to expand its exclusive economic zone over the surrounding seas.
Colombia claims the area as a part of the department of San Andrés and Providencia. Description and general history of the Department of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. An official map of Colombian borders, with treaty dates. Naval patrols in the area are carried out by the San Andrés fleet of the Colombian Navy. Armada de la República de Colombia: Forces and Commands – area is under the jurisdiction of Comando Específico de San Andrés y Providencia. Colombia maintains that it has claimed these territories since 1886 as part of the geographic archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia. This date is disputed by other claimant states, who argue that Colombia had not claimed the territory by name until recently. Nicaragua v. Colombia, Preliminary Objections.
Jamaica's claim was largely considered to be resolved since entering into several bilateral agreements with Colombia. Between 1982 and 1986, the two states maintained a formal agreement which granted regulated fishing rights to Jamaican vessels within the territorial waters of Bajo Nuevo and nearby Serranilla Bank. Fishing agreement which permits regulated fishing rights to Jamaican vessels around Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Banks. Jamaica's signing of this treaty was regarded by critics as a de facto recognition of Colombian sovereignty over the two banks. However, the treaty is now extinguished, as Colombia declined to renew it upon its expiration in August 1986.
In November 1993, Colombia and Jamaica agreed upon a maritime delimitation treaty establishing the "Joint Regime Area" to cooperatively manage and exploit living and non-living resources in designated waters between the two aforementioned banks.Colombia Jamaica Joint Regime Treaty However, the territorial waters immediately surrounding the cays themselves were excluded from the zone of joint-control, as Colombia considers these areas to be part of its coastal waters. Review of the 1993 Maritime Delimitation Treaty between Colombia and Jamaica. Topographic map of the Colombia-Jamaica Joint-Regime Area, with the two exclusion circles shown. The exclusion circles were defined in the chart attached to the treaty as "Colombia's territorial sea in Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo", even though the treaty mentioned the dispute over territorial waters.IILSS-International institute for Law of the Sea Studies: Colombia–Jamaica maritime boundary and the Joint Regime Area The agreement came into force in March 1994.
Nicaragua formerly claimed all the islands on its continental shelf, covering an area of over 50,000 km2 in the Caribbean Sea, including Bajo Nuevo Bank and all islands associated with the San Andrés and Providencia archipelagoes. It had persistently pursued this claim against Colombia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), filing cases in both 2001 and 2007.International Court of Justice: Nicaragua v. Colombia – Press Release, 2001. The dispute originated in the debated validity and applicability of the Esguerra–Bárcenas treaty, exchanged with Colombia in March 1928. Nicaragua formally accepted the ICJ's 2012 ruling of Colombian sovereignty in a 2014 constitutional amendment.
The United States claim was made on 22 November 1869 by James W. Jennett under the provisions of the Guano Islands Act. Lists Bajo Nuevo Bank as an insular area under U.S. sovereignty. Most claims made by the U.S. over the guano islands in this region were officially renounced in a treaty with Colombia dated September 1972. Treaty of exchange between Colombia and the United States, 1972 However, Bajo Nuevo Bank was not mentioned in the treaty, and Article 7 of the treaty states that matters not specifically mentioned in the treaty are not subject to its terms. The United States considers the bank an insular area. Page 39 states that U.S. sovereignty over Bajo Nuevo is disputed. "Currently, the United States conducts maritime law enforcement operations in and around Serranilla Bank and Bajo Nuevo consistent with U.S. sovereignty claims." This is the only archived document from this source that mentions Bajo Nuevo Bank as an insular area.
Honduras, before its ratification of a maritime boundary treaty with Colombia on 20 December 1999, Affirmation of Maritime Delimitation Treaty between Honduras and Colombia, 1999 had previously also laid claim to Bajo Nuevo and nearby Serranilla Bank. Both states agreed upon a maritime demarcation in 1986 that excluded Honduras from any control over the banks or their surrounding waters. Treaty between Colombia and Honduras, 1986 Republic of Honduras: Political Constitution of 1982 through 2005 reformsThe American Society of International Law – see map at top of article. This bilateral treaty ensured that Honduras implicitly recognized Colombia's sovereignty over the disputed territories. Nicaragua disputed Honduras's legal right to hand over these areas before the ICJ.The Republic of Nicaragua v. The Republic of Colombia, CCJ Case File Nicaragua-Honduras Territorial Dispute De Mar, Rebecca. American University, June 2002.
See also Alice Shoal List of Guano Island claims Rosalind Bank
References
External links
Website with a map of San Andrés and Providencia, Serranilla Bank, Bajo Nuevo Bank and Rosalind Bank – the website is related to San Andrés and Providencia. WorldStatesmen – lists the bank under the United States.