RAMON MARGALEF

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Survey sip in standoff with Royal Navy

The British Foreign Office summoned the Spanish ambassador in London after the "Ramon Margalef" defied repeated orders from British Royal Navy patrol boat HMS "Sabre" to leave the area. The ship entered British Gibraltar Territorial Waters on Nov 18, 2013, around 5 p.m. and was still there on Nov 19 afternoon. The captain of the vessel insisted he was carrying out survey work with the permission of the Spanish government. According to the Ministry of Defence the ship entered British Gibraltar Territorial Waters on the evening of Nov 18 and unlawfully conducted survey operations for 22 hours in violation of United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The RN Gibraltar Squadron's Fast Patrol Boats HMS "Sabre" and HMS "Scimitar", in accordance with UNCLOS, challenged the "Ramon Margalef"'s presence by issuing appropriate warnings and preventing the deployment of the "Ramon Margalef"'s oceanographic surveying probe. There was no damage to any Royal Navy or Spanish equipment or vessels and no injuries were incurred. The actions of the Royal Navy were fully in accordance with Her Majesty's Government's commitment to uphold the sovereignty of Gibraltar with a range of proportionate responses. Report with Audio: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/gibraltar/10460388/Spanish-ship-defies-Royal-Navys-orders-to-leave-Gibraltars-waters.html