The Government of Gibraltar published a strong protest on February 17, when the Spanish Navy entered the bounds of Gibraltar’s maritime claims and commanded merchant vessels to leave Spanish waters. The Spanish vessel identified itself as ‘Tornedo P44’ and ordered a merchant ship to leave anchorage and depart Spain’s territorial waters.
The vessel that was ordered to leave replied that it was on anchorage and not adrift.
According to the Government of Gibraltar
This is yet another senseless provocation that achieves nothing expect generating an atmosphere of mistrust and hostility which benefits nobody.
Mainly, according to Gibraltar the merchant vessels were in BGTW (British Gibraltar Territorial Waters) when they were instructed to move. In other words, the Spanish vessel sought to exert jurisdiction and control in an area of water where they are not legally entitled to exert such control.
On the other hand, Spain supports that the vessels were voyaging within Spanish waters. Specifically, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell addressed that
The Tornado called three commercial ships that were breaking maritime security law in Spanish territorial waters by standing still. Those ships responded to the requests of the Tornado and abandoned the area.
According to Gibraltar Government’s statement, Madrid itself has confirmed that the motive behind the incursion was in pursuance to their sovereignty claim over Gibraltar’s waters, the incident was therefore indisputably a breach of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Additionally, Article 19 of UNCLOS states that ‘Passage is innocent so long as it Is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State.’
The Government supports that the attempt to interfere with merchant shipping by instructing the merchant vessels to move on the basis that the waters are Spanish is ‘prejudicial to the peace, good order and security of the coastal State’.
Finally, Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo stated that
The Spanish vessel’s actions outside our waters, when she sought to direct shipping outside her jurisdiction, and when she sailed through out waters with her weapons naked, was an amateurish attempt at bravado. It achieved nothing more than to provoke – whilst is was properly ignored by the masters of the vessels at anchor.
