United States Minor Possessions – Caribbean Sea
Unknown to most Americans, the United States maintains claims to three very small and uninhabited reefs and an island in the Caribbean Sea. These claims are disputed and in at least one case another country actively utilizes the land, but nonetheless, the United States maintains it claims to these little known specks in the ocean.
Bajo Nuevo Bank
Introduction:
Bajo Nuevo Bank, also known as the Petrel Islands is a small, uninhabited reef with some small grass-covered islets, located in the western Caribbean Sea at with a lighthouse on Low Cay. The closest neighboring land feature is Serranilla Bank, located 68 miles to the west.
The reef was first shown on Dutch maps dating to 1634 but was given its present name in 1654. Bajo Nuevo was rediscovered by the English pirate John Glover in 1660. Although the bank is an integral part of Colombia, it is subject to a sovereignty dispute with the United States. On November 19, 2012, in regards to Nicaraguan claims to the islands, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found, unanimously, that the Republic of Colombia has sovereignty over both Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Banks.
Geography:
Bajo Nuevo Bank is about 16 miles long and 5.6 miles wide. The satellite image shows two distinct atoll-like structures separated by a deep channel 0.87 miles wide at its narrowest point. The larger southwestern reef complex measures 9.6 miles northeast-southwest, and is up to 5.8 miles wide, covering an area of about 39 square miles. The reef partially dries on the southern and eastern sides. The smaller northeastern reef complex measures 6.5 miles east-west and is up to 3.4 miles wide, covering an area of 17 square miles. The land area is minuscule by comparison.
The most prominent cay is Low Cay, in the southwestern atoll. It is 330 yards long and 44 yards wide, about 2.5 acres, no more than 6.6 feet high, and barren. It is composed of broken coral, driftwood, and sand. The light beacon on Low Cay is a 69 foot 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 and reconstructed by the Colombian Ministry of Defense in February 2008. It is currently maintained by the Colombian Navy, and overseen by the state’s Maritime Authority.
Territorial Dispute:
Bajo Nuevo Bank is the subject of conflicting claims made by a number of sovereign states. In most cases, the dispute stems from attempts by a state to expand its exclusive economic zone over the surrounding seas.
Colombia currently claims the area as part of the department of San Andrés and Providencia. Naval patrols in the area are carried out by the San Andrés fleet of the Colombian Navy. 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, most prominent among them Nicaragua, which has argued that Colombia had not claimed the territory by name until recently.