Serranilla Bank
Template: Infobox Atoll / Maintenance / height Missing
The Serranilla Bank (English Serranilla bank, Banco Serranilla Spanish ) is an uninhabited, partially sunken atoll in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, about 400 km northeast of the coast of Nicaragua. From the original, oval Riffsäumung the eastern and southern parts are still visible.
Geography
The steeply rising out of the sea Serranilla bank is approximately 45 km long, 37 km wide and covers a sea area of about 1200 km ². It consists of underwater reefs, rocks and some flat Cays on the south and east sides. Most parts of the coral reef fall dry at low tide. With the exception of a shoal near the cays to the east and south of the bank, water depths are reached 9-37 meters. Near the Serranilla Bank are hundreds of shipwrecks.
North East Breaker, as the eastern elevation of the bank above the sea level, is an increase of the coral reef with a rock. The position is approximately 2 km west of the eastern edge of the bank. In approximately 5.5 km is located in the south-west, the easternmost Cay the bank.
East Cay ( 15 ° 52'N. ° 44'W 79. ) Is 5.5 km west of the east end of the bank. The small island rises 2 meters from the sea and is covered with bushes.
Beacon Cay ( 15 ° 47'N. , 79 ° 50'W. ), With 800 meters long, the largest island of the Bank, is located about 14 km southwest of East Cay. It rises up to 2.5 meters above sea level and consists almost entirely of sand and coral rock. The island is covered with grass, shrubs and about 30 - 50 loosely covered coconut trees. At its western end is a beacon of coral rock. On the island there are a number of buildings and military installations. The U.S. Marine Corps entertained here during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 a base. Today the plant is left. Reports that the island is almost completely covered with buildings, can not confirm recent photos. On Beacon Cay is an active lighthouse, which has been in operation since 1977. It is a 33 meter high steel mesh construction on the roof of a 3 story building team. The beam of the lighthouse is visible every 20 seconds. It is unclear who is running the lighthouse today, where it can be assumed that it is the Dirección General Maritima ( DIMAR ), the Colombian maritime authority, the. A good mooring for sailors (depth: 11 m ) is located north- west of the island in about 2 km away.
Middle Cay is located 3.5 km west of East Cay. The island rises about 2 m from the sea and consists almost entirely of sand.
West Breaker ( 15 ° 48'N. , 79 ° 59'W. ) Is located 15 km west of Beacon Cay. It is dangerous for shipping, about 0.5 meters towering rock on a coral platform. From sailors was reported in 1985 that the hazardous shoals and reefs, until 3.5 km to the west extend, as recorded on the cards.
History & Government affiliation
The Serranilla Bank is first mentioned in 1510 in the Spanish charts. The State of affiliation Serranilla Bank is disputed.
The United States of America collected in 1879 and 1880 officially entitled to the atoll. Was and is the Guano Islands Act of 1856, the basis for it. Colombia, Nicaragua and Jamaica claim the atoll also .. In the Constitution of Honduras, the Serranilla Bank is even expressly recognized as territory of Honduras.
The governments of the United States and Colombia agreed in September 1972, various islands and coral reefs that previously fell under the Guano Act of 1856 Iceland to pass in the Colombian sovereignty. This decision was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1981. The Serranilla Bank fell but not expressly covered by this Agreement. In official documents of the U.S. administration, is, however, stated that the Serranilla bank no longer under the jurisdiction ( "jurisdiction " ) of the United States would fall, because it had been handed over to the Colombian authorities in September 1981. In 1986, the governments of Colombia and Honduras signed a bilateral agreement which should govern the new maritime border in the southwestern Caribbean. Honduras waived in this Agreement expressly to its claims on the Serranilla Bank, which is awarded to Colombia. This led to violent protests in Honduras, as listed in the Constitution territory was abandoned. Nicaragua was not included in the agreement and strongly protested against the results of this Agreement. In the same year brought an accusation against Nicaragua Honduras by the International Court in The Hague. In December 2007, the International Court of Justice as a temporary dividing line between Honduras and Nicaragua established the 15th latitude and the longitude 82. The further demarcation is still unclear.
Today, the atoll is occasionally visited by lobster fishermen.
The Lighthouse ( vermtl. in the 1970s )