The Turks and Caicos Islands (Territorial Sea) Order 1989

Statutory Instruments

1989 No. 1996

CARIBBEAN AND NORTH ATLANTIC TERRITORIES

The Turks and Caicos Islands (Territorial Sea) Order 1989

Made

1st November 1989

Coming into force

1st January 1990

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 1st day of November 1989

Present,

The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Her Majesty, in pursuance of the powers conferred upon Her by the Colonial Boundaries Act 1895(1) and all other powers enabling Her in that behalf, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:

1.  This Order may be cited as the Turks and Caicos Islands (Territorial Sea) Order 1989 and shall come into force on 1st January 1990.

2.  The boundaries of the Turks and Caicos Islands are hereby extended to include, as territorial sea, that part of the sea which is situated within 12 nautical miles measured from the baselines as established by articles 3 and 4 of this Order, together with the seabed of the territorial sea and its subsoil.

3.—(1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) of this article and article 4 of this Order, the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea adjacent to the Turks and Caicos Islands is measured shall be the low water line along the coast of all islands comprised in the Colony of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

(2) For the purpose of this article a low-tide elevation which lies wholly or partly within the breadth of sea which would be territorial sea if all low-tide elevations were disregarded for the purpose of the measurement of the breadth thereof and if article 4 of this Order were omitted shall be treated as an island.

4.—(1) The baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured between North West Point, Providenciales and Company Point, West Caicos; between South West Point, West Caicos and the south-easterly point of Toney Rock; and between the north-easterly point of Toney Rock and Drum Point, East Caicos shall consist of the series of loxodromes drawn so as to join successively, in the order in which they are there set out, the points identified by the co-ordinates of latitude and longitude in the first column of the Schedule to this Order, each being a point situate on the low water line on or adjacent to the feature named in the second column of that Schedule opposite to the co-ordinates of latitude and longitude of the point in the first column.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this article shall be without prejudice to the operation of article 3 of this Order in relation to any island or low-tide elevation which for the purposes of that article is treated as if it were an island, being an island or low-tide elevation which lies to seaward of the baseline specified in paragraph (1) of this article.

5.  In this Order–

(a) “island” means a naturally formed area of land surrounded by water which is above water at mean high-water spring tides;

(b) “low-tide elevation” means a naturally formed area of drying land surrounded by water which is below water at mean high-water spring tides; and

(c) “nautical miles” means international nautical miles of 1,852 metres.

G. I. de Deney

Clerk of the Privy Council

Article 4

SCHEDULE POINTS BETWEEN NORTH WEST POINT, PROVIDENCIALES AND COMPANY POINT, WEST CAICOS; BETWEEN SOUTH WEST POINT, WEST CAICOS AND TONEY ROCK – SE; AND BETWEEN TONEY ROCK – NE AND DRUM POINT, EAST CAICOS JOINED TO FORM BASELINES

Co-ordinates of latitude and longitude of point referred to WGS 72 Datum	Name of Feature
1.  21° 51' 57"N72° 20' 00"W	North West Point, Providenciales
2.  21° 45' 19"N72° 27' 16"W	West Reef Islet
3.  21° 41' 59"N72° 27' 43"W	Company Point, West Caicos
Thence Low Water Line to
4.  21° 37' 22"N72° 28' 58"W	South West Point, West Caicos
5.  21° 29' 29"N72°13' 40"W	French Cay
6.  21° 10' 23"N71° 48' 12"W	White Cay
7.  21° 09' 42"N71° 43' 39"W	Shot Cay
8.  21° 09' 20"N71° 41' 48"W	Pear Cay
9.  21° 10' 47"N71° 38' 20"W	Bush Cay
10.  21° 10' 14"N71° 14' 38"W	South Rocks – South Islet
11.  21° 20' 16"N71° 05' 12"W	Toney Rock – SE
Thence Low Water Line to
12.  21° 20' 20"N71° 05' 10"W	Toney Rock – NE
13.  21° 20' 57"N71° 04' 59"W	East Cay – SE
14.  21° 23' 00"N71° 04' 42"W	Rock off Pear Cay – NE
15.  21° 24' 17"N71° 05' 29"W	Long Cay, S Island
16.  21° 24' 33"N71° 05' 33"W	Long Cay – SE
17.  21° 26' 33"N71° 06' 37"W	Gibbs Cay – E
18.  21° 30' 48"N71°07' 52"W	Grand Turk – NE Point
19.  21° 43' 29"N71° 28' 19"W	Drum Point, East Caicos

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order extends the boundaries of the Turks and Caicos Islands so as to include, as territorial sea, the sea within twelve nautical miles of the baselines, together with its seabed and subsoil, and makes other provisions in this connection. In particular, it defines the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured as generally the low water line, but between North West Point, Providenciales and Company Point, West Caicos; between South West Point, West Caicos and Toney Rock – SE; and between Toney Rock – NE and Drum Point, East Caicos a series of straight lines joining specified points lying on the seaward side of the Turks and Caicos group of islands are used.

(1)

1895 c. 34.