20 Sep, 2024 @ 18:15
1 min read
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Panic in Spain: Two Spanish government departments are caught using maps that show Gibraltar’s territorial waters

AT least two Spanish government ministries have been caught using maps on their website which show Gibraltar’s territorial waters.

Maps on the websites of the Interior Ministry and the Ministry for the Ecological Transition show a maritime boundary around the British territory that is not recognized by Spain.

The observation was first reported by Europa Sur, a Spanish newspaper headquartered across the bay from Gibraltar in Algeciras, Cadiz.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition’s website displays these disputed waters as part of its noise maps and a geoportal tracking fuel prices across the country. 

READ MORE: Watch: Vox spokesperson mocks Gibraltar and Fabian Picardo as he declares British territory ‘Spanish whether you like it or not’

The embarrassing gaff clearly shows the waters that Gibraltar claims as its own

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT), under the Ministry of the Interior, uses similar maps on its website to show road incidents.

Blame for this embarrassing oversight has been placed at the door of data from OpenStreetMap, a free collaborative mapping project, which the ministries used as their base layer. 

OpenStreetMap, founded by British engineer Steve Coast, includes Gibraltar’s territorial waters as British, in line with the UK’s position.

READ MORE: ‘Things don’t look good’: Fears for the livelihoods of thousands of undocumented workers ahead of crunch Brussels talks between Spain and the UK over Gibraltar

Spain, however, has consistently rejected Gibraltar’s claims to these waters, asserting in parliamentary responses that the waters adjacent to the Rock are Spanish as they were not mentioned in the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. 

According to the treaty, only Gibraltar’s city, castle, and port were ceded to Britain. 

However, Spain also claims the airspace over the Rock since it was not mentioned in the treaty either.

It highlights the root of the dispute: that concepts such as international waters or airspace did not properly exist in international law 310 years ago.

Walter Finch

Walter Finch, who comes from a background in video and photography, is keen on reporting on and investigating organised crime, corruption and abuse of power. He is fascinated by the nexus between politics, business and law-breaking, as well as other wider trends that affect society.
Born in London but having lived in six countries, he is well-travelled and worldly. He studied Philosophy at the University of Birmingham and earned his diploma in journalism from London's renowned News Associates during the Covid era.
He got his first break in the business working on the Foreign News desk of the Daily Mail's online arm, where he also helped out on the video desk.
He then decided to escape the confines of London and returned to Spain in 2022, having previously lived in Barcelona for many years.
He took up up a reporter role with the Olive Press Newspaper and today he is based in La Linea de la Concepcion at the heart of a global chokepoint and crucial maritime hub, where he edits the Olive Press Gibraltar edition.
He is also the deputy news editor across all editions of the newspaper.

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