Vistas 3D interiores y exteriores

Table ( 1 )

Maritime claims of the Gulf States

WPgBWWB— raptPw qfBggcggigBggLix j:'ji!nifx*i-B- j.'ggafgggg'Bgg j- X X j. Mwrsn'ai m jl m jiiliif

Width of Baseline Claims Claims to State Territ. system Conting continental

sea claim applied zone shelf

1. Egypt 12 miles yes 6 miles 200 miles and exploitabi1i ty

2 . Palest. 6 miles — — exploitability

* 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

3. Jordan** 3 miles — — ---

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 0 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 *

4 .Saudia 12 miles yes 6 miles claims seabed re-

Arabia sources in cont.

shelf and contig. Red Sea area.

I ! 1 , 1 , , , , , , , t I I , I I I I I I t ! I I I I I I I I ! I / / / I I t I / t I / I t i . J . 1

** Fisheries Act no. 25,1943 defines and limits Jordan's territorial to three miles at low water line.(annex 11)

Source:Middle Eastern States & Law of the Sea by A.Hakim

3.2.3.F's l c ± a X t. ± e s

The first introduction of maritime experience into Jordan was made in 1952, when it was recognized by the Government that there should be a certain economic independence for its national foreign trade. The closure of the Palestanian ports in the face of the national trade as a consequense of the 1948 War, made this fact very much obvious. But the real first major^step to the formation of a national seaport came,as mentioned above after four years (1952> by the establishment of the first

maritime authority in Jordan which was the Aqaba Port Authority.

Before establishing this body, there was virtually no

maritime experience in the Country, except for that

experi'ence gained through the war-built facility in 1939. But this experience was very limited. The arrival of some of the experienced people of the Palestanian ports' into

Aqaba after 1946, gave a good impetus to this infant

industry. These people were among the first pioneers in. the Port's stevedoring experienced personnel.

It was rightly decided that the new Port Authority should start its activities immediately without any waste of time in waiting for the construction of new docks.The start was with the old war-built facility. The move paid off quickly and the results were promising where size of trade was doubling year after year.

EHie to the lack of administrative capabilities and

incompetent procedures and experiences during these

Port's early days, Aqaba was not in position to compete with the old and experienced ports in the neighbouring area such as Bierut in Lebanon and Latakia in Syria. Pro­ tectionist measures were still nationally not fully known or followed at that time. Because of that,a large percen­ tage of the national foreign trade was handled in other ports outside the national frontiers,specially in Beirut. Beirut was a very well established and old experienced port, in addition to its relative shorter distance to Europe and also to avoid the high dues of the Suez Canal.

Relying on other ports other than national ones, was not a healthy policy for the national economy.Economic

independence was as vital to the Country as the political

one. One of the most essential steps towards acquiring

economic independence was the erection of a national sea­ port. The Government realized this fact and efforts were

then carried out in preparing feasibility studies and

construction plans were carefully reviewed for the buil­ ding of new modern port facilities capable of handling the increasing national foreign trade. When the Lebanese National War of 1956 errupted, Jordan was cut off the world market. The whole national market was completely paralized as a result of the acute shortage of basic materials. The Goverment realized the critical need for a satisfactory and efficient national port. This fact- the War, had augmented the plans and ambitious ones were then concluded for a compatible port. The first result of such efforts came out in 1959 with the completion of the first bulk exporting jetty for exporting phosphate,the main

export material in Jordan. 1960 witnessed the completion

of the first general cargo berth with all adjacent

storing facilities. This berth was followed by another identical one in 1964. The Port did not stop expanding during the following decades till now. Port facilities at present are given in annex < 3 >.

3 . 2 . 4 . S ± z e o f * t.r'a.dLe;

Aqaba, due to its unique location, began to play an effective role in the regional trade. Many neighbouring countries began to rely on the Port in parts of their seaborne trade, outbound and inbound.

3.2.4.1. TrAde expsinsi on and cons traints

As was mentioned before, the Port of Aqaba had grown very fast since its modern facilities were erected. The Port, like any other port in the world, had experienced various sorts of hard times and conflicts during the last thirty years which hampered its natural growth rates. The

Port, being situated east to the Suez Canal, depends

largely on the Canal itself for the major part of its

trade shares with the western part of the world. These shares amount to as much as 55-60 percent of its total imports. The closure of the Canal in 1956 then in 1967 to 1975 had greatly affected its growth. Vessels had to sail around the Cape to arrive into the Port,which resulted in high surcharges imposed on the local trade increasing the burdens on the Country's balance of payments. During the second closure of the Canal, land transport to and from the neighbouring countries on the Mediterranean, began to

prosper. Many cargoes imports and exports, were

hauled to and from Aqaba in an attempt to overcome trade constraints imposed by the situation. Chart ( 1 > gives size of trade via Aqaba from the beginning till 1985 showing the effect of Canal closures on the Port, while table ( 2 > gives size of trade with nieghbouring coun­ tries (Lebanon) during the period of 1966-1974. Jordan's

CHART 1