UK Claims on Antartic Condemned by Environmentalists

Environmental groups have condemned plans by the British Government to claim sovereignty over parts of the seabed off the coast of Antarctica for possible oil, gas and mineral exploration.

The Foreign Office is preparing to submit a rights claim to the UN commission on the limits of the continental shelf for 1m sq km (386,000 sq miles) of seabed off the coast of the British Antarctic Territory, revealed UK newspaper The Guardian.

Environmental groups WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and Greenpeace have opposed the plans on the grounds that exploration work in the area would destroy the fragile marine life of the Southern Ocean.

Last month, the UK Government also put forward plans to claim the seabed adjacent to the Falklands Islands.

By staff writer