.gif)
Snake Island (Black Sea)
Encyclopedia
Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island, , is a Ukrainian
island located in the Black Sea
near the Danube Delta.
The island is populated. A rural settlement of Bile was established in February 2007, which is part of the Vylkove
city, Kiliya Raion, Odessa Oblast
. The territorial limits of the continental shelf
around Snake Island were delineated
by the International Court of Justice
.
The nearest coast location to Snake Island is Kubanskyi Island on the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta
, located 35 km (21.7 mi) away between the Bystroe Channel and Skhidnyi Channel. The closest Romanian coast city, Sulina
is 45 km (28 mi) away. The closest Ukrainian city is Vylkove
, 50 km (31.1 mi), however there also is a port Ust-Dunaisk, 44 km (27.3 mi) away from the island.
In the coastal waters 50 fish and six crab species have been recorded, some of which are included in the Red Book of Ukraine. A presidential decree of 9 December 1998, Number 1341/98, declared the island and coastal waters as a state protected area. The total area protected covers 232 hectares.
The island is currently demilitarized and under rapid development. In accordance with a 1997 Treaty between Romania and Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities withdrew an army radio division, demolished a military radar
, and transferred all other infrastructure to civilians. Eventually the Romania-Ukraine international relationships have soured (see "Maritime delimitation" section) when Romania tried to convince that the island is no more than a rock in the sea. In February 2007, the Verkhovna Rada
has approved establishing a rural settlement as part of Vylkove city which is located some distance away at the mouth of Danube
. However, the island has been continually populated even before although not officially.
In addition to a helicopter
platform, in 2002 a pier
has been built for ships with up to 8 meter draught, and construction of a harbor
is underway. The island is supplied with navigation equipment, including a 150-year old lighthouse
. Electric power is provided by a dual solar/diesel power station. The island also has an adequately developed civil infrastructure such as the marine research station, a post office, a bank (branch of the Ukrainian bank "Aval"), the first-aid station, a satellite television provider, a phone network, a cell phone tower, and an Internet link.
of the Russian Empire
. The lighthouse is an octahedral
-shaped building, 12 meters tall, located near the highest elevated area of the island, 40 meters above the sea level. The lighthouse built on site of the previously destroyed temple of Achilles
is adjacent to a housing building. The remnants of the Greek temple were found in 1823.
As lighthouse technology progressed, in 1860 new lighthouse lamps were bought from England, and one of them was installed in the Lighthouse in 1862. In the early 1890s a new kerosene
lamp was installed, with lamp rotating equipment and flat lenses. It improved the lighthouse visibility to up to 20 miles (32.2 km).
The lighthouse was heavily damaged during World War II
by Soviet
aviation and German
retreating forces. It was restored at the end of 1944 by the Odessa
military radio detachment. In 1949 it was further reconstructed and equipped by the Black Sea Fleet
. The lighthouse was further upgraded in 1975 and 1984. In 1988 a new radio beacon "KPM-300" was installed with radio signal range of 150 miles (241.4 km).
In August 2004, the lighthouse was equipped with a radio beacon "Yantar-2M-200", which provides differential correction signal for global navigation satellite systems GPS and GLONASS
.
The lighthouse is listed as UKR 050 by ARLHS, EU-182 by IOTA, and BS-07 by UIA.
") was the major sanctuary of the Achaean hero, where "seabirds dipped their wings in water to sweep the temples clean" (Kyriazis). Several temples of Thracian Apollo
can be found here, and there are submerged ruins.
According to an epitome of the lost Trojan War
epic of Arctinus of Miletus
, the remains of Achilles
and Patroclus
were brought to this island by Thetis
, to be put in a sanctuary. Ruins believed to be of a square temple dedicated to Achilles, 30 meters to a side, were discovered by Captain Kritzikly in 1823. Ovid
, who was banished to Tomis, mentions the island; so do Ptolemy
and Strabo
. The island is described in Pliny's Natural History, IV.27.1.
Several ancient inscriptions were found on the island, including a 4th century BC Olbiopolitan
decree which praises someone for defeating and driving out the pirates that lived on the "holy island".
: Snake Island) and the island gave its name to the naval Battle of Fidonisi
. The battle between Ottoman and Russian fleets took place near the island in 1788 in the course of Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792.
In 1829, following the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, the island became part of the Russian Empire
until 1856.
In 1877, following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878
, the Ottoman Empire gave the island and Northern Dobrudzha region, as a reimbursement for the Russian annexation of Romania's southern Bessarabia
region.
The Paris Peace Treaties of 1947
between the protagonists of World War II
ceded Northern Bukovina, the Hertza region
, Budjak
, and Bessarabia
to the USSR but made no mention of the mouths of the Danube and Ostriv Zmiinyi.
Until 1948, Snake Island was considered part of the Romanian coastal city of Sulina
. In 1948, the Soviets forced the Romania
n side (occupied by Soviet troops) to accept the "transfer" of Snake Island to the Soviet Union, as well as to accept to move the Romanian border in the Danube Delta towards the west, in favour of the USSR (resulting in the annexation of Limba Island by the USSR). Romania
has strongly disputed the validity of this "treaty", since it was never ratified by any of the two countries, which would make the Limba Island and Snake Island de jure Romanian territory.
The same year, in 1948, during the Cold War
, a Soviet radar post was built on the isle (for both naval and anti-aircraft purposes).
The Soviet Union's possession of Snake Island was confirmed in the Treaty between the Government of the People's Republic of Romania and the Government of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics on the Romanian-Soviet State Border Regime, Collaboration and Mutual Assistance on Border Matters, signed in Bucharest
on February 27, 1961.
Between 1967 and 1987, the USSR and Romanian side were negotiating the delimitation
of the continental shelf. The Romanian side refused to accept a Russian offer of 4000 km² out of 6000 km² around the island in 1987.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine inherited control over the island. A number of Romanian parties and organizations consistently claimed it should be included in its territory. According to the Romanian side, in the peace treaties of 1918 and 1920 (after WWI), the isle was considered part of Romania, and it was not mentioned in the 1947 border-changing treaty between Romania and the Soviet Union
.
In 1997, Romania and Ukraine signed a treaty in which both states "reaffirm that the existing border between them is inviolable and therefore, they shall refrain, now and in future, from any attempt against the border, as well as from any demand, or act of, seizure and usurpation of part or all the territory of the Contracting Party". However, both sides have agreed that if no resolution on maritime borders can be reached within two years, then either side can go to the International Court of Justice
to seek a final ruling.
and exclusive economic zone
s between the two countries. If Snake Island were recognized as an island, then continental shelf
around it should be considered as Ukrainian water. If Snake Island were not an island, but a cliff
, then in accordance with international law
the maritime boundary
between Romania and Ukraine should be drawn without taking into consideration the isle location.
On 16 September 2004 the Romanian side brought a case against Ukraine to the International Court of Justice
in a dispute concerning the maritime boundary between the two States in the Black Sea.
On February 3, 2009, the court delivered its judgment, which divided the sea area of the Black Sea along a line which was between the claims of each country. The court concluded that Snake Island is not an island, therefore it "should have no effect on the delimitation in this case, other than that stemming from the role of the 12-nautical-mile arc of its territorial sea".
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
island located in the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
near the Danube Delta.
The island is populated. A rural settlement of Bile was established in February 2007, which is part of the Vylkove
Vylkove
Vylkove is a small city located in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, at utmost South-West of Ukraine, on the border with Romania. Administratively it is part of the Kiliyskyi Raion of the Odessa Oblast .- Geography :...
city, Kiliya Raion, Odessa Oblast
Odessa Oblast
Odesa Oblast, also written as Odessa Oblast , is the southernmost and largest oblast of south-western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Odessa.-History:...
. The territorial limits of the continental shelf
Continental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
around Snake Island were delineated
Maritime delimitation between Romania and Ukraine
Maritime delimitation between Romania and Ukraine in the Black Sea was conducted by the International Court of Justice. On September 16, 2004 the Romanian side brought a case to the Court following unsuccessful bilateral negotiations...
by the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
.
Geography
The island is an igneous rock formation located 35 km from the coast, east of the mouth of the Danube River. The island's coordinates are 45°15′18"N 30°12′15"E. The island is X-shaped, from S-W to N-E 690 meters by 682 meters from N-W to S-E, covering an area of 0.205 km². The highest area is 41 metres (134.5 ft) above sea level. The island does not have a prominently featured mountain, but rather a low-slope hill.The nearest coast location to Snake Island is Kubanskyi Island on the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania , while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine . The approximate surface is...
, located 35 km (21.7 mi) away between the Bystroe Channel and Skhidnyi Channel. The closest Romanian coast city, Sulina
Sulina
Sulina is a town and free port in Tulcea County, Romania, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube. It is the easternmost point of Romania and of the continental European Union.-History:...
is 45 km (28 mi) away. The closest Ukrainian city is Vylkove
Vylkove
Vylkove is a small city located in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, at utmost South-West of Ukraine, on the border with Romania. Administratively it is part of the Kiliyskyi Raion of the Odessa Oblast .- Geography :...
, 50 km (31.1 mi), however there also is a port Ust-Dunaisk, 44 km (27.3 mi) away from the island.
In the coastal waters 50 fish and six crab species have been recorded, some of which are included in the Red Book of Ukraine. A presidential decree of 9 December 1998, Number 1341/98, declared the island and coastal waters as a state protected area. The total area protected covers 232 hectares.
Population and infrastructure
About 100 inhabitants live on the island, mostly frontier guard servicemen with their families and technical personnel. Since 2003 from the initiative of the Odessa National University of I. I. Mechnikov on the island, the marine research station "Zmiiniy island" was established in which scientists and students from the University every year conduct research on local fauna, flora, geology, meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, hydrobiology, etc.The island is currently demilitarized and under rapid development. In accordance with a 1997 Treaty between Romania and Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities withdrew an army radio division, demolished a military radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, and transferred all other infrastructure to civilians. Eventually the Romania-Ukraine international relationships have soured (see "Maritime delimitation" section) when Romania tried to convince that the island is no more than a rock in the sea. In February 2007, the Verkhovna Rada
Verkhovna Rada
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is Ukraine's parliament. The Verkhovna Rada is a unicameral parliament composed of 450 deputies, which is presided over by a chairman...
has approved establishing a rural settlement as part of Vylkove city which is located some distance away at the mouth of Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. However, the island has been continually populated even before although not officially.
In addition to a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
platform, in 2002 a pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
has been built for ships with up to 8 meter draught, and construction of a harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
is underway. The island is supplied with navigation equipment, including a 150-year old lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
. Electric power is provided by a dual solar/diesel power station. The island also has an adequately developed civil infrastructure such as the marine research station, a post office, a bank (branch of the Ukrainian bank "Aval"), the first-aid station, a satellite television provider, a phone network, a cell phone tower, and an Internet link.
Lighthouse
The Snake Island Lighthouse was built in the fall of 1842 by the Black Sea FleetBlack Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. The lighthouse is an octahedral
Octahedron
In geometry, an octahedron is a polyhedron with eight faces. A regular octahedron is a Platonic solid composed of eight equilateral triangles, four of which meet at each vertex....
-shaped building, 12 meters tall, located near the highest elevated area of the island, 40 meters above the sea level. The lighthouse built on site of the previously destroyed temple of Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
is adjacent to a housing building. The remnants of the Greek temple were found in 1823.
As lighthouse technology progressed, in 1860 new lighthouse lamps were bought from England, and one of them was installed in the Lighthouse in 1862. In the early 1890s a new kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
lamp was installed, with lamp rotating equipment and flat lenses. It improved the lighthouse visibility to up to 20 miles (32.2 km).
The lighthouse was heavily damaged during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
aviation and German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
retreating forces. It was restored at the end of 1944 by the Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
military radio detachment. In 1949 it was further reconstructed and equipped by the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
. The lighthouse was further upgraded in 1975 and 1984. In 1988 a new radio beacon "KPM-300" was installed with radio signal range of 150 miles (241.4 km).
In August 2004, the lighthouse was equipped with a radio beacon "Yantar-2M-200", which provides differential correction signal for global navigation satellite systems GPS and GLONASS
GLONASS
GLONASS , acronym for Globalnaya navigatsionnaya sputnikovaya sistema or Global Navigation Satellite System, is a radio-based satellite navigation system operated for the Russian government by the Russian Space Forces...
.
The lighthouse is listed as UKR 050 by ARLHS, EU-182 by IOTA, and BS-07 by UIA.
History
The island was named, by the Greeks, Λευκός, Leuce Island ("White Island"), similarly known by Romans as Alba, probably because of the white marble formations that can be found on the isle. The uninhabited Isle Achilleis ("of AchillesAchilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
") was the major sanctuary of the Achaean hero, where "seabirds dipped their wings in water to sweep the temples clean" (Kyriazis). Several temples of Thracian Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
can be found here, and there are submerged ruins.
According to an epitome of the lost Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
epic of Arctinus of Miletus
Arctinus of Miletus
Arctinus of Miletus or Arctinus Milesius was a Greek epic poet whose reputation is purely legendary, as none of his works survive. Traditionally dated between 775 BC and 741 BC, he was said to have been a pupil of Homer. Phaenias of Eresus placed him in the 7th century BC and claimed that he was...
, the remains of Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
and Patroclus
Patroclus
In Greek mythology, as recorded in the Iliad by Homer, Patroclus, or Patroklos , was the son of Menoetius, grandson of Actor, King of Opus, and was Achilles' beloved comrade and brother-in-arms....
were brought to this island by Thetis
Thetis
Silver-footed Thetis , disposer or "placer" , is encountered in Greek mythology mostly as a sea nymph or known as the goddess of water, one of the fifty Nereids, daughters of the ancient one of the seas with shape-shifting abilities who survives in the historical vestiges of most later Greek myths...
, to be put in a sanctuary. Ruins believed to be of a square temple dedicated to Achilles, 30 meters to a side, were discovered by Captain Kritzikly in 1823. Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
, who was banished to Tomis, mentions the island; so do Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
and Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
. The island is described in Pliny's Natural History, IV.27.1.
Several ancient inscriptions were found on the island, including a 4th century BC Olbiopolitan
Olbia, Ukraine
Pontic Olbia or Olvia is the site of a colony founded by the Milesians on the shores of the Southern Bug estuary , opposite Berezan Island...
decree which praises someone for defeating and driving out the pirates that lived on the "holy island".
Modern history
The Greeks during the times of Ottoman Empire renamed it Fidonisi (EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Snake Island) and the island gave its name to the naval Battle of Fidonisi
Battle of Fidonisi
The naval Battle of Fidonisi took place on 14 July 1788 between the fleets of the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792 near Ochakov...
. The battle between Ottoman and Russian fleets took place near the island in 1788 in the course of Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792.
In 1829, following the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, the island became part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
until 1856.
In 1877, following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878
Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox coalition led by the Russian Empire and composed of numerous Balkan...
, the Ottoman Empire gave the island and Northern Dobrudzha region, as a reimbursement for the Russian annexation of Romania's southern Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
region.
The Paris Peace Treaties of 1947
Paris Peace Treaties, 1947
The Paris Peace Conference resulted in the Paris Peace Treaties signed on February 10, 1947. The victorious wartime Allied powers negotiated the details of treaties with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland .The...
between the protagonists of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ceded Northern Bukovina, the Hertza region
Hertza region
Hertza region is the territory of an administrative district of Hertsa in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine, on the Romanian border...
, Budjak
Budjak
Budjak or Budzhak is a historical region in the Odessa Oblast of Ukraine. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube and Dniester rivers this multiethnic region was the southern part of Bessarabia...
, and Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
to the USSR but made no mention of the mouths of the Danube and Ostriv Zmiinyi.
Until 1948, Snake Island was considered part of the Romanian coastal city of Sulina
Sulina
Sulina is a town and free port in Tulcea County, Romania, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube. It is the easternmost point of Romania and of the continental European Union.-History:...
. In 1948, the Soviets forced the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n side (occupied by Soviet troops) to accept the "transfer" of Snake Island to the Soviet Union, as well as to accept to move the Romanian border in the Danube Delta towards the west, in favour of the USSR (resulting in the annexation of Limba Island by the USSR). Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
has strongly disputed the validity of this "treaty", since it was never ratified by any of the two countries, which would make the Limba Island and Snake Island de jure Romanian territory.
The same year, in 1948, during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, a Soviet radar post was built on the isle (for both naval and anti-aircraft purposes).
The Soviet Union's possession of Snake Island was confirmed in the Treaty between the Government of the People's Republic of Romania and the Government of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics on the Romanian-Soviet State Border Regime, Collaboration and Mutual Assistance on Border Matters, signed in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
on February 27, 1961.
Between 1967 and 1987, the USSR and Romanian side were negotiating the delimitation
Boundary delimitation
Boundary delimitation, or simply delimitation, is the term used to describe the drawing of boundaries, but is most often used to describe the drawing of electoral boundaries, specifically those of precincts, states, counties or other municipalities...
of the continental shelf. The Romanian side refused to accept a Russian offer of 4000 km² out of 6000 km² around the island in 1987.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine inherited control over the island. A number of Romanian parties and organizations consistently claimed it should be included in its territory. According to the Romanian side, in the peace treaties of 1918 and 1920 (after WWI), the isle was considered part of Romania, and it was not mentioned in the 1947 border-changing treaty between Romania and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
In 1997, Romania and Ukraine signed a treaty in which both states "reaffirm that the existing border between them is inviolable and therefore, they shall refrain, now and in future, from any attempt against the border, as well as from any demand, or act of, seizure and usurpation of part or all the territory of the Contracting Party". However, both sides have agreed that if no resolution on maritime borders can be reached within two years, then either side can go to the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
to seek a final ruling.
Maritime delimitation
The status of Snake Island was important for delimitation of continental shelfContinental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
and exclusive economic zone
Exclusive Economic Zone
Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical...
s between the two countries. If Snake Island were recognized as an island, then continental shelf
Continental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
around it should be considered as Ukrainian water. If Snake Island were not an island, but a cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
, then in accordance with international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
the maritime boundary
Maritime boundary
Maritime boundary is a conceptual means of division of the water surface of the planet into maritime areas that are defined through surrounding physical geography or by human geography. As such it usually includes areas of exclusive national rights over the mineral and biological resources,...
between Romania and Ukraine should be drawn without taking into consideration the isle location.
On 16 September 2004 the Romanian side brought a case against Ukraine to the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
in a dispute concerning the maritime boundary between the two States in the Black Sea.
On February 3, 2009, the court delivered its judgment, which divided the sea area of the Black Sea along a line which was between the claims of each country. The court concluded that Snake Island is not an island, therefore it "should have no effect on the delimitation in this case, other than that stemming from the role of the 12-nautical-mile arc of its territorial sea".