|
1975
July 15th the Minister of Fisheries, Matthias Bjarnason,
issued a regulation concerning the extension of the fishing limits to
200 miles on the 15th of October.
On the 13th of November the agreement with the British
on the 50 miles limit was to expire.
British ship owners protested strongly, the government of Germany
and the Common Market Countries expressed their dissatisfaction.
October
15th the limit was extended to 200 miles.
November
16th the trawl cutters were used for the first time in the
dispute, when the trawler “Primella” was cut a bit shorter.
November
17th the dialog between the nations ended abruptly.
The British sent towboats to the fishing grounds
for the protection of their trawlers.November
25th an agreement about limited quotas was reached with the
German government. The
British sent three frigates to Iceland.
December 6th the towboat “Euroman” rammed “Thor”
after it had cut trawl wires.
December
10th “Thor” and the frigate “Falmouth” had a clash
off the east coast.
December
11th “Thor” was considerably damaged after the ramming
of several towboats. They
did not stop until “Thor” fired a shot through the bow of “Lloydsman”,
the first shot fired during the dispute.
1976
January 7th the frigate “Andromeda” rammed “Thor”
hard and damaged it severely. Two
days later more severe damages were caused by the battleship “Leander”
after repeated ramming attempts.
January
11th the people in the vicinity of the naval base closed its
gates to protest the behaviour of the battleships.
January
19th the government threatened to sever diplomatic
connections with Britain. British
authorities pulled their battleships out and invited Prime Minister Geir
Hallgrimsson to a dialog in London. They were in vain, and the battleships returned to the
fishing grounds.
February 19th the diplomatic relations with Britain were
ended and NATO conferred on the matter.
May
6th the dispute started turning even more ugly and the
frigate “Falmouth” rammed “Tyr” twice severely.
May 23rd the Ministers of both nations conferred in Oslo.
June.
Both nations agreed on quotas for British trawlers for the next
six months. After that they
were permitted to continue fishing within the 200 miles’ limit with
the permission of the Icelanders. The
last “Cod War” was eventually over.
Main
sources of information:
Atli
Magnusson: “I kroppum sjo”. Captain Helgi Hallvardsson recites his experiences.
Orn and Orlygur 1992.
Bjorn
Thorsteinsson: “Ten Cod
Wars 1415-1976”. Sogufelagid
1976.
David Olafsson: “Saga
landhelgismalsins”. The
struggle for the extension of the fishing limits to 12 miles. Sumarlidi R. Isleifsson prepared for printing.
Hid islenzka bokmenntafelag 1999.
Gilchrist,
Andrew: “The Cod Wars, and how to lose them”.
Memoirs from Iceland 1957-60.
Translated by Jon O. Edwald.
Almenna bokafelagid 1977.
Gils Gudmundsson: “Slysavarnarfelag
Islands 25 ara”. The
National Life-Saving Association 1953.
Gudjon
Arngrimsson: “Landhelgisgćzla
Islands 1926-96”. Glimpses
from the 70 years history of The Icelandic Coast Guard 1996.
Gylfi
Grondal: “Eldhress i
heila old”. Captain
Eirikur Krisofersson recites his experiences and adventures from this
world and beyond.
Jon
Eiriksson: “Skipstjorar
og skip”. Skuggsja 1971
Sigurdor
Sigurdorsson: “Spaugsami
sporfuglinn”. Captain
Throstur Sigtryggsson recites his experiences.
Orn og Orlygur 1987.
Sveinn
Saemundsson: “Gudmundur
skipherra Kaernested 1-2”. Orn
og Orlygur 1984-85.
Gylfi Gröndal: Eldhress í heila öld. Eiríkur Kristófersson
skipherra segir frá ćvintýrum sínum og atburđum ţessa heims og
annars. Forlagiđ 1993.
Jón Eiríksson: Skipstjórar og skip. Skuggsjá 1971.
Sigurdór Sigurdórsson: Spaugsami spörfuglinn. Ţröstur Sigtryggson
skipherra segir frá. Örn og Örlygur 1987.
Sveinn Sćmundsson: Guđmundur skipherra Kćrnested 1-2. Örn og
Örlygur 1984-85. |