April 8, 2024, 10:01 p.m.
(A collision between an Icelandic Coast Guard patrol ship (left) and a British frigate. Photo: Wikipedia)
The so-called Cod Wars are perhaps one of the most amazing conflicts in human history. One of the most influential countries in the world, Great Britain, and a country that does not even have its own army, Iceland, came together in a confrontation. Read more in the article by Intent.
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Modern science claims that Iceland began to be settled in the Middle Ages. It is not a fact that the Vikings were the first to visit the island, but they gave it its current name. The subsequent history of the island is inseparably linked to the Vikings. The colonizers quickly occupied land suitable for agriculture. Since there was a lack of arable land in the tenth century, the Vikings were forced to settle Greenland.
A map of the Viking campaigns. Infographic: Wikipedia
Almost the entire territory of Iceland is a volcanic plateau with peaks up to 2 kilometers high. There are also active volcanoes here. About a tenth of the island is covered by glaciers. Only a limited part of Iceland's territory is habitable. As a rule, such lands are located near the coast. The Vikings were mainly engaged in raiding, fishing, and cattle breeding. In "civilized" times, their descendants inherited fishing. Even today, trade in fish products accounts for more than half of Iceland's exports. Agriculture is quite developed, although the land suitable for it is only 1% of the territory. It was only at the end of the 20th century that the country's financial system began to develop, which contributed to a strong economic recovery.
Eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010. Photo: Wikipedia
The Cod Wars are far from the only clash in history that took place on the basis of fishing. For example, after the 1917 coup, Japanese fishermen took advantage of the disorder in the former empire to poach off Kamchatka under the cover of their warships. It was only in the 1930s that the USSR found ways to effectively counteract this.
A tuna war broke out between Australia and Japan when the latter began fishing, allegedly for scientific purposes, off the west coast of Australia. As reported by representatives of Australia and New Zealand, the volume of tuna fishing significantly exceeded scientific needs. Another tuna war took place in the Bay of Biscay, when the French tried to fish for tuna in Spanish waters, and the Spanish tried to fish for tuna in French waters.
In 1995, Canada and Spain fought a halibut war. In response to the detention of a Spanish trawler by the Canadians, the European country sent its warships to the coast of Newfoundland to protect fishermen.
And this is not a complete list of fisheries conflicts. According to the UN, at the beginning of the 21st century, more than 100 countries were involved in conflicts over fishing rights.
Interestingly, on March 11, 2024, Vladimir Putin signed a law banning British fishermen from fishing in the Russian part of the Barents Sea. The new law cancels an agreement signed between the UK and the USSR back in 1956.
The first rehearsal of the cod wars took place in 1893. Denmark simply confronted other countries with the fact that it was closing to foreign fishermen a 50-mile zone around the coasts of Iceland and the Faroe Islands, which at that time belonged to the Danes. The UK did not recognize the Danish claims, and its fishermen continued to fish in these waters. Danish warships responded by detaining British vessels. In 1899, the British trawler Caspian was detained by the Danes near the Faroe Islands. The trawler's captain boarded the patrol ship and was arrested, but before that he managed to give his mate an order to flee. The Danish patrol opened fire, but failed to detain the British again. In 1901, under pressure from the UK, Denmark was forced to sign an agreement under which the territorial waters of Iceland and the Faroe Islands were limited to the standard three nautical miles at that time.
Mankind has long been interested in the issue of maritime boundaries between states, but it became particularly relevant after the beginning of the Age of Discovery. At that time, European maritime powers were trying to divide their zones of influence in new territories and build logistics for the transportation of loot to metropolitan areas. In the seventeenth century, lawyers from different countries started a polemic, justifying the rights of their own nation. In the eighteenth century, Dutch lawyer Cornelius van Beinkershoek, developing the ideas of his colleagues, noted that the state has the right to the waters adjacent to its territory. He suggested that the volume of adjacent waters should be determined by the distance to which the cores of coastal batteries can reach. According to one version, the cannonballs of the best guns of the time flew 3 nautical miles, which became an international benchmark for many years. However, some authors have expressed doubts about the ability of the then-current cannonballs to cover such a distance. Some point out that the distance is roughly equal to the old unit of measurement, the league. Others point out that a tall person can look 3 nautical miles from the shore toward the horizon.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, various states repeatedly tried to increase the volume of their own territorial waters. As a rule, such initiatives were met with protests from other states, which led to the conclusion of agreements. Since the mid-20th century, the world has seen a massive move of the territorial waters boundary to a distance of 12 nautical miles. At the same time, some countries managed to voice their claims even to 200 nautical miles. In the late 1960s, there were discussions about the need for a new maritime treaty that would harmonize and legitimize the existing processes. Finally, in 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was signed, which set out the main guidelines. Thus, the territorial sea is established at the limit of 12 nautical miles from the land border, the contiguous zone - at a distance of 12 nautical miles from the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone - at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the land border.
Maritime zones according to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Image: Wikipedia
At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Iceland was a territory stuck somewhere in the Middle Ages. The island's inhabitants lived by fishing in boats with oars. At the same time, the Icelanders watched as representatives of continental Europe used trawlers to catch tons of fish in their region. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Icelanders began to buy old British trawlers, which immediately significantly improved the living standards of the islanders.
In 1918, the Danish-Icelandic Union Act was signed for 25 years, recognizing Iceland as a sovereign and independent state. At the same time, Iceland asked Denmark to handle some defense and foreign affairs issues for it. In 1944, in a referendum, Iceland decided not to continue the union with Denmark, and as a result, Iceland officially became a republic. In 1949, Iceland became a member of NATO.
After World War II, Britain began to rapidly lose its colonies. Due to treaties with the United States during the war, the British also handed over a number of their naval bases to the Americans, so they no longer had control over the oceans. The British needed to resume trade. In particular, they planned to replenish fish stocks off the coast of Iceland. The British fishermen caught mostly cod, which eventually gave rise to the names of the wars.
The efforts of continental European countries to catch fish caused not very positive emotions on the part of the Icelanders, who believed that this limited their fishing opportunities. In December 1951, the United Kingdom lost a case over fishing in Norwegian territorial waters at the International Court of Justice . This case inspires the Icelanders, who the following year proclaim the expansion of their territorial waters from 3 to 4 nautical miles. In response, the UK imposes sanctions on Iceland and closes its ports to trade. For the Icelanders, this step was a serious blow, as British ports were the main export market for fish. At that time, the USSR, seeing the disputes between the capitalist countries, offered to buy Icelandic cod. This turn worried the United States, which also began to buy Icelandic fish. At the same time, the Americans persuade Spain and Italy to join the purchases as well. In this way, Iceland managed to overcome the consequences of the British blockade quite comfortably. Prior to that, in 1956, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation took Iceland's side in the dispute, forcing the United Kingdom to submit. Some researchers consider the 1952-56 conflict to be the first Cod War, as its scenario and causes were very similar to the events that followed.
In 1958, the UN organizes the first International Conference on the Law of the Sea. At this conference, a number of countries try to expand their territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, but the participants fail to reach a common decision. Later in 1958, Iceland proclaimed the introduction of the 12-mile zone. The decision was negatively received by all NATO members. It affected the UK the most, as it stated that its vessels would continue to fish under the protection of the navy. And 53 warships did indeed sail to Icelandic waters. Since Iceland has no armed forces, it was able to put up 7 patrol boats and one flying boat as a countermeasure. Icelandic boats tried to find violators of the 12-mile zone, but British frigates regularly came to the rescue. The Icelanders fired several shots at the British trawlers, and the patrol boat Egir collided with the frigate Russell, but there were no casualties during the conflict. Unable to prevail by force, Iceland began threatening to withdraw from NATO and eliminate the American military base on its territory. The threat was taken seriously by NATO members, so the UK was forced to agree to a 12-mile zone. As a compromise, the British were allowed to fish in the outer 6-mile zone for three years.
A British naval officer monitors the safety of fishermen in 1958. Photo: atlasobscura
Why did NATO members consider Iceland so important? The fact is that Iceland's location has important geopolitical significance. The United Kingdom, Iceland and Greenland control the sea passage from the North Atlantic to the North and Norwegian Seas. Since Greenland belongs to Denmark, the passage is under full NATO control. Therefore, the loss of Iceland would be considered a geostrategic defeat.
The passage from the North Atlantic to the North and Norwegian Seas on the world map. Map: Wikipedia
By the early 70s, it became apparent that herring stocks around Iceland had significantly decreased. Moreover, Icelandic scientists found that cod stocks were also significantly declining. All this forced the Icelandic government to once again expand its territorial waters to 50 nautical miles. This time, not only all Western European countries, but even members of the Warsaw Pact opposed it. However, Iceland was supported by African countries: the Icelandic prime minister said that they were fighting against colonialism and imperialism.
The United Kingdom and West Germany decided to simply ignore the statement of the Icelandic government. The British decided not to send warships for the time being, but sent large but fast tugs to support the trawlers. This time, however, the Icelanders had a surprise in store. Behind their boats, they mounted cutters that cut the trawls of the fishing boats. In addition to the destroyed trawls, which were worth several thousand pounds, tons of catch sank to the bottom, and crew members were injured by broken wires and ropes.
Schematic of the cutter on a patrol boat. Infographic: Wikipedia
Now Britain was forced to involve the military. Icelandic patrol boats fired at the trawlers and tried to capture them. The British military used ramming tactics. During one of these clashes, an Icelandic sailor was killed. To win, Iceland used a proven tactic: it threatened to withdraw from NATO and close the American base. Once again, under pressure from the United States, the British were forced to comply. According to the agreement, the British could fish in the 50-mile zone for two years, although their catch was limited to 130,000 tons per year.
While the agreement was in effect, another incident occurred. One of the largest British trawlers, the Forrester, sailed into the 12-mile zone, where it was met by the patrol boat Thor. The pursuit of the British lasted about 100 miles, and it was hit at least twice. Finally, he stopped and surrendered. The captain of the Forrester was sent to prison for 30 days. When the owners of the trawler paid the fine, everyone was released along with their catch.
When the last agreement came to an end, in 1975 Iceland put forward a new demand to expand its own waters to 200 nautical miles. At the time, some countries were making similar demands and the general international trend was to expand territorial waters, but 200 miles was the absolute maximum. According to the existing tradition, Britain refused to recognize Iceland's new demands, and its fishermen continued to fish for cod. Iceland also traditionally began to stop British fishermen and cut trawls, and the British responded by sending a navy.
Interestingly, before the new escalation of the conflict, Iceland decided to strengthen its military capabilities. Initially, Iceland approached the United States with a proposal to purchase Asheville-class warships. After the US refused, the Icelanders turned to the USSR with a similar proposal, which was completely unheard of for a NATO member. Presumably, Iceland was not going to actually buy Soviet frigates, but even as a tactical move, it was quite risky. Earlier, Iceland had purchased two Polish trawlers that had been converted into coast guard ships.
The Third Cod War was the fiercest. Different sources indicate between 35 and 55 collisions between the ships, during which rams were fired. This time, both sides made significant efforts to sink enemy vessels. In particular, the Icelandic patrol boat Thor once encountered three British ships. The British struck the Icelandic boat with a series of blows, causing it to sink. In response, the boat fired first blank and then live ammunition at the enemy, but the British vessels were not seriously damaged.
During another clash, the Icelandic patrol boat Thir tried to cut the trawl of a British trawler. At that time, the Falmouth frigate struck the Thir. On the second attempt, the Tyr managed to cut the trawl, while the Falmouth struck it again and almost turned it over. The captain of the Tir ordered the crew to take up arms, but saw that the boat was on the verge of destruction and had to urgently move to port.
In early 1976, Iceland broke off diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. However, the main "secret" weapon of the Icelanders remained unchanged-they began to threaten to close the NATO base. Again, under pressure from the United States and NATO, Britain was forced to make concessions. As a result of the agreement, the British were allowed to stay within the 200-mile zone for some time.
Gradual expansion of Iceland's maritime borders. Infographic: Wikipedia
The Icelanders achieved all their goals during the conflict. In history, it will be difficult to find another country that has fought such a victorious series of wars against Britain. The latter suffered significant reputational and material losses. The economy of the northern British ports was severely affected, and thousands of professional fishermen and fish traders lost their jobs.
Docks in a British fishing port after the end of the Third Cod War. Photo: Britishseafishing
Today, the UK and Iceland have quite healthy relations. In 2017, the crews of two ships involved in the cod wars exchanged bells as a sign of goodwill and friendship between the cities of Hull and Reykjavik. According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, every modern maritime state has an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles on its land border.
Exclusive economic zones of the UK and Iceland on the map of the region. Map: Wikipedia
The Cod Wars have gone down in history as a unique example of how a country without an army can win a confrontation with a powerful nuclear power. What advantages did Iceland use to win the war? The country's main resource in the war was its favorable geographical location. By joining NATO, Iceland, together with the UK and Greenland, formed a kind of gateway between the North Atlantic and the North and Norwegian Seas. In other words, from a geopolitical perspective, the importance of Iceland as part of the NATO bloc during the Cold War could not be overestimated. The secret of Iceland's success is that it actually blackmailed the Western bloc countries with the possibility of withdrawing from NATO and flirting with the USSR.
Can we condemn the way Iceland treated its allies in the context of the Soviet threat? From the point of view of human relations, Iceland's actions do look unattractive, but we should not confuse relations with geopolitics. As Lord Henry Palmerston once said, Britain has no eternal enemies or eternal friends, only eternal interests. It was self-interest that guided the actions of Iceland, a country with limited resources and capabilities. And they were ready to defend their own interests, fighting for the right to life, in a confrontation with any opponent. We should also not forget that geopolitics is a game with complex rules, in which the winner is always right. Perhaps there is some historical justice in the fact that Iceland fought for survival in the Cod Wars, while Great Britain fought for economic prosperity.
Describing the conflict, the authors of the materials often talk about the impudence of Iceland, which, before swallowing one piece of water, immediately tried to shove the next one into its mouth. These authors, either out of ignorance or for manipulative purposes, ignore the trends in the law of the sea that existed in the mid-twentieth century. The fact was that countries with access to the sea were steadily trying to expand their territorial waters. Of course, Iceland was ahead of this movement for the reasons mentioned above, but even the desire to get a 200-mile zone at its disposal was not revolutionary in the mid-1970s.
The Cod Wars show that a modern country does not need to possess nuclear weapons or a strong army to win conflicts. It is much more important to have a proper understanding of one's strengths, the ability to develop them and present them to the world community in a certain way. Ukraine is not helpless in this regard. It needs to find its own way and its place on the geopolitical chessboard.
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