Maritime ‘EEZ’ Creates Opportunities

An impressive 140,000 square miles of Atlantic Ocean and sea-floor was ceded to Bermuda by proclamation of His Excellency the Governor of Bermuda on June 6, 1996. This relatively unknown development makes Bermuda the only British Overseas Territory to have ownership of its surrounding waters, an area called the Economic Empowerment Zone (the "EEZ").

Under international maritime law, coastal states have control over both the surrounding territorial waters, and the state's contiguous zone. Territorial waters stretch 12 miles from the low-water mark of the state's recognised coast. The contiguous zone stretches for an additional 12 nautical miles. Bermuda's EEZ expands this control an additional 176 nautical miles to the 200 nautical mile mark.