Southern Ocean Transportation

Ports and harbors: McMurdo, Palmer, and offshore anchorages in
Antarctica

note: few ports or harbors exist on the southern side of the
Southern Ocean; ice conditions limit use of most of them to short
periods in midsummer; even then some cannot be entered without
icebreaker escort; most antarctic ports are operated by government
research stations and, except in an emergency, are not open to
commercial or private vessels; vessels in any port south of 60
degrees south are subject to inspection by Antarctic Treaty observers

Transportation - note: Drake Passage offers alternative to transit
through the Panama Canal

Southern Ocean Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see
Antarctic Treaty Summary in the Antarctica entry); sections (some
overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New
Zealand, Norway, and UK; the US and most other nations do not
recognize the maritime claims of other nations and have made no
claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do
so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90
degrees west and 150 degrees west

======================================================================

@South Georgia and the South Sandwich

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Introduction Top of
Page

Background: The islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the
Falkland Islands. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early
20th century whaling station. The famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON
stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross
Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few
companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the
rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in
1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today,
the station houses a small military garrison. The islands have large
bird and seal populations and, recognizing the importance of
preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993,
extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 miles to 200 miles
around each island.

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Geography

Location: Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic
Ocean, east of the tip of South America

Geographic coordinates: 54 30 S, 37 00 W

Map references: Antarctic Region

Area: tota