Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021

Rights and jurisdiction of State in designated area

18. (1) In a designated area, the State may exercise:

(a) sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring the continental shelf and exploiting the mineral and other non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil, together with any living organisms belonging to sedentary species;

(b) exclusive jurisdiction over artificial islands and installations;

(c) the exclusive right to construct and to authorise and regulate the construction, operation and use of—

(i) artificial islands,

(ii) any installation for use in the exploration of the continental shelf and exploitation of its non-living resources, and

(iii) any installation that may interfere with the exercise of the rights of the State on the continental shelf;

(d) the exclusive right to authorise and regulate drilling and tunnelling on the continental shelf for any purpose;

(e) the right to delineate the course of a submarine pipeline to be laid by any other state across any part of the continental shelf of the State;

(f) the right to regulate, authorise and conduct marine scientific research.

(2) In subsection (1) “sedentary species” means organisms which, at the harvestable stage, either are immobile on, or under, the seabed or are unable to move except in constant physical contact with the seabed or its subsoil.