Bajo Nuevo Bank, also known as Petrel Islands (Spanish: Bajo Nuevo, Islas Petrel), is a group of uninhabited coral reefs and small islands inside the western Caribbean Sea. It is currently below the jurisdiction of the San Andrés and Providencia Department of Colombia, although Jamaica, Nicaragua, and the US additionally declare sovereignty over the place.
On November 19, 2012, concerning Nicaragua's sovereignty claim over the islands, the International Court of Justice unanimously ruled that the Republic of Colombia has sovereignty over the Bajo Nuevo Bank and the Serranilla Bank. However, the judgment did not examine or mention competing claims from Honduras, and the United States still maintains claims to Serranilla Bank and Bajo Nuevo Bank, both of which it considers unincorporated U.S. territories.
Bajo Nuevo Bank Map
| Name | Bajo Nuevo Bank, Petrel Islands (Spanish: Bajo Nuevo, Islas Petrel) |
| Country | Colombia, Claimed by Jamaica, Nicaragua, United States |
| Province | Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina |
| Coordinates | 15°53′N 78°38′W |
| Area | 2.3 km2 (0.8 sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 |
| Population | N/A |
| Airport | N/A |
Territorial Dispute of Bajo Nuevo Bank
- Five international locations assert sovereignty claims over Bajo Nuevo Bank: Jamaica, Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, and the USA.
- On November 22, 1869, the United States introduced the disputed "Guano Islands Act." To this present day, the U.S. Nevertheless considers Bajo Nuevo Bank as an "unorganized, unincorporated U.S. Territory."
- According to the "Guano Islands Act," people born in Bajo Nuevo who are not citizens appear to be U.S. nationals but are now not U.S. citizens.
- Colombia presently maintains that the area falls under the jurisdiction of the San Andrés and Providencia Department. Colombia's navy, in particular the San Andrés fleet, patrols the region, declaring Colombia's ownership relationship returned to 1886 as part of the geographic territory of the San Andrés and Providencia archipelago.
- In November 1993, a maritime delimitation treaty between Colombia and Jamaica set up a "joint regime area," identified by way of international regulation in March 1994. This association permits both countries to cooperate in coping with and developing biological and non-organic assets in the distinctive waters between the two banks.
- The Colombian Ministry of Defense erected a lighthouse on Low Cay in 1982, standing at 21 meters tall with a white steel structure crowned with crimson. The beacon emits white flashes every 15 seconds. After conservative harm from storms, Colombia rebuilt it in February 2008, and it is currently maintained through the navy.
