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51-726: Created on 1 January 1987 in compliance to the UN Convention on Law of the Sea of 1982, the PMSA functions as a federal regulatory agency under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) whose command level leadership and personnel comes directly from the Pakistan Navy . Apart from enforcing maritime law, the PMSA conduct to assists in military operations against human trafficking , smuggling , and deep sea search and rescue . The leadership of

102-663: A Finance Committee that would originate the financial decisions of the Authority, to which the largest donors would automatically be members and in which decisions would be made by consensus. On 1 February 2011, the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued an advisory opinion concerning the legal responsibilities and obligations of states parties to

153-467: A distance of 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) to cover their Humboldt Current fishing grounds. Other nations extended their territorial seas to 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi). By 1967, only 25 nations still used the old three nautical mile limit, while 66 nations had set a 12-nautical-mile (22 km) territorial limit and eight had set a 200-nautical-mile (370 km) limit. As of 15 July 2011 , only Jordan still uses

204-506: A military department in 2005. In 2009, Government of Pakistan submitted its claim United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , which approved the extension of the shelf from 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) to 350 nautical miles (650 km; 400 mi). With this approval, Pakistan became the first country in the Indian Ocean to have successfully achieved extension in outer limits of continental shelf. In past,

255-480: A target regarding conservative and sustainable use of oceans and their resources in line with UNCLOS legal framework. In 1958, the United Nations held its first Conference on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS I ) at Geneva , Switzerland. UNCLOS I resulted in four treaties concluded in 1958: Although UNCLOS I was considered a success, it left open the important issue of breadth of territorial waters. In 1960,

306-506: Is a military administrative and an engineering staff branch of the Pakistan Navy . The National Hydrographic Office is generally associated with conducting the hydrographic surveys, oceanography, maritime works, and cartography but it performs various oceanographic works in the country as part of its nation-building mission. The National Hydrographic Office is commanded by the Hydrographer-of-Pakistan who serves as

357-710: Is a branch within the Navy, and is headquartered near the vicinity of the Karachi Fish Harbour and the KSEW Ltd. in Karachi , Sindh , Pakistan . Since it was established in 1987, the PMSA was headquartered in different hired commercial buildings, most notably, the Karachi Port Trust Building until the new headquarters were constructed and inaugurated on 15 January 2011. Leadership and

408-733: Is an agency within the Navy, therefore, it uses the same ranks and insignia as the Pakistan Navy as all of its members are active-duty personnel of the Navy. Pakistan Maritime Security Agency operates several vessels built locally at KSEW Ltd. and in China 's Huangpu and Xijiang shipyards. It also has some vessels transferred from the United States Coast Guard . PMSA currently operates three squadrons as listed below: The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency operates one aircraft squadron known as Squadron 93 PMSA. The squadron

459-695: Is mandated to conduct scientific inquiries on hydrographic surveys of maritime borders of Pakistan by publishing the military nautical maps and datasets. The National Hydrographic Officer is commanded by the Hydrographer of Pakistan (HOP), usually active-duty two-star rank, Rear-Admiral , who serves as the chief hydrographer and principal oceanographer in advising the Navy HQ and the Government of Pakistan on important matters on oceanography, navigation, cartography, surveys, and hydrography. In 1995,

510-739: The European Union . The significance of UNCLOS stems from the fact that it systemizes and codifies the standards and principles of international maritime law, which are based on centuries of maritime experience and are expressed to a great extent in the United Nations Charter and current international maritime law norms, such as the Geneva Conventions of 1958. A large portion of these requirements were further strengthened and expanded. Pakistan Navy Hydrographic Department The National Hydrographic Office

561-549: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg , Germany . Landlocked states are given a right of access to and from the sea, without taxation of traffic through transit states. Part XI of the convention provides for a regime relating to minerals on the seabed outside any state's territorial waters or exclusive economic zones (EEZ). It establishes an International Seabed Authority (ISA) to authorize seabed exploration and mining and collect and distribute

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612-649: The International Whaling Commission and the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which was established by the convention itself. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea replaces the older " freedom of the seas " concept, dating from the 17th century. According to this concept, national rights were limited to a specified belt of water extending from a nation's coastlines , usually 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) ( three-mile limit ), according to

663-469: The high seas . The United Nations agreement on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction or BBNJ Agreement, also referred to by some stakeholders as the High Seas Treaty or Global Ocean Treaty, is a legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. There is some controversy over the popularized name of

714-621: The secretary-general of the United Nations receives instruments of ratification and accession and the UN provides support for meetings of states party to the convention, the United Nations Secretariat has no direct operational role in the implementation of the convention. A UN specialized agency , the International Maritime Organization , does play a role, however, as do other bodies such as

765-492: The " cannon shot" rule developed by the Dutch jurist Cornelius van Bynkershoek . All waters beyond national boundaries were considered international waters : free to all nations, but belonging to none of them (the mare liberum principle propounded by Hugo Grotius ). In the early 20th century, some nations expressed their desire to extend national claims: to include mineral resources, to protect fish stocks , and to provide

816-634: The "polluter-pays" principle, and different impacts of human activities including areas beyond the national jurisdiction of the countries making those activities. The agreement was adopted by the 193 United Nations Member States. The convention was opened for signature on 10 December 1982 and entered into force on 16 November 1994 upon deposition of the 60th instrument of ratification. The convention has been ratified by 170 parties, which includes 166 UN member states, 1 UN Observer state ( Palestine ), two non-member states (the Cook Islands and Niue ) and

867-557: The 3-mile (4.8 km) limit. That limit is also used in certain Australian islands, an area of Belize, some Japanese straits , certain areas of Papua New Guinea, and a few British Overseas Territories , such as Gibraltar . UNCLOS does not deal with matters of territorial disputes or to resolve issues of sovereignty, as that field is governed by rules of customary international law on the acquisition and loss of territory. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 has

918-426: The 60th state, Guyana, ratified the treaty. The convention introduced a number of provisions. The most significant issues covered were setting limits, navigation, archipelagic status and transit regimes, exclusive economic zones (EEZs), continental shelf jurisdiction, deep seabed mining, the exploitation regime, protection of the marine environment, scientific research, and settlement of disputes. The convention set

969-748: The Coast Guards were under the command of the Pakistan Army and were unable to perform the deep sea search and rescue operations or enforce maritime law to protect Pakistan's maritime interests. The void had been filled by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard that had been very active in the Indian Ocean . The Navy had to perform the coast guard duties apart from the combat service and had to deploy its assets to guard

1020-567: The Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982. UNCLOS replaced the four treaties of the 1958 Convention on the High Seas . UNCLOS came into force in 1994, a year after Guyana became the 60th nation to ratify the treaty. In 2023, agreement was reached on a High Seas Treaty to be added as an instrument of the convention, to protect ocean life in international waters. This would provide measures including Marine Protected Areas and environmental impact assessments . While

1071-589: The National Hydrographic Office Pakistan (NHO) played an important and crucial role in conducting scientific inquiries that helped the Government of Pakistan to extends its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The project was commissioned by Ministry of Science and Technology which delegated the project to National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) as a civilian department alongside with the National Hydrographic Office Pakistan as

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1122-563: The PMSA has expanded substantially like to provide maritime protection to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor . The mission of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency states: "To assert and enforce national jurisdiction and sovereignty in all Maritime zones of Pakistan and to protect Pakistan's Maritime interests" In 1971, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had established the Pakistan Coast Guard but

1173-685: The Pakistan Navy in petroleum and other mineral exploration in Pakistan's naval zones. The agency coordinates the oceanographic research and other scientific activities of the Navy Hydrographic Department . BARRACUDA series of exercises are undertaken by Pakistan Maritime Security Agency to counter marine pollution of Pakistani waters. The exercises involve multiple stakeholders including Pakistan Navy , Pakistan Air Force , Karachi Port Trust , Port Qasim Authority , Gwadar Port Authority and other stakeholders. BARRACUDA-XII

1224-676: The Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS ), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty , is an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. As of October 2024 , 169 sovereign states and the European Union are parties. The convention resulted from the third United Nations Conference on

1275-687: The UN Rio Declaration. Part XII of UNCLOS contains special provisions for the protection of the marine environment, obligating all states to collaborate in this matter, as well as placing special obligations on flag states to ensure that ships under their flags adhere to international environmental regulations, often adopted by the IMO . The MARPOL convention is an example of such regulation. Part XII also bestows coastal and port states with broadened jurisdictional rights for enforcing international environmental regulation within their territory and on

1326-537: The United Nations held the second Conference on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS II"); however, the six-week Geneva conference did not result in any new agreements. Generally speaking, developing nations and third world countries participated only as clients, allies, or dependents of the United States or the Soviet Union, with no significant voice of their own. The issue of varying claims of territorial waters

1377-503: The agency comes from the external billets appointment approved by the Pakistan Navy and its executive officer is designated as the Director-General who usually at the two-star rank admiral a senior flag officer of Rear Admiral rank in the Navy. The current director of the agency is Rear Admiral Shahzad Iqbal who took the directorship of the agency in 2024. Since 2014, the mission objectives and area of responsibility of

1428-655: The agency to perform its operations and task. In 1997, the MSA gained its constitutional mandate after ratification of the Convention on the Law of the Sea . The Maritime Security Agency conducts exercises with the other coast guards of the world. In May 2005, the PMSA agreed to establish liaison links with the Indian Coast Guard . Pakistan Maritime Security Agency has roles in maritime homeland security , national and international maritime law enforcement (MLE), search and rescue (SAR), marine environmental protection (MEP), and

1479-536: The agreement does not directly address climate change , it also serves as a step towards protecting the ecosystems that store carbon in sediments. The treaty has 75 articles and its main purpose is "to take stewardship of the world’s oceans for present and future generations, care for and protect the marine environment and ensure its responsible use, maintain the integrity of undersea ecosystems and conserve marine biological diversity’s inherent value". The treaty recognizes traditional knowledge . It has articles regarding

1530-678: The agreement. It is an agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The text was finalised during an intergovernmental conference at the UN on 4 March 2023 and adopted on 19 June 2023. Both states and regional economic integration organizations can become parties to the treaty. In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had voted to convene an intergovernmental conference (IGC) to consider establishing an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on

1581-651: The area by two state-sponsored contractors – Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. (sponsored by the Republic of Nauru) and Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd. (sponsored by the Kingdom of Tonga). The advisory opinion set forth the international legal responsibilities and obligations of sponsoring states and the authority to ensure that sponsored activities do not harm the marine environment, consistent with the applicable provisions of UNCLOS Part XI, Authority regulations, ITLOS case law, other international environmental treaties, and Principle 15 of

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1632-466: The conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). This was considered necessary because UNCLOS did not provide a framework for areas beyond national jurisdiction. There was a particular concern for marine biodiversity and the impact of overfishing on global fish stocks and ecosystem stability. The treaty addresses four themes: (1) marine genetic resources (MGRs) and their Digital sequence information , including

1683-418: The convention establishes general obligations for safeguarding the marine environment and protecting freedom of scientific research on the high seas, and also creates an innovative legal regime for controlling mineral resource exploitation in deep seabed areas beyond national jurisdiction, through an International Seabed Authority and the common heritage of mankind principle. The convention also established

1734-582: The convention with respect to the sponsorship of activities in the area in accordance with Part XI of the convention and the 1994 agreement. The advisory opinion was issued in response to a formal request made by the International Seabed Authority following two prior applications the authority's Legal and Technical Commission had received from the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga regarding proposed activities (a plan of work to explore for polymetallic nodules) to be undertaken in

1785-585: The convention. The resulting 1994 Agreement on Implementation was adopted as a binding international convention. It mandated that key articles, including those on limitation of seabed production and mandatory technology transfer, would not be applied, that the United States, if it became a member, would be guaranteed a seat on the Council of the International Seabed Authority, and finally, that voting would be done in groups, with each group able to block decisions on substantive matters. The 1994 Agreement also established

1836-488: The demand for minerals from the seabed made the seabed regime significantly less relevant. In addition, the decline of communism in the late 1980s removed much of the support for some of the more contentious Part XI provisions. In 1990, consultations began between signatories and non-signatories (including the United States) over the possibility of modifying the convention to allow the industrialized countries to join

1887-401: The fair and equitable sharing of benefits; (2) area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs); (3) environmental impact assessments (EIAs); and (4) capacity building and transfer of marine technology (CB&TMT). The area-based management tools and environmental impact assessments relate mainly to conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, while

1938-472: The limit of various areas, measured from a carefully defined baseline . (Normally, a sea baseline follows the low-water line, but when the coastline is deeply indented, has fringing islands or is highly unstable, straight baselines may be used.) The areas are as follows: The area outside these areas is referred to as the " high seas " or simply "the Area". Aside from its provisions defining ocean boundaries,

1989-492: The maintenance of intracoastal and offshore aids to navigation (ATON). The agency is mandate to protect the fishing vessels and crew against any threat within the Maritime Zones (MZ). The agency performs military operations authorized by the Ministry of Defence to protect the economic and maritime interests of Pakistan. The agency also provides security and assists governmental agencies, international organizations and

2040-428: The marine genetic resources and capacity building and transfer of marine technology include issues of economic justice and equity. Greenpeace called it "the biggest conservation victory ever". The main achievement is the new possibility to create marine protected areas in international waters. By doing so the agreement now makes it possible to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030 (part of the 30 by 30 target). Though

2091-711: The maritime interests of the country. After the United Nations ' Convention on the Law of the Sea was signed in 1982, the Government of Pakistan established the Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) after acquiring the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of about 240,000 square miles (620,000 km). The MoD established the Maritime Affairs Wing in 1986 to lay the framework of the agency as the Pakistan Navy undertook

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2142-476: The means to enforce pollution controls . The League of Nations called a 1930 conference at The Hague , but no agreements resulted. Using the customary international-law principle of a nation's right to protect its natural resources, President Harry S. Truman in 1945 extended United States control to all the natural resources of its continental shelf . Other nations were quick to follow suit. Between 1946 and 1950, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador extended their rights to

2193-483: The minerals of the deep seabed. An agreement was made with other seabed mining nations and licenses were granted to four international consortia. Concurrently, the Preparatory Commission was established to prepare for the eventual coming into force of the convention-recognized claims by applicants, sponsored by signatories of the convention. Overlaps between the two groups were resolved, but a decline in

2244-571: The naval chiefs's hydrographer, and advises the Navy HQ on matters of marine engineering and physical oceanographic meteorology. As of 2024, the current Hydrographer-of-Pakistan is Rear-Admiral Muhammad Khalid. In 1949, Rear-Admiral James Wilfred Jefford laid the foundation of the hydrographic arm within the Pakistan Navy with Captain Colin Goyder Little— a Commander in the Royal Australian Navy at that time—

2295-455: The personnel are directly appointed from the Navy and the agency consists of a Director-General and it is commanded by a two-star rank , a Rear Admiral seconded from Pakistan Navy. The headquarters of the agency and personnel are placed under the command of Commander of Coastal Areas (COMCOAST), who usually supervise the operations for the Ministry of Defence. The Maritime Security Agency

2346-575: The seabed mining royalty. The United States objected to the provisions of Part XI of the convention on several grounds, arguing that the treaty was unfavorable to American economic and security interests. Due to Part XI, the United States refused to ratify the UNCLOS, although it expressed agreement with the remaining provisions of the convention. From 1982 to 1990, the United States accepted all but Part XI as customary international law, while attempting to establish an alternative regime for exploitation of

2397-500: The task by establishing the agency from its manpower and provided the leadership with Rear-Admiral S.R. Hussain becoming its first Director-General on 1 August 1986. On 1 January 1987, the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) was established for law enforcement and protecting the maritime interests of the country, and a parliamentary act that was passed in 1994 to provide the legal jurisdiction to

2448-513: Was held from February 2-4 2024. The exercise demonstrated preparedness around oil spill containment, counter-piracy, and search and rescue (SAR) operations. The exercise deployed air and sea assets of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency, Pakistan Navy, and Pakistan Airforce. Other national stakeholders including port authorities and oil companies were also involved. The exercise was witnessed by foreign observers including naval personnel from friendly countries. The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA)

2499-480: Was inaugurated on 23 June 1988 with the induction of a Fokker F27 Friendship an interim measure, for sea surveillance. The aircraft was stationed at Jinnah Terminal for the purpose of logistics support. In 1993, the PMSA acquired the Britten-Norman Defender stationed at Mehran Naval Air Station . PMSA currently operates from multiple bases namely: United Nations Convention on Law of

2550-604: Was its first commanding officer as hydrographer of Pakistan. In 1955, it was finally commissioned in the Pakistan Navy as its hydrographic arm— the British Royal Navy officers played crucial role in helping the Navy run its operations with Commander John C. Gratton, later Commander Robert Hunt who the last British Royal Officer in the Pakistan Navy in 1955. Originally, it was known as Pakistan Navy Hydrographic Department but later re-organized and re-designated itself as National Hydrographic Office (NHO). The Office

2601-609: Was raised in the UN in 1967 by Arvid Pardo of Malta, and in 1973 the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea convened in New York. In an attempt to reduce the possibility of groups of nation-states dominating the negotiations, the conference used a consensus process rather than majority vote. With more than 160 nations participating, the conference lasted until 1982. The resulting convention came into force on 16 November 1994, one year after

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