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"cod wars". Cod Wars Beginning of the conflict between Iceland and Great Britain

Against the background of modern trade wars, I would like to look a little into history.

Diplomatic and later armed conflicts between Great Britain and Iceland related to fishing, especially cod, began in 1952.

When fish resources in the White Sea and off the coast of the Faroe Islands were exhausted in the mid-1950s, British and West German fishermen rushed into Icelandic waters. Reykjavik sounded the alarm and accused London of destroying the Icelandic cod population.
Iceland has demanded an exclusive 4-mile fishing zone around its territory. The UK responded to this embargo on imports of Icelandic fish with other sanctions. From 1952 to 1958, the conflict remained in the diplomatic plane, so this period is called the "Proto-Crack War". However, since 1958, the conflict has moved into the hot phase of an armed conflict, called the "Cod Wars".

First Cod War (1958 - 1961), after expanding the zone from 4 to 12 nautical miles.
- Second Cod War (1972 - October 1973), after expanding the zone from 12 to 50 nautical miles
- Third Cod War (1975 - June 1976) extension to 200 miles

The hostilities that began at the end of 1975 were called by the Western European press nothing more than an "absurd war of friends." After the British fishermen refused to leave the 200-mile sea zone, warships of the Icelandic Coast Guard began destroying British fishing nets. The first serious incident occurred in December, when the Icelandic frigate Thor blocked the path of three British ships. "An Icelandic Air Force warship opened fire on unarmed British trawlers," British news agency BBC reported. “As a result of the shelling, the Thor frigate itself received serious damage, while the British ships remained unharmed.” According to the Icelandic authorities, three British ships surrounded the military frigate from different sides and rammed it. The British only retreated when Thor was on the verge of sinking.

In February 1976, after a series of incidents in which faster British ships overtook and rammed vessels of the Icelandic Coast Guard, Reykjavik announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Britain. “This is guerrilla warfare at sea,” said Icelandic Prime Minister Geir Hallgrimsson. The Icelandic flotilla at the height of the conflict consisted of only 7 obsolete frigates, while 22 modern frigates, 7 auxiliary and 6 tugboats came to the aid of the British fishermen. But, despite the unequal forces, success, according to observers of those years, was generally on the side of the Icelandic flotilla.

“The Icelandic mini-armada has a cheerful disposition and operates on the principle of“ making life unbearable for the enemy, ”Spiegel wrote in March 1976. - British frigates are waiting for the Icelanders, like cats in a mouse hole. And if at midnight some sounds slip into radio signals, English sailors know: the “fucking bastards” (sons of bitches) are approaching. The tactic of the Icelanders was that they lured the enemy closer to the fjords, and then fired at enemy frigates. The British authorities accused the Icelandic military of "extreme brutality". It was reported that the Icelandic ships opened fire more than once, shooting at the British sailors.

By March 1976, public opinion in Iceland began to put pressure on the authorities, demanding an immediate exit from NATO and the withdrawal of the alliance's military bases from the country. The culmination of numerous protests was the blocking of the entrance to the military base in Keflavik, which at that time was considered one of the most important outposts of the alliance in the fight against Soviet submarines. Washington until the last hoped that the Icelandic politicians "won't follow the lead" of the demonstrators. It was all the more unexpected when the Althingi almost unanimously adopted a resolution in which it demanded the immediate expulsion of foreign troops from the island. It is said that it was at this moment that the head of the White House called British Prime Minister James Callaghan with a demand to "settle the conflict with the Icelanders by any means." In early June 1976, the parties signed an agreement under which the UK recognized the 200-mile Icelandic zone and, despite violent public protests, limited fishing in the North Atlantic.
This war was almost without casualties. The British and Icelanders reported several dozen wounded. One employee of the Icelandic Coast Guard also died (In June 1973, the patrol boat Ægir took the destroyer HMS Scylla to the ram, during a collision an Icelandic engineer died from an electric shock, who was repairing the hull - his welding machine filled with water.)

Cause

Extension of Iceland's Exclusive Economic Zone

Outcome

Icelandic victory

Opponents Commanders Side forces Losses

1 killed

In response to opposition to British fishing vessels, London sent three frigates to the coast of Iceland.

The Icelanders declared British fishermen poachers and closed all ports and airfields of the country to the UK. After the intervention of an intermediary in the person of the NATO organization, of which both countries were members, the British ships left the waters of Iceland.

However, the conflict continued to grow. British fishermen refused to leave Icelandic waters, and several ships of the British navy reappeared off the coast of Iceland.

A British frigate opened fire on an Icelandic Coast Guard patrol boat while the latter was patrolling in an area declared territorial waters of Iceland. As a result, one Coast Guard officer was killed and a patrol boat was damaged.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Cod Wars

At this time, he received a letter from his wife, who begged him for a date, wrote about her sadness for him and about her desire to devote her whole life to him.
At the end of the letter, she informed him that one of these days she would come to St. Petersburg from abroad.
Following the letter, one of the Masonic brothers, less respected by him, burst into Pierre’s solitude and, having brought the conversation to Pierre’s marital relations, in the form of fraternal advice, expressed to him the idea that his strictness towards his wife was unfair, and that Pierre deviates from the first rules of the Mason. not forgiving the penitent.
At the same time, his mother-in-law, the wife of Prince Vasily, sent for him, begging him to visit her at least for a few minutes to negotiate a very important matter. Pierre saw that there was a conspiracy against him, that they wanted to unite him with his wife, and this was not even unpleasant for him in the state in which he was. He did not care: Pierre did not consider anything in life a matter of great importance, and under the influence of the anguish that now took possession of him, he did not value either his freedom or his persistence in punishing his wife.
"No one is right, no one is to blame, so she is not to blame either," he thought. - If Pierre did not immediately express his consent to union with his wife, it was only because in the state of anguish in which he was, he was not able to do anything. If his wife came to him, he would not drive her away now. Was it not all the same, in comparison with what occupied Pierre, to live or not to live with his wife?
Without answering anything to his wife or mother-in-law, Pierre once got ready for the road late in the evening and left for Moscow to see Iosif Alekseevich. Here is what Pierre wrote in his diary.
Moscow, November 17th.
I have just arrived from a benefactor, and I hasten to write down everything that I experienced at the same time. Iosif Alekseevich lives in poverty and suffers for the third year from a painful bladder disease. No one ever heard from him a groan, or a word of grumbling. From morning until late at night, with the exception of the hours in which he eats the simplest food, he works on science. He received me graciously and sat me down on the bed on which he was lying; I made him the sign of the knights of the East and Jerusalem, he answered me the same, and with a meek smile asked me about what I had learned and acquired in the Prussian and Scottish lodges. I told him everything as well as I could, conveying the grounds that I offered in our St. Petersburg box and reported on the bad reception that had been given to me, and about the rupture that had occurred between me and the brothers. Iosif Alekseevich, after a considerable pause and thought, presented to me his view of all this, which instantly illuminated for me everything that had passed and the whole future path that lay before me. He surprised me by asking me if I remember what the threefold purpose of the order is: 1) to keep and know the sacrament; 2) in the purification and correction of oneself for the perception of it, and 3) in the correction of the human race through the desire for such purification. What is the main and first goal of these three? Certainly own correction and purification. Only towards this goal can we always strive, regardless of all circumstances. But at the same time, this goal requires the most labor from us, and therefore, deluded by pride, we, missing this goal, either take on the sacrament that we are unworthy to receive because of our impurity, or take on the correction of the human race, when we ourselves are an example of abomination and depravity. Illuminism is not a pure doctrine precisely because it is carried away by social activities and is full of pride. On this basis, Iosif Alekseevich condemned my speech and all my activities. I agreed with him in the depths of my soul. On the occasion of our conversation about my family affairs, he said to me: - The main duty of a true Mason, as I told you, is to perfect himself. But often we think that by removing all the difficulties of our life from ourselves, we will more quickly achieve this goal; on the contrary, my lord, he told me, only in the midst of secular unrest can we achieve three main goals: 1) self-knowledge, for a person can know himself only through comparison, 2) improvement, only by struggle is it achieved, and 3) achieve the main virtue - love for death. Only the vicissitudes of life can show us the futility of it and can contribute to our innate love for death or rebirth into a new life. These words are all the more remarkable because Iosif Alekseevich, despite his severe physical suffering, is never burdened by life, but loves death, for which, despite all the purity and loftiness of his inner man, he still does not feel himself sufficiently prepared. Then the benefactor fully explained to me the meaning of the great square of the universe and pointed out that the triple and the seventh number are the foundation of everything. He advised me not to distance myself from communication with the St. Petersburg brothers and, occupying only positions of the 2nd degree in the lodge, to try, distracting the brothers from the hobbies of pride, to turn them to the true path of self-knowledge and improvement. In addition, for himself personally, he advised me first of all to take care of myself, and for this purpose he gave me a notebook, the same one in which I write and will continue to enter all my actions.

Flickr.com/ Andrew/ Code Wars

The International Peace League in 2014 once again recognized Iceland as the most peaceful country on the planet. The island state does not have its own army and is under the military protection of the United States and NATO. Nevertheless, in the second half of the 20th century, Iceland fought three times and each time won the war.

Moreover, she defeated one of the key members of the alliance, who took responsibility for the defense of the island - Great Britain! The cause of the conflict every time was ... fish.

In the 60s, it accounted for almost nine-tenths of all Icelandic exports. The standard of living of each Icelander directly depended on what the catch was. Until 1952, a three nautical miles (5,560 meters) maritime exclusive economic zone (EEZ) existed around the island. In it, the Icelandic authorities had the right to restrict or even prohibit fishing.

Outside the EEZ, any trawler could fish indefinitely. The British were especially active in this. They "raked out" most of the biological resources.

Fishing was also allowed in the fjords and bays where fish spawned. This caused serious damage to its natural reproduction. The decrease in catch forced the Icelanders to take drastic measures.

In 1952, the island authorities announced the expansion of the EEZ to 4 nautical miles (7,400 meters), and introduced restrictions on fishing during the spawning season. The UK did not recognize the new rules and refused to buy fish from the Icelanders.

At first, the actions of the British caused serious damage to the fishing industry of a small country. Most of the local catch was sent to the United Kingdom. The Icelanders were forced to look for new markets and found them quite quickly - in particular, in the USA and the USSR.

On September 1, 1958, the exclusive economic zone was extended to 12 nautical miles (22,200 meters). The Icelandic Coast Guard began to detain trawlers that violated the rules of fishing.

In response, the British Navy sent 43 warships into the EEZ to guard their fishermen. Not wanting (and not having the opportunity) to enter into a military confrontation with one of the world powers, the Icelanders went to the trick.

They invented "trawl cutter" hooks and began to cut long (and expensive!) British fishing nets right into the sea. The conflict, called the "First Cod War" (after the name of the main object of fishing) was completed without bloodshed.

In 1961, Great Britain and Iceland entered into a compromise agreement. The British recognized an Icelandic economic zone 12 miles wide. The Icelanders granted English fishermen the right to limited fishing within the EEZ for three years.

The second "cod war" broke out in 1972. Iceland has expanded its economic zone again. Now - up to 50 miles (92 kilometers). Britain again refused to recognize the right of the Icelanders to change the rules of the game.

The conflict again managed to end bloodlessly. "Fought" only lawyers in the International Court of Justice. In the end, Iceland retained an EEZ 50 miles wide.

The UK regained the right to limited fishing (no more than 130,000 tons per year) in the 12-mile zone and agreed to abide by the terms of the 1961 treaty.

However, incidents in the disputed area have occurred from time to time. The largest took place in July 1974. Then the British trawler CS Forester was fired upon and detained by the Icelandic coast guard within the exclusive economic zone. The ship was released after paying a £28,800 fine.

The third "cod war" became the largest and bloodiest. It started after November 13, 1975. On this day, the 1961 treaty expired. The UK refused to renew it.

In the absence of a new agreement, the British had reason to fish on the terms that existed before 1961 - that is, at a distance of only three miles from the Icelandic coast. Iceland exacerbated the situation by increasing the width of the exclusive economic zone in 1975. It now extended 200 miles (370 kilometers) from the coast.

Fishing in the EEZ without permission from the island government has been declared poaching. Britain sent twenty-two frigates, seven supply vessels, nine tugs and three support vessels to the disputed waters. This armada protected a fleet of 40 fishing trawlers.

In military terms, Iceland could not oppose the British. The Soviet Military Encyclopedia of 1977 counted six patrol boats in the coast guard of the island. They could be supported by two C-54 Skymaster search and rescue aircraft and one Fokker F27-200 cargo-passenger aircraft. There was simply nothing more formidable in the country.

The personnel of the coast guard was about a hundred people, armed with small arms. They opposed the Royal Navy of Great Britain - the second largest in the world.

The Icelanders fought the English fishermen with improvised means. They cut fishing tackle and threw nets of strong cable under the trawlers to entangle the propellers with them. Sometimes it came to the use of small arms. The British responded by trying to ram the Icelandic ships.

On December 11, 1975, the Air Force reported that the Thor patrol boat had fired on three British ships at once. Further maneuvers resulted in Thor colliding with the support vessel Lloydsman.

In late December, the British frigate Andromeda collided with the boat Tyr. The Icelanders accused the opponents of a deliberate ramming. The British denied the presence of malicious intent. On January 7, 1976, the same Andromeda almost sank Thor. The victims of the incidents were one person on each side.

On February 19, 1976, Iceland severed diplomatic relations with the UK. Icelandic ports were closed to military and civilian ships of the United Kingdom.

The country threatened to withdraw from NATO and close the military base in the city of Keflavik, a military facility of strategic importance to the United States. Director of the Icelandic Coast Guard Petur Sigurdsson announced plans to purchase warships from the USSR. “We need faster ships. If we have them, the British won't be able to do anything about it. They will only have to drown us, ”he said in an interview with the West German magazine Spiegel.

It was a bluff.

Iceland did not have the money for such a major purchase. It is hard to believe, however, that the Icelanders would have been able to conceal from their NATO allies the true state of the island's financial affairs. However, the Soviet Union, under certain circumstances, probably would not have refused to help the Icelanders free of charge, "who have embarked on the path of correction and a break with the aggressive NATO bloc."

Be that as it may, the Americans decided not to check how far the Soviets were ready to go in helping "Icelandic workers in their struggle against world imperialism" and preferred to put pressure on the United Kingdom.

The then Secretary General of NATO, Joseph Luns, acted as a mediator in resolving the conflict. On June 2, 1976, a new agreement was concluded.

It fixed Iceland's right to a two-hundred-mile economic zone. British fishermen could catch up to 50,000 tons of fish per year within the EEZ. No more than 24 trawlers could be in the zone at the same time. Fish spawning areas were completely closed for fishing.

“Never mess with Iceland! - summed up the "cod wars" former adviser to the British Prime Minister Roy Hattersley (Roy Hattersley) in an interview with The Guardian. “As I learned from the experience of the “cod war”, the inhabitants of this small island can be a formidable adversary.”

The small island republic, which does not have its own army, with a population smaller than the audience at a good rock concert, succeeded in what, for example, a few years later, much stronger and more influential Argentina failed - to force one of the leading world powers to abandon their claims and retreat.

Text: Sergey Tolmachev

Cod: Body length - up to 1.8 m; the fishery is dominated by fish 40-80 cm long, aged 3-10 years. The color of the back is from greenish-olive to brown with small brown speckles, the belly is white. Cod is one of the most important commercial fish. Her liver, rich in fat (up to 74%), is a source of fish oil (animal fat obtained from a large liver weighing 1.3-2.2 kg) and a raw material for the production of popular canned food.

The story of how Iceland's small fleet of just a few patrol boats defeated the Royal Navy of Great Britain may seem absolutely fantastic. However, the Icelanders think otherwise. The cod wars, in which this victory was won, are a source of national pride for a small northern people. In fairness, it should be noted that the victory in these conflicts was won primarily by Icelandic diplomats and politicians. But this in no way detracts from the courage and determination of the sailors of the Icelandic coast guard, who boldly stood in the way of the British frigates.

Here's how it actually happened...

Seafood Wars

The vast resources of the oceans, alas, are not endless, and this applies even to theoretically renewable fisheries. Their predatory exploitation leads to the depletion of stocks and provokes numerous conflicts between fishermen from different countries, who are periodically supported by the military. In recent decades, conflicts over fish and other seafood have erupted around the world.

In the Indian Ocean, there is an undeclared permanent tuna war between Japan and Australia. North and South Korea are waging a crab war. In the Atlantic in the 1990s, Spain and Canada fought a halibut war. Argentina and Great Britain are tensely dividing squids around the disputed Falklands, and even the friendly USA and Canada in the 80s-90s of the XX century spoiled relations because of salmon fish - sockeye salmon and coho salmon.

British fishing boats detained in French territorial waters in the English Channel during the Scallop wars in 2012

The longest of all the "fish" conflicts is a series of Cod wars that took place in the North Atlantic. Moreover, sometimes they took place literally half a step away from the transition to a real armed conflict. Usually, the "Cod Wars" are called three conflicts of the second half of the 20th century between Great Britain and Iceland. At the same time, Icelandic historians attribute them to a single "chain" of British-Icelandic conflicts, which include as many as ten episodes - "wars". And the very first of which dates back to the beginning of the 15th century, when England broke the Norwegian monopoly on trade with Iceland (at that time a Norwegian possession).
At the end of the 19th century, when Iceland was already a possession of the Kingdom of Denmark, the conflict over the fish-rich Icelandic waters nearly led to a Danish-British war. In 1893, Denmark unilaterally announced the closure of a 50-mile zone around the coast of Iceland and the Faroe Islands to foreign fishermen. The British did not recognize this claim, fearing that such a precedent would lead to similar actions on the part of other states surrounding the North Sea, and continued to send fishing boats to the shores of Danish possessions. A small digression should be made here, because the issue of economic and political control over coastal maritime space is complex and ambiguous.

Territorial waters

Most countries in the world have access to the sea. It is quite natural that the use of the world's oceans has often given rise to conflicts. The issue of extending the jurisdiction of coastal states to adjacent areas of vast reservoirs has been one of the most difficult for international law. But in the beginning it was pretty simple. Since ancient times, traditionally, the border of "marine possessions" was determined by the horizon line, which was seen by the observer from the coast.

Cornelius van Binkershock, President of the High Court of Holland and Zeeland

At the beginning of the 18th century, the Dutch lawyer Cornelius van Binkershock put forward a rationalization idea. Based on the fact that a state can claim control over coastal waters if it can exercise effective control over them, van Binkershock suggested that the width of territorial waters be determined by the range of a cannon shot. At that time, cannonballs could fly no more than three nautical miles from the coast - about 5.5 kilometers.

The Binkershock baths proposal, called the "cannon shot rule", became the accepted international norm for a couple of centuries.
determining the size of territorial waters. True, he had certain shortcomings. First, different states had different levels of technological development. And this was the reason for the obvious inequality: the more powerful guns a country had, the greater the area of the sea it extended its sovereignty. Secondly, the range of artillery was constantly increasing.
As a result, in addition to the three-mile coastal coastal zone that states have declared part of their territory, a 12-mile (22.2 km) customs zone appeared. Subsequently, especially after the Second World War, many states declared their own and much larger areas of the world's oceans. Gambia, Madagascar and Tanzania "captured" 50-mile (92.6 km), and Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Sierra Leone - 200-mile coastal spaces.

The position of the countries of the world in relation to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Dark green - States that have ratified the Convention;
Light green - states that have signed but not ratified the Convention;
Gray - states that have not signed the convention.

The countries of the world managed to come to a common denominator only in 1994, when the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea came into force. At the moment, the Convention has been ratified by the vast majority of states - among the large coastal countries, the United States, Turkey, Venezuela, Peru, Syria and Kazakhstan have not joined it. According to it, the territorial waters to which the sovereignty of a coastal state extends is a maritime area 12 miles wide. In addition, countries have priority economic rights in the 200-mile (370.4 kilometers) exclusive economic zone.

British-Danish Cod War

However, back to our cod. As we remember, the British shipowners in the 1890s decided to ignore the Danish attempt to expand their territorial waters. In response, Danish warships patrolling the coasts of Iceland and the Faroes began to detain trawlers and escort them to their ports. There, the British were fined and their catch confiscated. For a time, the British refrained from fishing in the Danish-off-limits zone. However, the demand for fish in Britain grew, increasing by a quarter between 1896 and 1899. And the forbidden waters were very rich in cod and other commercial species. And everything returned to normal - the British ignored the ban, and the Danes fined them with varying degrees of success.

In April 1899, it came to shooting. The British trawler Caspian off the coast of the Faroe Islands was detained by the Danes. The captain of the trawler, Johnson, boarded the Danish patrol ship, but before that he ordered the assistant to take the ship away. Trying to stop the fleeing trawler, the Danes opened fire on it and caused damage, but the British managed to escape. The detained Johnson was tried in Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, and sentenced to thirty days of arrest, which he served on a diet of water and bread.

Capital of the Faroe Islands Tórshavn in 1898 or 1899

After these events, it was the turn of Great Britain to remember that it has a navy, and the strongest in the world. British "gunboat diplomacy" - the demonstrative presence of the Royal Navy in Danish waters - resolved the problem quickly and (to the British) effectively. The 1901 agreement fixed the territorial waters of Iceland and the Faroes at the traditional three miles. On this, the conflict calmed down for the time being, which was largely facilitated by the outbreak of the First World War.

The beginning of the conflict between Iceland and Great Britain

After Germany occupied Denmark in 1940, the British landed in Iceland. The following year, control of the island passed to the United States, and in 1944 the Kingdom of Iceland, which was in a personal union with Denmark, became an independent republic. One of the first foreign policy actions of the young state was the breaking of the Danish-British agreement of 1901.

British soldiers in Reykjavik. May 1940

If for Denmark the "fish question" was important, but far from being critical, for Iceland it turned out to be fundamental. This country depends on fishing and related industries like no other state in the world. Iceland has very few natural resources. There is no oil, gas, coal or even forests here, and the agricultural potential of the country, 11% of whose territory is occupied by glaciers, is extremely limited. Fish and products from it are the main export item of Iceland (between 1881 and 1976 - 89.71% of the total). In fact, the issue of preserving fish stocks is a matter of the country's survival.

The first post-war conflict between Britain and Iceland began in 1952, when Iceland announced it would expand its waters off-limits to foreign fishermen from three to four miles. The British filed an application with the International Court of Justice, and while the proceedings were ongoing, they banned Icelandic fishing boats from entering their ports. This ban dealt a serious blow to the Icelandic economy - the UK was the largest market for the small northern country.

And here the descendants of the Vikings were rescued by the recently begun Cold War. The resulting surplus of cod enthusiastically began to buy the Soviet Union, thereby hoping to increase its influence on, albeit small, but one of the founding states of NATO. This prospect worried the United States, which also began buying large quantities of Icelandic fish. As a result, joint Soviet-American imports compensated for the damage caused by British sanctions.

This conflict ended, like the three Cod Wars that followed it, with the victory of Iceland. A country with a population of 160 thousand people defeated a great power, one of the five states - permanent members of the UN Security Council. In 1956, by decision of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (the predecessor of the OECD), Great Britain was forced to recognize the Icelandic four-mile zone.

First Cod War

Encouraged by the success, already in 1958 the Icelanders decided to once again expand their exclusive fishing zone, this time up to 12 miles at once. But now things were getting off to a bad start for them: all other NATO members opposed such unilateral actions.
Unlike the "paper" conflict of 1952-56, this time it was not without the participation of the military: Great Britain sent warships to the shores of Iceland. In total, during the first Cod War, 53 ships of the Royal Navy took part in the operation to protect the fishing fleet, which were opposed by seven Icelandic patrol boats and one PBY Catalina flying boat.
The presence of foreign naval forces in the coastal waters of Iceland has sparked protests in the country. Angry Icelanders gathered outside the British Embassy, but Ambassador Andrew Gilchrist greeted them with ridicule, playing bagpipes and military marches on the gramophone at full volume.

The Icelandic patrol boat Albert approaches the British trawler Coventry in Vestfjord. 1958

Icelanders were in a clearly losing position. Their attempts to detain the British fishermen or drive them out of the 12-mile zone ran into opposition from the larger and more powerful British warships. Already on September 4, when the Icelandic patrol boat Ægir tried to expel a British trawler from Vestfjord, the British frigate Russell intervened, as a result of which both warships collided.
On November 12, the patrol boat Thor tried to delay the trawler Hackness with warning shots and rammed it, but the omnipresent Russell again came to the aid of the trawler. The captain of the frigate demanded that the Icelanders leave the trawler alone, as it was outside the boundaries of the four-mile zone recognized by the British. The captain of the boat Thor, Eirikur Christofersson, refused and began approaching the trawler, ordering him to be held at gunpoint. The British promised to sink the Icelandic boat if it fired again. The conflict situation ended after the arrival of several more British ships, under the protection of which the trawler retired.
The number of such episodes grew. Realizing that in the confrontation with the British fleet, Iceland has no chance, the country's authorities resorted to banal blackmail. The government of the island nation threatened to withdraw from NATO and expel American troops from the country. Despite the overwhelming naval superiority, under pressure from the Americans, Great Britain was forced to recognize the 12-mile Icelandic exclusive economic zone. The only significant concession from the Icelanders was the granting of limited fishing rights to the British in the outer six miles out of twelve.

Second Cod War

Despite the victory won in 1961, the situation with fish resources off the coast of Iceland continued to deteriorate. In the 1960s, herring disappeared from the waters surrounding the island, the catch of which fell from 8.5 million tons in 1958 to almost zero in 1970. The number of cod has also been steadily declining, and according to biologists' forecasts, it should have disappeared after the herring around 1980.
Iceland's attempts to involve international organizations in resolving the issue failed miserably. Proposals for the introduction of quotas for fishing and the creation of areas closed to fishing, where populations could restore their numbers, were either ignored or left for endless discussions in industry committees.

A cutter (foreground) used by the Icelandic Coast Guard to damage British fishing trawls. Behind him is a harpoon gun

On the foreign policy front, the situation for the Icelanders was even worse than during the first war. The unilateral expansion of the maritime economic zone was condemned not only by Western states, but also by the countries of the Warsaw Pact. The only Icelandic victory in this area was the support from African countries, which was won thanks to the demagoguery of the Icelandic premier: this leader of a NATO member country declared that the Icelandic actions were part of a wider struggle against imperialism and colonialism.

The Icelandic boat Ver (left) tries to cut the trawls of the British trawler Northern Reward (right), while the British tugboat Statesman (center) tries to interfere with it

After the Icelanders cut the nets of eighteen fishing boats, in May 1973 the British trawlers left the waters claimed by Iceland. However, they soon returned, this time protected by Royal Navy frigates. In June 1973, the patrol boat Ægir collided with the frigate Scylla during ice reconnaissance in Vestfjord. And on August 29 of the same year, the Ægir crew suffered the first, and, unfortunately, not the last human sacrifice in all three wars. During a collision with another British frigate, an engineer who was repairing the hull died from an electric shock - his welding machine was flooded with water.

The Icelanders were once again forced to pull their joker out of their sleeves. Voices were heard in the country's government about the need to withdraw from NATO, which should protect its members, but in practice does not provide any assistance. In September 1973, NATO Secretary General Joseph Luns arrived in Reykjavik to save the day. On October 3, British warships were withdrawn, and on November 8, the parties to the conflict signed an interim agreement. According to him, the fishing activity of the British within the 50-mile zone was limited: their annual catch should not exceed 130,000 tons. The agreement expired in 1975.

Iceland won again.

Third Cod War

Phased expansion of Iceland's economic maritime zone. Dark blue indicates the 200-mile lane.

Even after the conclusion of the "truce", relations between Britain and Iceland remained strained. In July 1974, the Forester, one of Britain's largest trawlers, was discovered by an Icelandic patrol boat fishing within a 12-mile radius. After a 100-kilometer chase and shelling with at least two hits, the trawler was captured and taken to Iceland. The captain of the ship was convicted, sentenced to 30 days in prison and a £5,000 fine.

On November 16, 1975, the Third Cod War began. Having honestly waited for the end of the 1973 agreement, the Icelanders decided not to waste time on trifles and declared the now 200-mile coastal strip their exclusive maritime zone. To counter the British trawlers, they were able to deploy six patrol boats and two Polish-built trawlers, armed and re-equipped as Coast Guard ships.

Collision between the Icelandic patrol boat Baldur (right) and the British frigate Mermaid

In addition, they intended to purchase Asheville-class patrol boats from the United States, and after the refusal they even wanted to receive Soviet Project 35 patrol ships - but this deal did not take place either. This time, the British sent an “armada” of 22 frigates to protect their 40 trawlers (however, at a time there were no more than 9 British warships off the coast of Iceland), 7 supply ships, 9 tugboats and 3 auxiliary ships.

The Third Cod War lasted 7 months, until June 1976. It turned out to be the toughest of the three - during its course there were 55 deliberate collisions of ships from both countries. During this conflict, another person died, this time a British fisherman, who was killed by a trawl line cut by an Icelandic boat. Things went the furthest during this war and on the diplomatic front - to the point that on February 19, 1976, Iceland severed diplomatic relations with Great Britain.

Collision between the Icelandic patrol boat Óðins and the British frigate Scylla during the Third Cod War on February 23, 1976

The outcome of the last Cod War was predictable. Having honestly exhausted all the possibilities of confrontation with Great Britain (apart from an open declaration of war), Iceland again applied its favorite “forbidden trick”. Without further ado, the Icelanders threatened to close the American base in Keflavik, which was the most important link in the NATO defense system in the North Atlantic.
On June 2, 1976, through the mediation of the same NATO Secretary General Joseph Luns, a new agreement was concluded that put an end to the Icelandic-British cod wars. According to him, over the next 6 months at a time, 24 British trawlers could be inside the 200-mile maritime exclusive zone of Iceland. After this period, the UK no longer had the right to fish inside the 200-mile zone without permission from Iceland, thereby recognizing its new maritime boundaries.

The bronze "statue of friendship" in Kingston upon Hull, England, erected in 2006 as a sign of final reconciliation after the Cod Wars. A second similar statue stands in the Icelandic village of Vik.

The cod wars ended in a complete and unconditional victory for Iceland. Of course, without help from the United States, she would hardly have been able to survive in the fight against Great Britain. Nevertheless, the example of a small country that defeated a great power is indicative: sometimes diplomacy can be stronger than an army or navy.

But Yuri Gudimeno decided to present this historical event in a very original way:

I have been thinking for a long time how to tell about the great (without quotes) victory of tiny Iceland over the British Empire in the so-called “Cod War” in a clear and not boring way. And I couldn’t think of anything better than to describe all 18 years of the war in roles. Sorry, but with a swear word, there’s no way without it (and here you can do it without it, because for children and those who wrinkle their nose at the word b ... I prepared an adapted version -V.M.)

So, Cod Wars.

Characters:

The British Empire - a population of about 51 million people, a nuclear state.
Iceland - population of about 300 thousand people, no army.
NATO is an alliance that includes both Britain and Iceland.
Other countries - the USSR, Germany, the USA and others.

Act one. 1958

Iceland. I need cod.

Other countries. You have 4 miles around your, uh, islet, so catch yourself there.

Iceland. I need more cod.

(Iceland claims that it now owns all maritime territory for 12 miles around the island)

Other countries (in chorus). Don't fuck yourself!

Iceland (gently). Cod, cod, my cod ...

Britannia. Hey you...

Iceland (corrects). You.

Britannia. Hear you. I used to fish with you, and I will continue to fish. Is the hint clear?

Iceland. I'll strike between the eyes.

Britain (shocked): What?!

Iceland. Pro-between-eyes.

Britannia. I have nuclear weapons.

Iceland. You won't hit me.

Britannia. I have a fleet.

Iceland. Soon you will remember how nice it was to talk about your fleet in the present tense.

Britannia. You have less population than I have sailors in the navy!

Iceland. Nothing. Cod will get fatter on English meat.

Britannia. Oh you...

(British fishermen continue to fish for cod in Icelandic waters)

Iceland (thoughtfully). Between the eyes.

(Icelandic coast guard surrounds British ships and cuts their trawls)

Britannia (choking on tea with milk). Yes, you are crazy!

Britannia. I need cod!

Iceland. No. Iceland and the Soviet Union need cod. Hey Union, do you want some fish?

USSR (from a distance). Fish? Union wants fish!

Britannia. Your mother...

(Britain withdraws its fishermen and recognizes Iceland's rights to the 12-mile zone)

Act two. 1972

Iceland. I need cod.

Britannia. Again?!

Iceland. To me. Need. Cod.

(Iceland says it now has exclusive rights for 50 miles around the island)

Other countries (in chorus). Yes, you are crazy!

Iceland (corrects). You.

Britannia. You got me, you little bastard.

Germany. And me. I might need cod too!

(Britain and Germany continue to fish in Icelandic waters with navy frigates attached to their fishermen)

Iceland (thoughtfully). I'll strike between the eyes. Everyone.

(The Icelandic Coast Guard tries to cut the trawls of the English fishermen, but runs into warning fire from the navy)

Iceland (melancholy). If I don't hit it, others will hit it... (picks up the phone) Hello, USA? Iceland worries. No, not Ireland, but Iceland. No, they are different countries. I'll strike between the eyes. What? No, it's not for you yet. We used to have your military base here, remember? What do you mean, "still worth it"? Now we'll remove it, if it's worth it. Otherwise, they offend us here, but your base is of no use. We will set up another base, a red one. With bear and button. And Russians. What does "don't" mean? How about "solving the problem"? Okay, decide quickly. Chao. (hangs up)

USSR. Did someone call me?

Iceland. No, you heard.

USSR. Is there still cod?

Iceland. No. She drowned.

USSR. It's a pity.

USA. Hey there you are in Icelandic waters!

Britain and Germany (in chorus). What?

USA. Get the hell out of there, please.

Britannia. But cod...

USA. From cod heartburn.

Britain (doomed). Your mother...

(Britain and Germany leave Icelandic waters)

Iceland. I'll hit it next time.

Act three. 1975

Iceland. I need cod.

Britain and Germany (looking around, in a low whisper). Went to hell.

Iceland. To me. Need. Cod.

(Iceland claims that it now owns the waters for 200 miles around the island)

Other countries. Iceland, yes you ... that is, you ...

Iceland (interrupts). I'll hit it.

Germany (melancholy). Will hit.

Britannia. Watch and learn, suckers.

(Britain brings in navy again to protect fishermen in Icelandic waters)

Iceland (thoughtfully). I have seven ships. Britain has about a hundred. (rubbing his hands) It will be a great victory worthy of our Viking ancestors!

Germany (in a whisper). Iceland is crazy, call psychiatrists.

Iceland. Release the Coast Guard!

(The old frigate "Thor" with difficulty leaves the bay, blocks the road to three English warships at once and enters into battle with them)

Other countries (in chorus). Iceland went crazy!

Iceland (with devilish laughter). The halls of Valhalla await us, where we will feast forever with the Forefather Odin at a long table! ..

Other countries (in a whisper). Kapets.

(Icelandic and English ships chase each other across the sea, skirmishing)

USA. Yo Mama. You both...

Iceland (not listening). Fight, English rats! Your place is in the gray Niflheim, under the heel of the great Hel! Behold the banner of the raven! Thor is with us!

USA (in panic). You are both members of NATO!

Iceland (without turning around). Not anymore.

USA (falling into chthonic horror). How is it not?!

Iceland. We will not fight shoulder to shoulder with cowardly English rats. We are leaving NATO.

Other countries (in chorus). Fuck!..

USA (fading). But you have the only NATO base in the northern seas!

USSR (sneaking up). But from this place in more detail ...

USA. Your own mother! Britannia! Can I have two words for you?

Britain (reluctantly). What else?!

USA. Get out of there!

Britannia. It's a matter of principle!

USA. I'll strike between the eyes!

Iceland. Fuck off, USA, I noticed her first!

USA. Yes, you are crazy!

Iceland (waving cod). You know, bears are very fond of raw fish. Historical fact.

USSR. Ry-s-s-yba-a-a-a ...

USA. Your mother! Britannia!

Britain (disappointed). Yes, what the hell...

(Britain recalls its ships and, following all the countries of Europe, recognizes Iceland's right to a 200-mile zone around the island)

Iceland (sadly). The Great Odin was left without a sacrifice... And the fun ended so quickly... (looking around and noticing the Eyjafjallajökull volcano) Although you can still fix it!

All countries of the world (in chorus). Your own mother...

Curtain

An interesting story of victories in several trade wars between tiny Iceland and Great Britain. Victories won by perseverance and diplomacy. Iceland has no oil, gas, coal or even forests, and the agricultural potential of the country, 11% of whose territory is occupied by glaciers, is extremely limited. Fish is a strategic commodity for the country.

The first post-war conflict between Britain and Iceland began in 1952, when Iceland announced it would expand its waters off limits to foreign fishermen from three to four miles. The British filed an application with the International Court of Justice, and while the proceedings were ongoing, they banned Icelandic fishing boats from entering their ports. This ban dealt a serious blow to the Icelandic economy: the UK was the largest market for the small northern country.

This conflict ended with the victory of Iceland. A country with a population of 160,000 has defeated a great power, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. In 1956, Great Britain was forced to recognize the Icelandic four-mile zone.

But that was only the beginning

First Cod War

The Icelandic patrol boat Albert approaches the British trawler Coventry in Vestfjord. 1958

Encouraged by the success, already in 1958 the Icelanders decided to once again expand their exclusive fishing zone, this time up to 12 miles at once. But now everything started for them very unsuccessfully: all other NATO members opposed such unilateral actions. This time it was not without the participation of the military: Great Britain sent warships to the shores of Iceland. In total, during the first Cod War, 53 ships of the Royal Navy took part in the operation to protect the fishing fleet, which were opposed by seven Icelandic patrol boats and one PBY Catalina flying boat.

The presence of foreign naval forces in the coastal waters of Iceland has sparked protests in the country. Angry Icelanders gathered outside the British Embassy, but Ambassador Andrew Gilchrist greeted them with ridicule, playing bagpipes and military marches on the gramophone at full volume.

The number of such episodes grew. Realizing that in the confrontation with the British fleet, Iceland has no chance, the country's authorities resorted to blackmail. The government of the island nation threatened to withdraw from NATO and expel American troops from the country. Despite the overwhelming naval superiority, under pressure from the Americans, Great Britain was forced to recognize the 12-mile Icelandic exclusive economic zone. The only significant concession from the Icelanders was the granting of limited fishing rights to the British in the outer six miles out of twelve.

Second Cod War

The Icelandic boat Ver (left) tries to cut the trawls of the British trawler Northern Reward (right), while the British tugboat Statesman (center) tries to interfere with it

Iceland's attempts to involve international organizations in resolving the issue have failed. Proposals for the introduction of quotas for fishing and the creation of areas closed to fishing, where populations could restore their numbers, were either ignored or left for endless discussions in industry committees.

In September 1972, the Icelandic government extended the country's maritime exclusive economic zone to 50 miles to conserve fish stocks and increase the country's share of the total catch. This time the Coast Guard's tactics were different. Instead of delaying or expelling the British trawlers, the Icelanders cut the lines of the fishing trawls with special cutters. After the Icelanders cut the nets of eighteen fishing boats, in May 1973 the British trawlers left the waters claimed by Iceland. However, they soon returned, this time protected by Royal Navy frigates.

The Icelanders once again got their joker out of their sleeves. Voices were heard in the country's government about the need to withdraw from NATO, which should protect its members, but in practice does not provide any assistance. In September 1973, NATO Secretary General Joseph Luns arrived in Reykjavik to save the day. On October 3, British warships were withdrawn, and on November 8, the parties to the conflict signed an interim agreement. According to him, the fishing activity of the British within the 50-mile zone was limited: their annual catch should not exceed 130,000 tons. The agreement expired in 1975.

Iceland won again.

Third Cod War

Collision between the Icelandic patrol boat Baldur (right) and the British frigate Mermaid

The outcome of the last Cod War was predictable. Having exhausted all available options for confrontation with Great Britain (apart from an open declaration of war), Iceland again applied its “forbidden trick”. The Icelanders threatened to close the American base in Keflavik, which was the most important link in the NATO defense system in the North Atlantic.

On June 2, 1976, through the mediation of the same NATO Secretary General Joseph Luns, a new agreement was concluded that put an end to the Icelandic-British cod wars. According to him, over the next 6 months at a time, 24 British trawlers could be inside the 200-mile maritime exclusive zone of Iceland.

Extension of the Icelandic exclusive economic zone.

After this period, the UK no longer had the right to fish inside the 200-mile zone without permission from Iceland, thereby recognizing its new maritime boundaries.

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"cod wars". Cod Wars Beginning of the conflict between Iceland and Great Britain

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"cod wars". Cod Wars Beginning of the conflict between Iceland and Great Britain

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