UK 'planning Atlantic seabed bid'

Offshore energy is behind Britain's bid

Wednesday, 27, Aug 2008 12:00

Britain hopes to extend its seabed around Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The BBC reports Britain will submit a claim to the United Nations' Commission for the Limits of the Continental Shelf seeking an extension of the area of seabed it controls in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Such a move could see Britain benefit from any natural resources the underwater territory holds, like oil or gas.

Ascencion Island played a crucial role in the Falklands war, when it was used as the base from which the RAF's Vulcan bombers launched a long-distance raid destroying the airfield at Port Stanley.