Globale Güter und territoriale Ansprüche : Meerespolitik in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und den USA in den 1960er Jahren

Abstract

The idea of installing an underwater laboratory in 1968 to run experiments was connected with the international debate about the sovereignty of the seabed beyond national borders. After a US consortium had occupied parts of the international seabed, international experts and the United Nations were concerned, that claiming parts of the seabed were under national jurisdiction might lead international law towards allowing such appropriation. In 1969, the German Government and the US Administration set up state agencies responsible for ocean research. The paper argues that underwater laboratories were partly organized in order to influence upcoming regulations on the use of the seabed.