ILLUSTRATIONS: Diego Sanches
Brazil officially controls a maritime territory of 3.6 million km2 – an area larger than the Northeast, Southeast and South regions combined. In this stretch of sea, known as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the country monitors and directs vessel traffic and has the exclusive right to research and commercially exploit existing resources in the water and underground (oil, natural gas, seafood, etc. ). The current limits of the EEZ were defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and only came into effect in 1994. But, since 2004, Brazil has been fighting for the expansion of our domains, expanding our EEZ to 4.5 million km2.
Brazilian territory
TERRITORIAL SEA
Brazil has maritime and air sovereignty over a strip that runs along the coast with a width of 22 km (12 nautical miles). In this territory and in the neighboring 22 km (contiguous zone), the country can inspect vessels and impose its legislation
EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE
Brazil owns all the riches of the waters and the subsoil up to a distance of 370 km (200 nautical miles) from not only the mainland but also its islands. Companies and institutions from other countries need a concession from the Brazilian government to explore this area
SEA IN SIGHT
In addition to being able to explore a strip of almost 400 km wide along its 7,500 km of coastline, Brazil still has exclusivity over areas located up to 1,500 km from the mainland thanks to small portions of land, such as the archipelago of Trindade and Martim Vaz, who belong to the country
NEW LIMITS
The UN provides that a country can expand its maritime limits beyond the EEZ, provided that it presents good technical arguments. Since 2005, Brazil has claimed over 960,000 km2 of sea, considering the reach of its continental shelf
THE HOLE IS FURTHER DOWN
About 80% of the oil consumed in Brazil comes from the sea. The Campos basin, in Rio de Janeiro, is responsible for most of the national production and is home to the most productive platform in the country: the P-50, which extracts 180,000 barrels daily
EXPLORING THE TERRITORY
Companies authorized to extract and commercialize resources from the sea pay fees (royalties) to the states that control the explored territory. For this reason, the EEZ is all shared among the coastal states. From the map, you can see that Paraná and Piauí, for some reason, got the worst in drawing the maritime borders.
rescue areaHOMEWORK
In addition to sovereignty and exploration rights, Brazil has maritime duties that go beyond its EEZ. All countries that have a coastline are obliged to provide rescue and rescue in an area determined by the UN. Brazil’s salvage area covers 6.4 million km2
Brazilian territoryCONTINENTAL SHELF
Geologically, the continental shelf is a strip of submerged land that starts at the beach and goes down to a depth of 200 m. From there, the continental slope begins, a wall that delimits the beginning of the deepest waters in the ocean.