Zmiinyi Island / Snake Island

Romania / Tulcea / Sulina /
Zmiinyi Island / Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island (Ukrainian: Острів Зміїний; Romanian: Insula Șerpilor; Russian: Змеиный) is an island belonging to Ukraine located in the Black Sea, near the Danube Delta, with an important role in delimiting Ukrainian territorial waters.
It lies in the Black Sea off the coasts of Romania and Ukraine is the most remotely located island of the sea.

The island is incorporated as the Bile settlement since 2006 and is administered from the Vilkove city (Ismail District) Odesa Region, Ukraine. The research station on the island is part of the Odesa National University, while the lighthouse belongs to the Ministry of Infrastructure (Transportation). There are two light structure radio towers, a border post, several identification boards with names of the island and the settlement.

In 2007 a helipad was built at its northern portion for more rapid means of transportation. At the northeastern part of the island there is a single pier wharf which is located right next to the research station. The rocky and steep terrain of the island does not allow for free landing or mooring of vessels outside of the pier. The most elevated portion of the island is in the middle which justifies the purpose of the lighthouse location. The vegetation of island is steppe-like and almost free of trees.

The continental shelf around Snake Island was a subject of the ongoing Romania-initiated protracted litigation before the International Court of Justice that Ukraine inherited from the unsettled relations between Romania and the USSR. However the Internation Court of Justice reached a final decision which was a middleground between the claims of the two countries. Romania was granted around 70% of the disputed continental shelf, Ukraine taking the rest.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_Island_(Black_Sea)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   45°15'17"N   30°12'13"E

Comments

  • It was Romanian teritory untill russian Red Army took it over in the WWII to install an advanced radar post. After the war was incorporated ilegally in the USSR territory, as part of Ukraine. In 1990, when the USSR broke apart, Ukraine kept the island with no real international legal support. The status of the island is still disputed, with Ukrain trying to artificially build a town there, to justify the possesion. However, there is no potable water on the island.
  • https://youtu.be/G1IJ4zg1Lhc