UN documents show that Tanzania wants two more years to prepare documents it needs to lodge a formal application for extension of its rights over undersea resources, signaling that it may take as long before Kenya gets the rights to extend its own territory beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Tanzania is further expected to delay demarcation of new sea boundaries with the extension of its demand for extra seabed to the West of the Somali basin that has been claimed by both Kenya and Somalia.

Kenya, by virtue of sharing a common border with Tanzania, will have to await Tanzania’s final submission to get the UN’s verdict on its application.

Sea law experts say the UN Commission on the Limit of Continental Shelf (UNLOS) — the arbiter in the fresh scramble for sea wealth — must receive all applications from neighbouring states to demarcate the new borders.

The looming delay in territorial expansion marks a big blow to Kenya’s hopes that it would soon be able to extend its search for sea bed wealth beyond the current borders.

In asking for more time, Tanzania says lack of financial resources and technical expertise had prevented it from making a timely and comprehensive report forcing it to submit “an indicative preliminary document” to beat the deadline.

Kenya’s southern neighbour reports that it had only managed to honour half of the six-point specifications that the UN commission’s Division of the Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea Office (DOALOS) requires applicants to meet.

“We hope to make a full submission within two years of handing in this preliminary information document, unless otherwise specified in light of circumstances,” Tanzania said in a letter to the UN.

More time
Norway last year rushed to the aid of Tanzania to help it beat the UN deadline. It signed a two-year agreement to finance Tanzania’s preparation of the submission document to the tune of $4.6 million.

But partnership failed to produce a comprehensive report for submission to the UN forcing the government to ask for more time.

Kenya last week formally laid claim to additional 103,320 square kilometres of sea bed off its coastline — beating the April 13 deadline.

Failure to beat the deadline would have left all exploration and exploitation rights over the territory in the hands of the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

Failure to secure such rights would also mean that firms eyeing investments in such zones would have to go through strenuous and expensive processes to secure permission from the ISA.

But even as Kenya rushed to beat the set deadline for application for territorial extension, its collaboration with Somalia and Denmark in the preparation of a final submissions to the UN has raised eyebrows at home.

Critics warned that Denamark may use the partnership to win huge stakes in the ensuing exploitation of undersea resources such as oil.

Kenya recently held discussions with Tanzania and Somalia on its intended extension of rights over off-shore territory.

The initiative culminated into the signing a memorandum of understading between Kenya and Somalia on April 3, 2009.

International lobby groups have accused Denmark of trying to armtwist Kenya and Somalia into a joint submission that would make it a permanent partner in the exploitation of any resources found in the extended territory.

Kenya and Somalia habour ambitions of striking oil and gas off-shore and analysts say they would immensely benefit from privileged provisions of the UN convention.

The provisions exempt developing countries that are net importers of a mineral resources produced from its continental shelf from financing the exploration of non-living resources beyond the 200 nautical mile limit.

Kenya and Somalia are net importers of oil and gas and qualify for the exemption.

A copy of the agreement that Somalia signed with Kenya shows that the neighbouring states had promised to make separate submissions to UN commission contrary to the claims by lobbyists that they pitched jointly.

UNCLOS secretary Hariharan Pakshi Rajan however defended Denmark’s helping of Kenya and Somalia prepare their submissions citing the provision that allows coastal states to seek technical advice from third parties.

He said states could also draw from a special trust fund established by the UN to complete their submissions.

Use of money from the kitty is however restricted to preparation of submission upon establishment of entitlement and not to conduct ocean surveys or collect data.

Mr Rajan said 69 countries had filed claims to oceanic territories along their coast by Wednesday. Out of the total, 50 are reported to have made full application while 39 only managed to hand in preliminary submissions.

In August, the commission is scheduled to hear oral presentations from 29 countries. Seven applicants will make their presentations in April 2010 before the commission breaks into smaller committees of seven experts to examine each case in detail.

Mr Rajana reckons that the commission’s task is not to prove sovereignty, but to show actual prolongation of underwater territory beyond 200 nautical miles, which implied that countries were entitled to any resources within the territory.

“In the continental shelf, states have a right to the resources. It is not an extension of sovereignty; it is only an extension of sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting its resources,” he said.

Areas outside the delineated zone are considered international territories governed by the International Seabed Authority.