A theoretical example places two ports on opposite sides of an estuary, each belonging to a different colony. An agreement allocates the water between them and assigns mooring points. The colonies' shared association makes a future dispute seem unlikely. Nearly a century later, they are separate states, even if that association survives, and one is developing its port as a cruise destination. Both ports are too small for cruise ships to dock, so a liner would probably need to use one of the estuary's international mooring points. Ownership of that mooring then becomes economically important. The old agreement located the moorings by landmarks ashore instead of latitude and longitude. Once development removes those landmarks, the agreement can no longer be applied simply by looking at the shore.
Notable Point · 0:33-2:23
When old landmarks cannot fix a maritime boundary
A hypothetical estuary dispute shows how colonial-era mooring arrangements become difficult to apply after shore landmarks disappear.