| Maican | |||||
| Native Name: | Майкан | ||||
| Location: | Danube, Chilia branch | ||||
| Pushpin Map: | Ukraine Odesa Oblast#Ukraine#Black Sea | ||||
| Pushpin Label Position: | top | ||||
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 | ||||
| Length Km: | 1.5 | ||||
| Length Footnotes: | [1] | ||||
| Width Km: | 0.7 | ||||
| Country: | Ukraine | ||||
| Country Admin Divisions Title: | Odesa Oblast | ||||
| Population: | 0 | ||||
| Module: |
| ||||
Maican Island (Ukrainian: Майкан, Romanian: Insula Maican) is a Ukrainian islet in the Danube.[2]
The area of the island is 0.6 km², with a length of 1.5 km along the Danube riverbed, and a maximum width of 0.8 km. To the south of the island is the state border between Ukraine and Romania, established by the Treaty on Good Neighborliness and Cooperation between the two countries. According to international law, state borders along a river are established along the fairway, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. However, the fairway that used to run between the islands of Maikan (Ukraine) and Babina (Romania) has become silted up. As a result, shipping now runs between Maikan and the Ukrainian coast. On this basis, in 2009. Romania expressed its territorial claims to the island in 2009.
The main reason for such claims is the huge losses Romania suffered after Ukraine put the Danube-Black Sea deepwater canal into operation. The transfer of the island to Romania will allow the Romanian authorities to regain control over the shipping corridor on this section of the Danube.
Romania's territorial claims to Ukraine are not limited to the island of Maikan. In 2004, Romania filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice to delimit the Black Sea shelf. As a result, Romania acquired about 9,000 km² or 79.34% of the disputed oil and gas shelf.