UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — 50 years ago: Sri Lanka offers supply base facility to ONGC

Q1. With reference to the maritime zones of a coastal State under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Ships of all States enjoy a right of innocent passage through the territorial sea, even though the coastal State has sovereignty over it.
  2. The outer limit of a coastal State's continental shelf can never extend beyond 200 nautical miles from its baselines.
  3. A coastal State's rights over its continental shelf turn the waters above that shelf into its territorial waters.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Under the 1976 India–Sri Lanka maritime boundary agreement, India has sovereign rights over the Wadge Bank and its resources, although the area lies outside India's territorial sea.
  2. An exclusive economic zone gives the coastal State the same sovereignty over the waters as its territorial sea, including the power to deny passage to foreign ships.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to the delimitation of the continental shelf between States with opposite coasts under UNCLOS, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Delimitation is to be effected by agreement on the basis of international law, with the aim of achieving an equitable solution.
  2. UNCLOS does not make any single method of delimitation, such as the equidistance line, obligatory for the States concerned.
  3. Pending a final agreement, the States are to make every effort to enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature without jeopardising the final settlement.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q4. Consider the following facts from 1976: Sri Lanka was exploring offshore for oil on its side of the agreed boundary line with India. Its petroleum corporation then offered India's ONGC a supply base and an exchange of geological data across the boundary line, saying this would give a complete picture of the oil prospects of the area. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

  1. Geological structures relevant to oil prospects in the area were not seen as confined to one side of the boundary line.
  2. India and Sri Lanka had agreed to jointly own and share all hydrocarbons discovered in the area.
  3. Pooling data could reduce exploration risk and duplicated effort for both countries.
  4. Sri Lanka had given up its exclusive rights over the seabed on its side of the line.
  • A. 2 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q5. With reference to the Oil and Natural Gas Commission mentioned in a 1976 news report, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It was a statutory body, established under an Act of Parliament.
  2. Its successor, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, was created by a separate Act of Parliament that replaced the earlier Act.
  3. Its conversion involved transferring its undertaking to a company and repealing the Act under which it had been set up.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 only

Q6. In 1976, Sri Lanka promoted Trincomalee to ONGC as a supply base partly because of its natural draft of about 70 feet. Why does a port's draft matter for offshore drilling logistics?

  • A. Deeper harbours have stronger tidal flows, which speed up the loading and unloading of supply boats
  • B. Deeper water lets loaded vessels, which sit lower in the water, enter and berth without dredging
  • C. Deep harbours are sheltered from monsoon winds, so drilling can continue at the port all year
  • D. A greater draft shows the port lies closer to oil-bearing structures beneath the adjoining seabed