Battle of the Ligurian Sea which struck "TA24". "Meteor"s commander, Richard Pankhurst, saw a "geyser of flame and metal" and "TA24" sank just after 04:00, losing 30 men in 13 minutes. This was the German "Kriegsmarine"'s last surface action of the war. The British destroyers ended any possibility of German deep water offensive operations in the Ligurian Sea, let alone anywhere else in the Mediterranean. The engagement was also the last surface naval action the British fought in the western theatre and the last substantial surface action fought on the Mediterranean Sea. "TA32" was damaged but managed to escape; she was scuttled by her crew
Law of the sea Law of the sea Law of the Sea is a body of international law that concerns the principles and rules by which public entities, especially states, interact in maritime matters, including navigational rights, sea mineral rights, and coastal waters jurisdiction. It is the public law counterpart to admiralty law, which concerns private maritime intercourse. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or "UNCLOS", concluded in 1982 and put into force in 1994, is generally accepted as a codification of customary international law of the sea. Disputes are resolved at the International Tribunal for the Law of the