Foulness Island passing of the Ministry of Defence Act 1946 and the subsequent rationalisation of five agencies in 1971, ownership of the island passed from the War Office to the Ministry of Defence. In 2003, a contract to manage the testing of munitions was awarded to the defence contractors QinetiQ, and they also control access to the island. In the 1850s, the South Essex Estuary and Reclamation Company proposed a grand scheme to reclaim around of land on the Essex coast, which would have included most of Foulness Sands and Maplin Sands. The civil engineer Sir John Rennie produced the plans, and
Bouvet Island Kapp Fie. After rounding Kapp Fie, the coast along the south side is known as Vogtkysten. The westernmost part of it is the long shore of Sjøelefantstranda. Off Catoodden, on the south-western corner, lies Larsøya, the only island of any size off Bouvetøya. The western coast from Catoodden north to Nyrøysa, is known as Esmarchkysten. Midway up the coast lies Norvegiaodden (Kapp Norvegia) and off it the skerries of Bennskjæra. 93 percent of the island is covered by glaciers, giving it a domed shape. The summit region of the island is Wilhelmplatået, slightly to the west of the island's center.