Rockall Rockall Rockall () is a British uninhabited granite islet located within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the United Kingdom, situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. Its approximate distances from the closest large islands are: west of Scotland; northwest of Ireland; and 700 km (440 miles) south of Iceland. The nearest permanently inhabited place is North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, 370 km (230 miles) to the east. The United Kingdom claimed Rockall in 1955 and incorporated it as a part of Scotland in 1972. Ireland does not recognise this claim, although it has never sought
Rockall from 26 May 1985 to 4 July 1985 to affirm the UK's claim to the islet. In 1997, the environmentalist organisation Greenpeace occupied the islet for a short time, calling it Waveland, to protest against oil exploration. Greenpeace declared the island to be a "new Global State" (in this case qualifying it as a micronation) and offered citizenship to anyone willing to take their pledge of allegiance. The British Government's response was to state that "anyone is free to go there" and otherwise ignore them. During his one night on Rockall, Greenpeace protester and Guardian journalist John Vidal unscrewed the