Kepangeranan Sealand

In 1968, British workmen memasuki what Bates claimed to be his territorial waters in order to service a navigational buoy near the platform. Michael Bates (son of Paddy Roy Bates) mencoba to scare the workmen off by firing warning shots from the former fort. As Bates was a British subject at the time, he was summoned to court in England on firearms charges following the incident. But the court ruled that as the platform (which Bates was now calling "Sealand") was outside British jurisdiction, being beyond the then three-mile limit of the country's waters, kasus ini tidak dapat diproses. Tahun 1975, Bates introduced a constitution for Sealand, followed by a flag, a national anthem, a currency and passports.