Ethiopia of its intent to perform an aerial survey, and an ambiguous response by Ethiopia was later a point of contention; Ethiopia designated the islands in the area as having "no recognized owner". The dispute, after Eritrea's 1993 independence from Ethiopia, erupted into the 1995 Hanish islands crisis regarding the Hanish Islands and Zuqar Island. A 1998-99 international case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration awarded various islands to Eritrea and Yemen respectively. Yemen maintained a military base on the island from the dispute with Eritrea in 1996 until the 2007 eruption. There are or were two watchtowers for control and observation of the large warships, cargo ships, and oil tankers that pass by. 2007 eruption The volcano erupted at 7 p.m. local time on 30 September 2007, throwing lava and ash hundreds of meters into the air. Subsequently, at least one stream of lava was seen flowing down into the sea. It was reported that 29 Yemeni soldiers (around 50 according to one report) were evacuated from the island shortly before the eruption, but 8 were unaccounted for. Several bodies were recovered from the water. It was reported that the western part of the island, where the Yemeni military base was, had collapsed. Yemeni authorities requested help from a nearby NATO naval force, and the nearest ship, a United States Naval vessel USS Bainbridge, was reported to be aiding the Yemeni coastguard. Other ships from NATO Standing NRF Maritime Group 1 assisted in the rescue and recovery effort, including HMCS Toronto; the Bainbridge and Toronto each rescued one survivor. The Portuguese frigate NRP Álvares Cabral and the Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen were first on the scene. Both survivors were rescued after over 20 hours in the water, just as the task force was preparing to close down its search. A Canadian officer described a "spectacular backdrop of erupting lava and shooting flames" faced by search parties in small boats. Several minor earthquakes ranging from 2 to 3.6 on the moment magnitude scale were reported near the island in the two weeks before the eruption. Earlier documented eruptions of this volcano include several reported in the 18th and 19th centuries, the most recent (before 2007) in 1883, and possibly one in 1332. A Yemeni government geologist expects the volcano to "take time to calm down", but shipping, including tankers carrying 3 million barrels of oil, that pass through the Red