Broken Taillight at Sea: The Peacetime International Law of Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure
Ocean and Coastal Law Journal, Vol. 16, pp. 1-45, 2010
46 Pages Posted: 9 May 2011
Date Written: December 31, 2010
Abstract
The interception and boarding of a ship during peacetime involves the physical act of intercepting a vessel, which may include approaching and querying the ship (approach and possibly visit), stopping the vessel, sending a boarding team onto the ship (board), conducting an inspection or search of the ship and its cargo (search), and potentially apprehending persons on board and confiscating the ship or cargo (seizure). Maritime interception against suspect vessels may be conducted in consensual, permissive, or non-permissive environments, and in a wide variety of circumstances. Consequently, legal analysis for MIO and VBSS can become complex because it involves addressing two questions of mixed fact and law.
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