The flag state of a merchant vessel is the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is registered or licensed , and is deemed the nationality of the vessel. A merchant vessel must be registered and can only be registered in one jurisdiction, but may change the jurisdiction in which it is registered. The flag state has the authority and responsibility to enforce regulations over vessels registered under its flag, including those relating to inspection, certification, and issuance of safety and pollution prevention documents. As a ship operates under the laws of its flag state, these laws are applicable if the ship is involved in an admiralty case .
16-534: [REDACTED] Look up high seas or high sea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. High Seas may refer to: International waters High Seas (TV series) , 2019 Spanish Netflix original High Seas (film) , 1929 British film High Seas (album) , 2001 album by Trailer Bride "High Seas" ( NCIS ) , episode of American television series NCIS season 1 See also [ edit ] HI-SEAS ,
32-426: A right to maintain a ship register and be a ship's flag state. Because of the failure of some flag states to comply with their survey and certification responsibilities, especially flag-of-convenience states that have delegated their task to classification societies , a number of states have since 1982 established port state controls of foreign-registered ships entering their jurisdiction. As at January 2010, Panama
48-487: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages high seas The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins ) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems , enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries , rivers, lakes, groundwater systems ( aquifers ), and wetlands . "International waters"
64-408: Is not a defined term in international law. It is an informal term, which sometimes refers to waters beyond the "territorial sea" of any country. In other words, "international waters" is sometimes used as an informal synonym for the more formal term "high seas", which under the doctrine of mare liberum ( Latin for "freedom of the seas"), do not belong to any state's jurisdiction. As such, states have
80-408: Is the case of England, which restricted the import of Asian goods only to American and British vessels. England only opened its ports after it had maneuvered itself into a position of strength, and then most like only to gain access to other continental ports. Similarly, France imposed a trade monopoly on its colonies which remained in place until 1869. Ships must be registered in the ship register of
96-571: The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation habitat Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title High Seas . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=High_Seas&oldid=948706620 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
112-629: The High Seas was used as a foundation for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed in 1982, which recognized exclusive economic zones extending 200 nautical miles (230 mi; 370 km) from the baseline , where coastal states have sovereign rights to the water column and sea floor as well as the natural resources found there. The high seas make up 50% of the surface area of
128-569: The Regional Seas Program of UNEP , including: Addressing regional freshwater issues is the 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes ( UNECE /Helsinki Water Convention) Flag state The term " flag of convenience " describes the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a state other than that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on
144-495: The UN's International Maritime Organization ( IMO ), on matters of safety, navigation, crewing etc. Part XII entail special provisions on protecting the marine environment, which includes placing special obligations on flag states to ensure compliance with international environmental legislation such as MARPOL . Failure to do so, can result in the flag state losing its jurisdiction over ships under its flag, also when these commit violations on
160-528: The jurisdiction whose flag it is flying. Flag registers in many countries are open to ships with foreign owners. Normally, each flag state has only one ship register, but several countries have more than one register: Flag states must, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea ( UNCLOS ) ensure that ships under their flag comply with international regulations, often adopted by
176-410: The nation exclusive control over the vessels. Shipowners during this time needed protection from pirates and privateers which was provided by naval vessels of the flag state. In some cases states offered subsidies to the shipbuilding industries. In addition to these incentives, states might impose restrictions based on flag state, closing ports to other ships. One well known example of how this was applied
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#1732844567487192-501: The planet and cover over two-thirds of the ocean. Ships sailing the high seas are generally under the jurisdiction of the flag state (if there is one); however, when a ship is involved in certain criminal acts, such as piracy , any nation can exercise jurisdiction under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction . International waters can be contrasted with internal waters , territorial waters and exclusive economic zones . UNCLOS also contains, in its part XII, special provisions for
208-724: The protection of the marine environment, which, in certain cases, allow port States to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction over foreign ships on the high seas if they violate international environmental rules (adopted by the IMO ), such as the MARPOL Convention. Several international treaties have established freedom of navigation on semi-enclosed seas. Other international treaties have opened up rivers, which are not traditionally international waterways. Current unresolved disputes over whether particular waters are "International waters" include: At least ten conventions are included within
224-430: The right to fishing, navigation, overflight, laying cables and pipelines, as well as scientific research. The Convention on the High Seas , signed in 1958, which has 63 signatories, defined "high seas" to mean "all parts of the sea that are not included in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State" and where "no State may validly purport to subject any part of them to its sovereignty." The Convention on
240-464: The ship. Ships may be registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs, or else to avoid the regulations of, or inspection and scrutiny by, the country of the original owner. Normally the nationality (i.e., flag) of the ship determines the taxing jurisdiction. Since the Flag Right Declaration of 1921, it has been recognised that all states—including land-locked countries —have
256-458: Was the world's largest flag state, with almost a quarter of the world's ocean-going tonnage registered there. The United States and the United Kingdom had only about 1% each. Until World War II nations were able to maintain their dominance, or in some cases, even improve their position in maritime trade by offering vessels exclusive protection for flying their flags, which would in turn give
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