Law Of The Sea, Shipping, Piracy

Front 1

freedom of the seas*

Back 1

Freedom of the high seas was the central and most sacred principle of the traditional law of the sea. beyond territorial all vessels were considered to be on the high seas and subject only to the legal rules set by their flag state.

Front 2

customary law

Back 2

laws that existed before the 1950s; Great Britain was big on freedom of the seas, existed back with asians in 1300s

Front 3

UNCLOS (1982)

Back 3

modern international treaty is based on a much older customary law of the sea recognized by maritime nations since the 1600s.

Front 4

base lines*

Back 4

the base for all the zone measurements, farthest point of land

Front 5

territorial sea*

Back 5

subject to the complete sovereign jurisdiction of the coastal state and extends 12 nautical miles out from the coastal base line.

Front 6

contiguous zone*

Back 6

adjacent to the territorial sea extending up to no 24 nautical miles from the base line. Coastal states have limited jurisdiction and may enforce their “customs, fiscal, immigration, or sanitary laws.”

Front 7

exclusive economic zone (EEZ)*

Back 7

200 nautical miles out from the base line. Here, the coastal state can exercise “sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing natural resources” (including fish and minerals/oil).

Front 8

the high seas*

Back 8

includes all areas of the ocean that are not under any national jurisdiction. Here the following “freedoms” are recognized: navigation, overflight, laying of cables and pipelines, installations, fishing, research.

Front 9

the Area (Part XI)*

Back 9

• Disagreements on the drafting of Part XI (The Area) that covers deep sea bed mining held up the treaty process from 1973 until 1982.

• In 1996 the renigotiated “Annex on the Implementation of Part XI entered into force, putting to rest many of the earlier concerns about the international seabed.

Front 10

manganese nodules

Back 10

rock concretions on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core. One of the reasons the US has not signed UNCLOS and the main hold up in Part XI

Front 11

right of innocent passage

Back 11

inalienable right which vests in all States to travel through the Territorial Sea of a coastal State. However, this right may not be exercised indiscriminately and is subject to several important restrictions.

Front 12

doughnut holes

Back 12

refers to an area between Russia and U.S. EEZ zones where foreign fishers heavily fish polluck, leading to a potential collapse in the species due to the migratory habits of the polluck

Front 13

Intl Maritime Organization (IMO)

Back 13

a special agency of the UN responsible for improving safety at sea and preventing pollution from ships. 158 countries are members.

• The IMO sets standards and drafts treaties, but it has no powers of enforcement. Each individual country (flag state) is responsible for enforcement of maritime regulations on ships flying under its flag. However, many ships sail under flags of convenience (see below).

Front 14

flags of convenience*

Back 14

one that flies the flag of a country other than the country of ownership. Cheap registration fees, low or no taxes, lower safety standards, and access to cheap crew labor are the motivating factors behind a ship owner’s decision to 'flag out'.

Front 15

flag states

Back 15

Panama, Liberia, and now Bolivia. Many FOC countries advertise on-line and also offer convenient links to offshore banking services.