As a boater, you might feel that the land and all of its land-based rules stop at the edge of the water, but that’s not the case. Legally, you’re still within the laws and rules of the U.S. if within so many miles of the coast. The actual legal territory of the country extends into the water and applies. As a result, all boaters, regardless of size, purpose, and pursuit need to have a good understanding of maritime law at least in terms of how it applies to behavior. Otherwise, one could end up with a lot of painful situations, including impounding of a boat and jail time.
The laws that apply to boaters can be grouped into categories based on the water location one is in.
Internal Water
Internal waters include gulfs, ports, bays, rivers, lakes, and similar. Basically, anything that is somewhat surrounded by the mainland or land territory to an extent is internal water. In terms of legal application, anything that would apply on the street on land applies in internal waters as well. That includes all local infractions and penalties as well, not just federal water laws. New boaters tend to be the most surprised by this application, often buying a boat without really understanding the rules of the water first.
Territorial Water
It’s a pretty safe rule that anything within 12 miles from the coast is territorial water. The difference, however, is that unlike the internal waters, the local laws and rules of a city, county, or state don’t apply in this zone, only the federal laws, and regulations, including maritime law. However, in other countries, these aspects of water law can be quite different. Some countries have what is called an exclusive economic zone. This is an extension of the 12-mile zone up to 200 miles when it comes to anything valuable and harvestable underneath the water. Fishing grounds tend to be a primary issue with this sort of situation but oil fields also apply.
Contiguous Zone Water
This is the area that is a band between 12 miles and double the distance, 24 miles. The federal government for the U.S. retains rights and ownership in this zone but it starts to become a bit limited. The coast guard has a notable presence in this area as it’s the outer edge of U.S. territory. Other countries use their military and navy for the same purpose. These are the areas where private boater stories about being boarded and searched often come from. The typical situation is that the Coast Guard is on the lookout for drug smugglers and anyone fitting a potential profile gets checked, including boarding and searching. All country boats can be searched in this zone by the U.S.
International Water
At nautical mile 25, a boater is safely in international waters. As noted above, an economic zone might still apply, but technically international waters are open territory where maritime law can be very much whatever goes. 99 percent of boaters and ships in international waters respect each other and protect the entire community, but it’s also technically possible for other elements to be present as well without restriction. Technically, the law that applies is the flag on the boat, but that can be complicated if the people on the boat are citizens of a different country than the boat’s flag. The boat’s flag dominates the issue under maritime law.
As discussed above, water laws can change quickly, resulting in different results with the same situation or incident. Having a good understanding of when and where these changes occur is part of being a smart boater and captain on the waters wherever you happen to be.
