Category Archives: High Seas

High seas, in maritime law, all parts of the mass of saltwater surrounding the globe that are not part of the territorial sea or internal waters of a state. For several centuries beginning in the European Middle Ages, a number of maritime states asserted sovereignty over large portions of the high seas. Well-known examples were the claims of Genoa in the Mediterranean and of Great Britain in the North Sea and elsewhere.

The doctrine that the high seas in time of peace are open to all nations and may not be subjected to national sovereignty (freedom of the seas) was proposed by the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius as early as 1609. It did not become an accepted principle of international law, however, until the 19th century. Freedom of the seas was ideologically connected with other 19th-century freedoms, particularly laissez-faire economic theory, and was vigorously pressed by the great maritime and commercial powers, especially Great Britain. Freedom of the high seas is now recognized to include freedom of navigation, fishing, the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and overflight of aircraft.

By the second half of the 20th century, demands by some coastal states for increased security and customs zones, for exclusive offshore-fishing rights, for conservation of maritime resources, and for exploitation of resources, especially oil, found in continental shelves caused serious conflicts. The first United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, meeting at Geneva in 1958, sought to codify the law of the high seas but was unable to resolve many issues, notably the maximum permissible breadth of the territorial sea subject to national sovereignty. A second conference (Geneva, 1960) also failed to resolve this point; and a third conference began in Caracas in 1973, later convening in Geneva and New York City.

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The terms international waters or trans-boundary 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.[1]

International waters have no sovereighty, ergo is "Terra nullius" as any state controls it. All States have the freedom of: fishing, navigation, overflight, lay cables and pipelines, research and construct installations as artificial islands.

Oceans, seas, and waters outside of national jurisdiction are also referred to as the high seas or, in Latin, mare liberum (meaning free sea). The Convention on the High Seas, which has 63 signatories, defines "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."[2]

Ships sailing the high seas are generally under the jurisdiction of the flag state (if there is one);[3] however, when a ship is involved in certain criminal acts, such as piracy,[4] 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.

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:

In addition to formal disputes, the government of Somalia exercises little control de facto over Somali territorial waters. Consequently, much piracy, illegal dumping of waste and fishing without permit has occurred.

Although water is often seen as a source of conflict, recent research suggests that water management can be a source for cooperation between countries. Such cooperation will benefit participating countries by being the catalyst for larger socio-economic development.[6] For instance, the countries of the Senegal River Basin that cooperate through the Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sngal (OMVS) have achieved greater socio-economic development and overcome challenges relating to agriculture and other issues.[7]

restrictions on national jurisdiction and sovereignty

At least ten conventions are included within the Regional Seas Program of UNEP,[16] 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)[20]

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International waters - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

000FZNT02 KNHC 101546HSFAT2HIGH SEAS FORECASTNWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL1630 UTC FRI JUN 10 2016SUPERSEDED BY NEXT ISSUANCE IN 6 HOURSSEAS GIVEN AS SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT...WHICH IS THE AVERAGEHEIGHT OF THE HIGHEST 1/3 OF THE WAVES. INDIVIDUAL WAVES MAY BEMORE THAN TWICE THE SIGNIFICANT WAVE HEIGHT.SECURITEATLANTIC FROM 07N TO 31N W OF 35W INCLUDING CARIBBEAN SEA AND GULF OF MEXICO.SYNOPSIS VALID 1200 UTC FRI JUN 10.24 HOUR FORECAST VALID 1200 UTC SAT JUN 11.48 HOUR FORECAST VALID 1200 UTC SUN JUN 12..WARNINGS..NONE..SYNOPSIS AND FORECAST..ATLC STATIONARY FRONT 31N60W TO LOW PRES NEAR 29N73W 1016 MB TO27N76W TO LOW PRES 28N80W. N OF 30N BETWEEN 60W AND 62W SW WINDS20 TO 25 KT. SEAS TO 9 FT..12 HOUR FORECAST STATIONARY FRONT FROM 31N55W TO 27N68W TO LOWPRES NEAR 27N77W TO 27N80W. N OF 30N BETWEEN 52W TO 57W SW WINDS20 TO 25 KT. SEAS TO 9 FT. .24 HOUR FORECAST STATIONARY 31N55W TO 26N68W TO LOW PRES NEAR26N76W 1015 MB TO 27N80W. WITHIN 90 NM NE OF LOW PRES WINDS 20TO 25 KT. SEAS LESS THAN 8 FT..48 HOUR FORECAST STATIONARY FRONT FROM 31N53W TO 26N65W TO27N80W. WINDS 20 KT OR LESS. SEAS LESS THAN 8 FT..CARIBBEAN FROM 11N TO 17N BETWEEN 68W TO 78W E WINDS 20 TO 25KT. SEAS 8 TO 10 FT. .24 HOUR FORECAST FROM 11N TO 15N BETWEEN 69W AND 78W E WINDS 20TO 25 KT. SEAS 8 TO 10 FT. ELSEWHERE FROM 11N TO 17N BETWEEN 75WAND 82W WINDS 20 KT OR LESS. SEAS TO 9 FT IN E SWELL..48 HOUR FORECAST FROM 12N TO 13N BETWEEN 72W AND 74W NE TO EWINDS 20 TO 25 KT. SEAS LESS THAN 8 FT. FROM 11N TO 15N BETWEEN74W AND 80W WINDS 20 KT OR LESS. SEAS 8 FT. .CARIBBEAN 06 HOUR FORECAST S OF 17N BETWEEN 85W AND 87W...INCLUDING THE GULF OF HONDURAS...E TO SE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT. SEASLESS THAN 8 FT..24 HOUR FORECAST WINDS 20 KT OR LESS. SEAS LESS THAN 8 FT..36 HOUR FORECAST S OF 18N W OF 85W...INCLUDING THE GULF OFHONDURAS...E TO SE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT. SEAS TO 8 FT..48 HOUR FORECAST WINDS 20 KT OR LESS. SEAS LESS THAN 8 FT..REMAINDER OF AREA WINDS 20 KT OR LESS. SEAS LESS THAN 8 FT.$$.FORECASTER CHRISTENSEN. NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER.

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High Seas Forecast (Tropical Atlantic)