Search of Boat

Boats are searched around the world by various coast guards.

But see the people searching the boat could plant something and then find it. And the penalties can be very extreme.

There needs to be an international agreement such that boats are only searched by individually court issued search warrants. The requirement of a court issued search warrant will reduce the risk of corruption.

And think about it, the purpose of court orders and search warrants in general is to provide court oversight and reduce corruption. The standard needs to be applied to cruising.

 

If they are corrupt, they'll bring along whatever the court order gives them liberty to search for.

 

You're dreaming. Customs & Immigration have always had the power to search for contraband and smuggled items. There's no chance this is going to change.

If you're afraid of being set up by corrupt officials, stay home.

PDW

 

If the countries are that corrupt, you face the same problems when you go ashore, so best go to a country that rates well on the corruption scale, and avoid those low on the list. You can find websites devoted to just that.

 

Agreed, if you fear being setup by a US government official, you need to just relax in your rocking chair and wait for the grim reaper, to eventually come get you. Is there corruption, yep, sure is, could they "plant" something, yeah they sure could. Is it very likely, nope, not by a long shot. I've been boarded by the USCG a few times and never but the most professional attention to detail, was exercised by the skipper and crew. This is what you can and should expect from a first world nation. Now, if you venture into 3 world areas, you will get their level of ethics and professionalism and frankly, there's only one person to blame for this.

 

Just spread carpet tacks on the deck, "commercial end up".
No. Wait. That was for pirates.

 

Yeah, the old tack trick, though is limited to moonless night use, among really stupid boarders (read drunks and ex-wives, looking for some pay back).

 

Well, if a boat is in the territorial waters of a country but hasn't been through customs then the court would probably issue a search warrant. But if the boat had been through customs then the court probably wouldn't issue the search warrant.

Or if the boat is in the territorial waters of its home country then the court probably wouldn't issue a search warrant.

But boats are being searched in international waters
.

 

Only *some* boats - depends on what flag you fly. A number of countries don't permit USA warships and Coast Guard to board & search their flagged vessels and without that treaty permission, they can't legally do it.

Unfortunately, my country isn't one of them denying permission. I wish it was. Not that anyone will ever find anything interesting, I simply object to the concept.

PDW

 

I don't understand the concern. If you're flying a Liberian flag and happen to be off the coast of Miami, you can darn well bet you're going to get boarded. First world countries don't arbitrarily board vessels or yachts. Now, if you're a 40' Cigarette, running 50 knots, with Columbia registration or flag, what do you think is going to happen when you near the US coast? Now on the other hand, what do you think a 40' ketch, flying an Australian flag will receive, if it approaches the US coast? Okay, maybe it's not really fair the guy driving the Cigarette keeps getting spanked by the USCG, though I'll bet if he's a reasonable person, he'll understand why, even if it does piss him off. He should just be grateful he's not scooting along, off the horn of Africa, Gulf of Guinea or in Malaysia. He'll have a hell of a lot more to worry about, in regard to getting boarded and I'll guarantee, he'll wish the USCG was nearby.

 

Maybe Italy and the rest of southern Europe should just leave all the Ribs', rotten merchant ships, fishing vessels etc floating around the Med.....

That's without a lot of piracy, even in the English Channel! fortunately very rare there. You don't need to be close to the Horn of Africa though. I have a Navy captain friend who has worked in this area and there is a lot of serious international cooordination and sharing of information. As well as a lot of trainig exercises for not just Coastguard, but proper Navy suitable boats. In fact I just bumped into a guy who services the CAT engines on such US vesels.

If your just offshore cruising, passage making, racing why be too concerned. I'd think a lost container putting a hole through the hull would be of more of a likelihood.

 

I do object to a lot of the things our governments do these days. They are getting increasingly obtrusive. But I did some Laser sailing with the USCG academy sailing team back in 1988. Great facility and super bunch of people. Yes if we are ever boarded and inspected we should be thankful if it is a group like the USCG and not some pirates. We should also count our blessings for being able to sail around some places just for pleasure, and not have to be chasing down pirates for a living, or be such pirates. Perhaps some day Somalia will get it together and be able to build up a fleet of boats to train their kids how to sail for fun, and not have to be boarding ships and holding people hostage just to survive. Any volunteers to help them out?

 

This has never been a particularly stable portion of the world Jamie. Even when dominated by the colonial empires, there was continuous difficulty. Even the Roman empire had to send a naval fleet to control the lawlessness of this area.

 

Yes it has an amazing history. Would love to be a fly on a bulkhead and go back in time and study it all.

Here is an interesting story, involving a commercial fishing boat with sails, built in Sri Lanka for Somalia...
http://www.baflk.org/sashimi-project/

 

The other really dangerous place is the South China Sea, still full of pirates, and lots of places to hide away in too.