Prison ships were used to transport or house prisoners, enemies of the state, or political dissidents. They were cost-effective and repurposed vessels previously used by the navy. They fell out of favor as international standards for basic human rights were established, but some jurisdictions still use them in a humane way. The US has been accused of using them to detain and transport enemy combatants in the War on Terror, but the government denies using them as floating prisons in the historically known sense.
A prison ship is a seagoing vessel used to transport or house prisoners, enemies of the state or political dissidents. Typically commissioned by warring countries in foreign lands, these vessels were a cost-effective way of holding undesirable people without the expense of having to establish a permanent facility ashore. Prison ships were often repurposed vessels previously used by the country’s navy.
Historically, prison ships were popular with Britain during the American Revolutionary War as facilities for captured rebel soldiers. Britain also used prison ships to transport convicts to penal colonies located on other continents. The Nazis used floating prisons to hold Jews for transport to concentration camps during World War II, and the Russians used ships called death barges to imprison political dissidents during the Russian Civil War.
The use of a prison ship was often the solution to the problem of what to do with captured enemies while in uncontrolled territory or during times of widespread instability. Prisoners were not sent to floating accommodation with guarantees of eventual release, good treatment pending trial or even basic humane living conditions. Many prisoners died in deplorable conditions or were massacred by one side or the other in the conflict.
This type of detention fell out of favor over the centuries as international standards for basic human rights and the treatment of prisoners during times of war were established. Some jurisdictions, however, will still use a prison ship as an official facility in their penal system. Under these sorts of circumstances, the vessel used is specifically designed to house prisoners in a humane way rather than simply being a repurposed military vessel.
Although it is commonly believed that the horrors of using ships to extrajudicially detain and torture enemies, on the inexplicable expanse of the high seas and without the benefit of legal process to protect basic human rights, are a historical anomaly, the United States has been accused by human rights groups of using the practice to detain and transport enemy combatants in the War on Terror. As in past wars, a prison ship appears to be the easiest way for the military to handle prisoners while in foreign territory. However, the US government denied using the ships as floating prisons in the historically known sense, and it has been shown that prisoners were at least transported by ship to places outside their home country.
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