Maritime law relates to navigation and international commerce by seagoing vessels. Maritime law enforcement agencies uphold these laws and assist with international maritime law. Each country has its own laws and enforcement agencies. The Rotterdam Rules apply to the transport of goods across international waters in participating countries. Maritime law enforcement agencies include the US Coast Guard and UK Maritime and Coast Guard Agency.
The admiralty or maritime law is a body of law relating to navigation and interstate or international navigation by seagoing vessels. Maritime law enforcement includes both the act of upholding maritime laws, and the agencies charged with those duties. Each country has maritime laws and enforcement agencies charged with upholding that country’s admiralty laws, as well as assisting in matters of international maritime law. Typically, maritime law enforcement agencies do not police matters outside the boundaries of interstate commerce. Instead, local law enforcement, parks or recreation departments, and similar agencies are responsible for enforcing craft and home crews, leaving maritime law enforcement to manage compliance for seagoing vessels.
As an act, maritime law enforcement includes actively policing waterways, enforcing tariffs or other commercial laws, protecting against piracy, and ensuring safe navigation. These law enforcement agencies rarely police national waterways, unless navigated by vessels engaged in interstate commerce. In terms of what laws are in effect for a particular vessel or body of water, each vessel flies a flag representative of its home country. The vessel is subject to the admiralty laws of her home country, with a few exceptions relating to international waters and international conventions.
In the field of international maritime law, a number of trade conventions and agreements require the application and compliance with the general rules by all participating countries. For example, the Rotterdam Rules apply to the transport of goods across international waters in France, Spain and more than 20 other UN member states. Officially, the Rotterdam Rules refer to the “United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partially by Sea”. Countries adhering to the Rotterdam Rules agree to abide by the same standards of responsibility for navigation and ship handling. If an accident occurs at sea under the Rotterdam Rules, participating maritime law enforcement agencies must follow the guidelines set by the convention for any ship flying the colors of a participating country.
In addition to the maritime law enforcement act, maritime law enforcement also refers to the agencies responsible for enforcing admiralty law. Some examples of maritime law enforcement agencies include the United States Coast Guard, Her Majesty Coast Guard as part of the UK Maritime and Coast Guard Agency, as well as the Italian Coast Guard Corpo delle Capitanerie di Porto. Agencies charged with enforcing national admiralty or maritime law are often required to enforce international maritime law, based on each country’s participation in various international conventions.
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