Coastal States – The second level of apparent authority

Only the flag state has jurisdiction (with certain exceptions) over a ship on the high seas. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines high seas as “all parts of the sea that are not included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a state.” The coastal state has jurisdiction (with certain exceptions) over a ship on waters other than the high seas. Coastal state jurisdiction (or lack thereof) over shipping has been defined in terms of distinct maritime water zones: the internal waters, the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone.

The territorial sea is the area of water adjacent to internal waters. The maximum width for this water as recognized by the 1982 UNCLOS is 12 nautical miles, but in practice states use a range of three to 200 nautical miles, with the most common being 12 nautical miles.

The flag state has the primary responsibility to ensure that ships comply with internationally accepted standards. However, deficiencies in ship-standard enforcement by flag states, in particular open registers, have prompted the use of port state control. The 1982 UNCLOS permits coastal states to legislate navigation safety, i.e., to provide for port state control (PSC) to inspect ships entering a port and detain any for necessary repairs that do not meet international safety standards. In 1982 twelve European countries signed the Paris PSC Memorandum of Understanding, arranging to inspect safety and other certificates carried by ships of all flags (including each other's) visiting their ports, and to insist, by detention if necessary, on deficiencies being rectified. In 1995 member countries inspected 8,834 ships, of which almost half had deficiencies; ships were detained in port when deficiencies were regarded as so serious that the ship or those on board were in danger, or where the marine environment could be threatened (Porter, 1996). In Britain approximately 60 percent of inspected ships have some type of deficiency and 6 percent have such serious defects to prevent, until rectified, their sailing (Goss, 1994, p. 103). Although PSC systems are also found in Australia, Canada, United States and elsewhere, much of the world remains unaffected by PSC. Port state control has broadened the responsibility for enforcing ship standards beyond the flag state. “The willing acceptance by the flag state of a mechanism (PSC) for the direct intervention of other sovereign states in matters affecting its registered ships has been a significant departure from the principle that those ships are an extension of its own territory” (Farthing and Brownrigg, 1997, p. 193).