Law of the sea: Internal Waters visualized, simplified and explained animated explainer video

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The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is the main treaty governing the oceans, by balancing the coastal state's rights to regulate and exploit the sea under their jurisdiction, versus the freedom of the oceans.

The convention permits coastal States, to establish six different maritime zones as follows:
Internal waters
The territorial sea
The contiguous zone
The exclusive economic zone
The continental shelf
and The high seas

Internal waters, such as bays, lakes, and rivers, are national waters located landward from the baselines, from which the width of the territorial and other zones is calculated, and are assimilated with the sovereign territory of the state.

They are different from the territorial sea, in that there is no right of innocent passage for foreign vessels. As a result, a State is not obligated to allow foreign ships into its national water, particularly its ports, unless there is a distress situation, or a treaty that requires it.

Once a foreign vessel enters internal waters, it is subject to the domestic legislation of the coastal state, which has the authority to take enforcement action against negligent boats, and even prevent them from leaving port.

While the Port States generally do not enforce their criminal jurisdiction over crimes that do not violate their customs laws, or disrupt peace and public order, The exercise of port State jurisdiction is still common, in respect of vessels that violate health and safety regulations, or pollute the environment outside the State territorial sea.

This concurrent jurisdiction may be seen in Wildenhus’ case, where The Supreme Court held that the American courts had jurisdiction to try a crew member of a Belgian vessel, for the murder of another Belgian national, when the ship was docked in the internal water of the port of Jersey City.

The British Court also decided in another case, that an American national was subject to English law, after committing manslaughter on board a British vessel in French internal waters, although he was within French justice's jurisdiction.


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