ocean. 1. The continuous body of salt water that covers more than 70% of the earth’s surface; the high seas; the open sea. Cf. SEA. 2. Any of the principal geographic divisions of this body. • There are generally considered to be five oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic.
right of search. Int’l law. The right to stop, visit, and examine vessels on the high seas to discover whether they or the goods they carry are liable to capture; esp., a belligerent state’s right to stop any merchant vessel of a neutral state on the high seas and to search as reasonably necessary to
altum mare (al-t[schwa]m mair-ee ormahr-ee), n. [Law Latin] Hist. The high seas; the deep seas.
hot pursuit. 1. FRESH PURSUIT. 2. Int’l law. The legitimate chase of a foreign vessel on the high seas just after that vessel has violated the law of the pursuing country while within that country’s jurisdiction.
A vessel that — considering its design, function, purpose, and capabilities — is normally expected both to carry passengers for hire and to engage in substantial operations beyond the boundary line (set by the Coast Guard) dividing inland waters from the high seas. • Typically excluded from the definition are pleasure yachts, tugs and towboats,
transit passage. Int’l law. The right of a vessel or airplane to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight solely for the purpose of continuous and expeditious transit between one part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone and another part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone. — Also termed right
Coast Guard jurisdiction. The law-enforcement authority of the United States Coast Guard over the high seas and navigable waters over which the United States has jurisdiction, including the powers of stopping, searching, and seizing property, and arresting persons. See UNITED STATES COAST GUARD.
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right of approach. Int’l law. The right of a warship on the high seas to draw near another vessel to determine its nationality. [Cases: War and National Emergency 20. C.J.S. War and National Defense §§ 26, 28.]
navigable sea. Int’l law. The ocean waters divided into three zones of control among nations: (1) the inland waters, which are near a nation’s shores and over which a nation has complete sovereignty; (2) territorial waters, which are measured from the seaward edge of the inland waters, over which a nation has extensive control but