VESSEL BOARDINGS AND COAST GUARD AUTHORITY

Written by CDR Mark Hammond

We’ve all watched enough episodes of “COPS” or “Law and Order” to 

be familiar with the concept that an agent of law enforcement needs 

“probable cause” to arrest a person for the commission of a crime. 

Agents of law enforcement need a “reasonable suspicion” that a 

crime has been or will be committed to stop/detain a person for 

questioning. So, does the Coast Guard need either a reasonable 

suspicion or probable cause to believe that a law or regulation has 

been violated to stop your boat and board your vessel? The answer is, 

“No.” 

The Hearing Office often receives responses from charged parties 

demanding that their cases be dismissed because the Coast Guard 

“lacked probable cause” to stop and board their vessel. Moreover, 

they argue that any violation discovered during the boarding cannot 

be processed because the boarding was improper and in violation of 

their rights under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which 

prohibits unlawful searches and seizures. 

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution guards 

against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires warrants 

to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause. The 

courts have long held however, that it is not unreasonable for the 

Coast Guard to exercise plenary authority under Title 14 United 

States Code (USC) section 89 to stop and board vessels on the 

navigable waters of the United States to conduct safety and 

documentation inspections, even in the absence of a reasonable 

suspicion that some criminal activity is occurring. 

The Coast Guard exercises its broad authority to conduct vessel 

boarding's for the purpose of enforcing U.S. laws and regulations to 
promote marine safety, security and environmental protection. This 

authority extends to any vessel over which the United States has 

jurisdiction. This essentially means U.S. vessels anywhere outside 

the territorial waters of another country, and foreign vessels in U.S. 

waters. Title 14 USC § 89 states in part: 

“(a) The Coast Guard may make inquiries, examinations, 

inspections, searches, seizures, and arrests upon the high seas and 

waters over which the United States has jurisdiction, for the 

prevention, detection, and suppression of violations of laws of the 

United States. For such purposes, commissioned, warrant, and petty 

officers may at any time go on board of any vessel subject to the 

jurisdiction, or to the operation of any law, of the United States, 

address inquiries to those on board, examine the ship’s documents 

and papers, and examine, inspect, and search the vessel and use all 

necessary force to compel compliance...”

For civil penalty cases forwarded to the Hearing Office, the Hearing 

Officer reviews each case to determine if there is sufficient evidence 

in the case file to make a preliminary determination that a violation 

has occurred and proceed with adjudication. This includes ensuring 

the Coast Guard has jurisdiction over the matter and the elements of 

the alleged violation are met based on the evidence. There may be 

cases where a party could reasonably argue that a denial of 

fundamental fairness, or actions that shock the conscience, 

undermine the credibility of the officials involved in a case and the 

reliability of the evidence those officials have offered. Arguments 

that the Coast Guard “did not have probable cause to conduct the 

boarding,” however, most often just show an unfamiliarity with the 

relevant law, as discussed above, and have no bearing on the 

determination of whether a violation of law or regulation was 

committed.