 offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures, usually in international waters. broadcasting in the territorial zone (up to 22 km from shore) or the exclusive economic zone (between 22 km and 370.4 km from shore) remained illegal. even in the international waters, a legislation in the un convention on the law of the sea exists (article 109) that actively supports the suppression of pirate radio (called "unauthorized broadcasting"). however, since states do not have actual jurisdiction in international waters, they can not board and seize control of broadcasting ships (as long as the ship itself can not be considered unsafe).article 109 ==history== the claimed first wireless broadcast of music and speech for the purpose of entertainment was transmitted from a royal naval craft, the hms andromeda, in 1907. the broadcast was organized by a lieutenant quentin crauford using the callsign qfp while the ship was anchored off chatham in the thames estuary, england. the majority of offshore broadcasters have however been pirate radio stations using seaborne broadcasting as a means to circumvent national broadcasting regulations, for example the practice has been used by broadcasting organizations like the voice of america as a means of circumventing national broadcasting regulations of other nations. the council of europe in 1965 passed the "european agreement for the prevention of broadcasts transmitted from stations outside national territories" to address this loophole, although member states were slow to implement this in national law. offshore pirate stations have operated off the coasts of belgium, denmark, israel, the netherlands, new zealand, sweden, the united kingdom, yugoslavia and the united states. see pirate radio for full details. most offshore broadcast is usually associated with european pirate radio stations; the trend never caught on as much in the united states as most organizations that could afford an offshore broadcasting boat would instead buy a legal station. still, there were a few american offshore stations that made a lasting impression. the first station to broadcast in the u.s. from international waters was off of the coast of california in the 1930s.yoder, and
Issues_in_international_law Offshore_radio