Opinion ID: 362346
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The First Boarding

Text: 38 The record reflects that the initial boarding of the La Rosa was not prompted by suspicion that she was in violation of any of the regulations enumerated in article 24 of the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone, I.e., customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary laws. We may assume, without deciding, that the boarding of a foreign vessel on the high seas is not within the authority of article 24 in the absence of some particularized suspicion that one of the enumerated regulations has been or will be violated, 12 for we find that the boarding was justified by another doctrine of international maritime law, the right of approach. 39 As we have noted, the right of approach is codified in article 22 of the Convention on the High Seas, which provides that the boarding of a foreign Merchant ship is not justified unless there is reasonable suspicion that the ship is engaged in piracy, the slave trade, or is the same nationality as the warship. 13 Since the article merely prohibits the boarding of merchant vessels except for the limited purposes set forth, it does not expressly address the situation of the boarding of foreign private Pleasure craft, which, from all appearances, the La Rosa appears to have been. See part II. 2 Infra. We think it follows, however, that a justification for boarding a merchant vessel would apply a fortiori to a pleasure craft. 14 40 We find that the boarding of the La Rosa comes within the exception in article 22 for suspicion that the foreign ship is of United States nationality. The record discloses ample grounds for suspecting the La Rosa's nationality. She was flying no flag and exhibited neither name nor home port on her stern. The absence of these outwardly visible manifestations of nationality is surely cause for suspicion in view of the obligation imposed by most national shipping laws that registered vessels fly the flag of the state of national character. M. McDougal & W. Burke, The Public Order of the Oceans 1121 (1962). Moreover, (e)very State must register the names of all private vessels sailing under its flag, and it must make them bear their names visibly so that every vessel may be identified at a distance. 1 L. Oppenheim, International Law 597 (8th ed. Lauterpacht 1955); E. g., 46 U.S.C. §§ 45, 46, 103 (1970). 41 The record does show that upon inquiry the crew of the La Rosa exhibited what was later determined to be a Grand Cayman flag and that Postal claimed that the La Rosa was of Grand Cayman registry. The mere display of a flag and claim of nationality is not conclusive, however. See M. McDougal & W. Burke, Supra, at 1120; 1 L. Oppenheim, Supra, at 604. Accordingly, article 22 provides that if suspicions persist, the foreign vessel may be boarded to verify the ship's right to fly its flag. Lt. Beardsworth testified that he could not clearly discern the nationality of the flag displayed by the La Rosa's crew and that the absence of name and home port caused him to be doubtful as to the vessel's true nationality. Record, vol. 2, at 55, 63. After conferring with the Operations Center in Miami, the decision was made to board the La Rosa to verify the nationality, and article 22 was cited as authority for the boarding. See id. at 107. 42 We think it clear, therefore, that there were reasonable grounds to doubt that the La Rosa was of Grand Cayman registry, but article 22 requires that the vessel approached must be suspected of being of the nationality of the approaching warship. Viewing the circumstances objectively, as we must, See Scott v. United States, 436 U.S. 128, 137, 98 S.Ct. 1717, 1723, 56 L.Ed.2d 168 (1978), we think it would have been reasonable to suspect that the La Rosa was of American nationality. The La Rosa was sailing in close proximity to the coast of the United States. When first hailed, the crew displayed a flag of uncertain identity, claimed to be of Grand Cayman registry, and said they were Australians enroute to Belize. The crewman who answered, however, had no discernible accent. After initially refusing to heave to for boarding, Postal relented, but the La Rosa then proceeded to maneuver evasively in an attempt to prevent boarding. At this point the crew began jettisoning papers over the side. On the basis of all these facts, we think that it was reasonable for the Coast Guard to conclude that the La Rosa was not of the registry she claimed to be and, from her diligent efforts to evade a United States Coast Guard vessel in United States waters, that she was in all likelihood an American vessel making a last ditch effort to avoid apprehension. Although we do not find these circumstances compelling grounds for suspecting that the La Rosa was of American registry, we find the inference a reasonable one. Therefore, we find CPO Lewis's initial boarding to verify the La Rosa's documentation within the ambit of article 22. 15