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Old 07-14-2008, 07:40 PM   #1
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"A British businessman and his wife have told how they were attacked and robbed by armed pirates as they sailed through the Caribbean on a round-the-world adventure.

Peter Lee, 61, rammed his pursuers in a bid to knock them off their boat as it came alongside his 41ft yacht but the pirates managed to scramble on board after firing several shots at him.

The couple's dog then furiously attacked the men, biting and snapping at them, until one of them shot and stabbed the animal between the shoulder blades, leaving him for dead".

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Old 10-04-2008, 12:02 AM   #2
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Pardon my ignorance, but who says one cannot have a firearm aboard ship? We have a right to bear arms, at least in the USA. That right does not end when we step on our boat, especially as the boat is home to many! Who would have authority over a boat on the high seas, anyway, such that they could forbid firearms? And, I would think, that as long as you don't take the gun off the boat, you should not have a problem in most foreign ports. Perhaps I am naive.
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Old 10-04-2008, 03:24 AM   #3
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Pardon my ignorance, but who says one cannot have a firearm aboard ship? We have a right to bear arms, at least in the USA. That right does not end when we step on our boat, especially as the boat is home to many! Who would have authority over a boat on the high seas, anyway, such that they could forbid firearms? And, I would think, that as long as you don't take the gun off the boat, you should not have a problem in most foreign ports. Perhaps I am naive.
I don't know, where in this report does it say one cannot have a firearm aboard a ship?

Never mind, once you leave the US and enter a foreign port, you have to abide by their rules, and in many countries one of those rules is that you must surrender your firearm until you leave the country. You try to play games and you could find yourself in a third world jail where they don't feel it's their obligation to feed you, and your boat will be forfeit. If I were a foreign customs official I certainly wouldn't take the word of some unknown American cowboy (our image abroad, not my idea) that he wouldn't use his firearm while in my country, or keep it on the boat, or not sell it for a ridiculous amount of money to the local insurgents. Think about it.

You can have a firearm on the high seas, though.

Perhaps you are naive. There's lots of discussions regarding firearms on Cruiser Log, so I won't go into it any further. Just search this forum for the topics "firearms" and "guns" (but not just guns, it's too short a word).
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Old 10-04-2008, 07:39 AM   #4
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Pardon my ignorance, but who says one cannot have a firearm aboard ship? We have a right to bear arms, at least in the USA. That right does not end when we step on our boat, especially as the boat is home to many! Who would have authority over a boat on the high seas, anyway, such that they could forbid firearms? And, I would think, that as long as you don't take the gun off the boat, you should not have a problem in most foreign ports. Perhaps I am naive.
Just to clarify a point of law, what you do in the US falls completely under the juridiction of the US. If federal and state laws permit you to carry forearms thenyou are in the clear when you go out dressed for battle.

On the high seas your vessel and you are still subject to US law unless that vessel is registeed in another country, in which case the vessel and those on it are subject to the laws of the flag state. As a US citizen, you will still be subject to certain US legislation. You will also be subject to the Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) regarding issues such as piracy, fishing, hot pursuit etc.

Once withiing the Exclusive Economic Zone of another country you are partialy subject to that countries laws (fishing, mineral resources) and once you find yourself within the terriotory of a coastal state, including the waters overwhich it exercises its jurisdiction (i.e. terriorial waters) you are sunbject to the laws of that country as well as UNCLOS regarding such issues as the Right of Inocent Passage.

In short then, you can have a gun onboard in US waters if the US permits it as you are a US citizen on, what I presume is, a US flagged boat. On the High Seas it is exactly the same as UNCLOS does not regulate this issue. However, once in another country's territorial waters you have to follow that country's legislation and if that, as is the case in very many countries, says no guns then it means no guns. You must declare your firearms and hand them over to the competent authority. You will be allowed to retrieve them upon departure but then you will probably have to leave the country from the same port as you entered the country or pay to have the weapon transported to your port of departure.

One thing I would not advise is trying to hide a gun onboard. If found you will be tried for armssmuggling, for which sanctions can be harsh.

I hope this clarifies the legal situation.

Aye // Stephen
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Old 10-05-2008, 05:46 PM   #5
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You can have a firearm on the high seas, though.

Perhaps you are naive. There's lots of discussions regarding firearms on Cruiser Log, so I won't go into it any further. Just search this forum for the topics "firearms" and "guns" (but not just guns, it's too short a word).

Thanks for your input. I'm a novice sailor, planning my first big voyage; from CT to Key West. We will from time to time be outside territorial waters of the US, but not in the waters of any other nation, and any feedback is appreciated.
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Old 10-05-2008, 05:51 PM   #6
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Just to clarify a point of law, what you do in the US falls completely under the juridiction of the US. If federal and state laws permit you to carry forearms then you are in the clear when you go out dressed for battle.

.....................................

One thing I would not advise is trying to hide a gun onboard. If found you will be tried for armssmuggling, for which sanctions can be harsh.

I hope this clarifies the legal situation.

Aye // Stephen

Thanks for your advice. I'm a novice sailor, planning my first big voyage; from CT to Key West. We will from time to time be outside territorial waters of the US, but not in the waters of any other nation, and any feedback is appreciated!
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