Different Types Of Maritime Crimes

A maritime crime is defined as any criminal activity carried out at sea. These criminal activities can be directed at vessels, could violate international laws or coastal state’s sovereignty or simply be the use of sea vessels for illegal activities.

Maritime crimes are a major setback for the marine industry as almost 80% of the goods are moved by ships. They can also pose serious threats to vessels, the goods being carried by the vessels and most importantly, the lives of crew members and in some cases, passengers. This article discusses some of the various activities which are termed as crimes in the marine industry.

1) Drug trafficking

Drug trafficking or illegal drug trade involves cultivating, manufacturing, distributing and selling drugs illegally. This is one of the most common maritime crimes as most illegal drugs are transported via sea.

2) Human trafficking

Human trafficking is one of the most common and most serious crimes in the maritime world. It is illegal to travel to another country without permission from the authorities. Sometimes people can get illegally and forcefully transported to another country for practices like slavery, though this was more common in the 19th and 20th centuries.

3) Illegal carrying of weapons and artillery

It is illegal to transport weapons and artillery on ships without authorization due to the sensitivity of such goods. Engaging in this activity is a punishable offense as it endangers the lives of people on the ship as well as those around it.

4) Piracy

Piracy or maritime piracy is an act of robbery or violence by attackers on a ship with the intention of plundering the ship for valuable items and properties. The people engaging in acts of piracy are called pirates. Though now declining steadily, piracy has been frowned upon since the beginning of time and is still one of the most notorious crimes that can be committed at sea.

Read more: 20 Anti-Piracy Weapons Deployed In Ships To Fight Pirates

5) Tax evasion

Tax evasion is an illegal act of deliberately avoiding the paying of taxes. This is a very common crime in the maritime world. Many ship owners and companies try to avoid paying taxes by presenting false documents and incorrectly representing cargo material. The crime of tax evasion is one of the hardest to catch and prove and is currently on the rise.

6) Illegal fishing or sailing

Sailing or fishing in unauthorized areas at sea is considered a crime. Any ship present in an unauthorized spot for any kind of purpose is subject to punishment by law.

7) Unauthorized Entry

It is illegal for any ship to enter the marine boundaries of a country without seeking permission from the government of that nation. This is a punishable offense in all countries.

8) Smuggling of Exotic Plants and Animals

Smuggling of exotic plants and animals for wildlife smuggling is illegal for any ship without authorization. This is because wildlife smuggling involves the isolation of plants and animals. When they arrived at the destination, they may not be able to adapt to the new place. Animals may also cause infectious diseases in people.

9) Oceanic Pollution

Polluting ocean water by discharging sewage or oil in it is a punishable offense. Many countries have implemented strict policies against this. A discharge of oil in ocean waters greatly affects the coastal areas of the region.

Read more: Meaning Of Flotsam And Jetsam In Shipping

Despite strict law enforcement, maritime crimes are still very common owing to the vastness of the world’s seas and oceans. There are no concrete boundaries to waters. It is very difficult to make people not engage in maritime crimes.

Some ways of improving the maritime security of the world could be the use of satellite tracking, more cooperation between countries, more efficient monitoring of ships and ports, etc.

Finally, it should be realized that the main reason why people engage in criminal activities is because of deprivation of resources. It is high time that all the countries of the world who operated with each other in order to solve global problems like hunger poverty, illiteracy, terrorism unemployment through proper education and equal distribution of wealth and resources, population control, etc.  and bring world peace.

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What Is A Lightship?

A lightship or a light vessel is a ship that can also operate as a lighthouse. These types of ships are used in waters that are too deep and where lighthouses cannot be constructed. Lightships play an important role in assisting other ships to navigate through waters.

A lighthouse is a structure, usually a tower or a building, which is used specifically to emit bright lights and assist maritime vessels and pilots for maritime navigational purposes during the dark.

Lightships were used more in olden times as compared to today. Nowadays due to the advancement and development of construction and architecture lightships are slowly going out of use.

The concept of a lightship has been in existence since Roman times. However, the first known modern light vessel was the scene of the Nore sandbank in England which was placed in 1734.

In the 19th century, the idea of a lightship moves towards the west. The United States of America started employing these ships in the country. This is where most of the technological advancement was made on the ship which included the redesigning and modification of the anchoring system to ensure stability during harsh climates.

In the beginning, oil and kerosene lamps were used on lightships. Later on, lights with refractive lenses were adopted.

Towards the 20th century, some light vessels were also equipped with warning bells which warned the people of danger in case of poor visibility or the presence of another vessel in the proximity. These bells could be heard at a radius of a distance of 24 kilometers from the ship.

Mooring

To keep the vessel fixed and its position fluke anchors were used. They are used even today. However, they were not sufficient to keep the ship stationary in rough seas. Now mushroom anchors that can weigh up to 4000 kgs are employed in these ships.

Read more: What Is A Mooring Buoy?

Construction Material

The hulls of lightships were previously built with wood. Now with technological advancement, wood has been replaced by damage resistant, non-corrosive, stronger and more durable material like iron or steel.

Appearance

Lightvessels at a time served another important purpose. The bodies of these ships were color-coded and easily identifiable. This helped the sailors in the oceans to confirm their location in the ocean during day time. Lightships used to operate for more than 12 hours a day, from sunset to sunrise.

These ships have been in use for more than a century and a half. They were used most towards the end of the 19th century before lighthouse towers started growing in number. This began to reduce the number of lightships.

Even today, they are declining in number and use. Currently, very few mobile lighthouses exist across the world. Due to more developed advanced navigation systems and satellite communication lightships are not required by many.

Still, we cannot overlook the kind of purpose that these ships have served in their time of operation. We should also keep in mind the kind of scientific minds possessed by people at that time who thought about the concept and actually made it into a reality.

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