Legally, you can get away with anything as long as you don’t get caught.
This applies to land also
And space!
But not the skies, those belong to the birds.
Let’s say you and I go toe-to-toe on bird law and see who comes out the victor.
That depends. If you declare you are not registered at all that makes you an illegal pirate with no protection at all. If someone else with a yacht decides to sink yours that is probably legal for them - if you fight back they can call their navy to defend them. Regardless of who their yacht is flagged under calling their navy for help probably means they asked the nearest navy (which is almost always the US navy - even if the US hates the country in question the US doesn’t want the seas to be a free for all and will come) to help.
If you become self sufficient out there probably nobody will care and you can be there for years no problem. Just don’t cause problems and nobody really cares. However if you cause problems expect issues. If one person on your yacht steals from another that is your business, nobody will get involved. If someone steals from someone with a country that country will get involved to protect their own. If kids are born on the yacht they might not have a country which could make life hard (particular as the yacht gets old and is no longer safe!). If you have kids born and then sexually abuse them several countries (in particular the US with their large navy) have declared that illegal anywhere and so they will come in to stop you.
The hard part is to become flagless in the first place. What every country you set out from will just assume the boat has their flag by default. They generally won’t let you choose to take it off - they will let you sell it to someone in a different country and then change the flag, but there is nobody with no country who can take ownership of it. Maybe a lawyer can find a work around, but it will not be easy.
Ok the molesting a kid I did not have in mind when asking the question. But your telling me in this day an age that I can still be a pirate? Like if we see another yacht take it over steal everything then sink it. As long as no one is out there on the horizon we are fine? What would happen if I was a US citizen at first flying an american flag out of port then got in the waters changed it to lets say French or something. Would the French take care of me or the US? Also lets say I take one of my lemmy mates and they disappear. Can I just sail back to port and just say fell overboared couldn’t help them? And be scott free?
Pirates are absolutely still a thing. But it’s not Blackbeard and Captain Hook. It’s usually Somali pirates, with a heavy emphasis on the violence.
South Park actually had an episode about exactly this.
In a world of anarchy, you can get away with anything, until someone stronger (i.e. military) shows up.
Casual Navigation talks a bit about this: What Law Applies In International Waters? Essentially, the ship needs to be registered to a country and the laws of that country apply while on the ship. Most ships register themselves in a country with very lax laws, known as a “flag of convenience”. The laws of Libera, Panama, and Marshall Islands must be pretty convenient since those are countries most ships get registered.
What happens if you don’t register your ship? It’s the same as not having a passport. You’re going to have a hard time when you want to dock at a port.
But i think there are some crimes that will be prosecuted by your home country anyway, regardless of where the ship is registered. Like if 2 US citizens got on a ship registered to a country where murder is legal, and one killed the other, that person would still be prosecuted for murder when they returned to US soil or any country that has an extradition treaty with the US
a country where murder is legal
I don’t think there is such a country?
Well....
The US, if you’re a white police officer killing minorities
Lol
It’s actually really super simple. You would be subject to the laws of the country you reside in or are a citizen of.
Laws don’t magically stop working just because you’re out of jurisdiction.
There’s also, admiralty law, Maritime law and international law, all of which have courts in designated countries. These laws are usually governed by treaty amongst many countries.
What about cruise ships and their changes to gambling when in international waters? I’ve read quite a few times that the rules their machines work with change dramatically in that case. And they’re mostly still registered in countries with more strict rules otherwise.
Provided the above is true of course. Or could they be sued in this case?
Gambling is generally a regional thing and is subject to each state. Usually it’s governed by where you are currently.
Cruise ships on the other hand are governed by the country the ship is registered in and/or by whatever country they’re docked at.
So a law will state specifically that there is no private gambling allowed within the confines of a certain geographical area such as the state of Washington, for example. The law can also make provisions that gambling is allowed on Indian reservations or within certain city limits.
The cruise ship leaves the geographical area where gambling is not allowed and allows gambling to occur in international waters which is fully law-abiding.
Also, most states and governments will provide licensing for casinos. If you qualify you may proceed with gambling in that jurisdiction.
We could kiss each other on the mouth.
Pwomise? 👉👈🥹
