The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982 serves as the constitution for the oceans, dividing marine space into distinct legal zones measured from a state's baseline.
1. The Four Primary Maritime Zones
- Territorial Waters / Sea (Up to 12 Nautical Miles):
The coastal state exercises absolute sovereignty over the territorial sea, the airspace above it, and the seabed.
Limit: Foreign vessels enjoy the right of Innocent Passage—passage that is continuous, expeditious, and not prejudicial to the peace, good order, or security of the coastal state. - Contiguous Zone (Up to 24 Nautical Miles):
The coastal state does not hold sovereignty, but has the power to exercise customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary controls to prevent and punish infringements committed within its territory. - Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (Up to 200 Nautical Miles):
The coastal state holds sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing natural resources (fish, oil, gas) in the water column, seabed, and subsoil, and generating wind/water energy.
Freedom: Other states retain freedom of navigation and overflight, and the right to lay submarine cables and pipelines. - High Seas (Beyond 200 Nautical Miles):
Open to all states. No state may subject any part of the high seas to its sovereignty. Governed by the principle of the Common Heritage of Mankind; reserved for peaceful purposes.
2. The Continental Shelf
Comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond the territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, up to a maximum of 350 nautical miles from the baseline. The coastal state enjoys exclusive rights to exploit mineral and non-living resources on the shelf.