of the host Member State, provided that the pursuit began in the territorial sea or
contiguous zone and was not interrupted. The ‘right of hot pursuit’ ceases as soon as
the ship pursued enters the territorial sea of its own State or of a third State, unless
there are bilateral agreements between the pursuing State and the flag State that
establish different rules of engagements.
11
If the foreign ship is within a contiguous zone, the hot pursuit may only be
undertaken if there has been a violation of the laws and regulations for the protection
of which the zone was originally created. In this regard, the Article 33 of the
UNCLOS establishes that the coastal State may exercise its jurisdiction as necessary
to prevent and punish the infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary
laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea.
12 As a result, in case of the
pursuit of a foreign ship that has disembarked migrants onshore, a warship may
proceed to intercept that foreign ship on the high seas also if the chase has begun in
the contiguous zone.
Conversely, if a foreign ship that has disembarked migrants onshore is intercepted
directly on the high seas, without any hot pursuit executed by a coastal State’s
warship from territorial sea or contiguous zone, the Article 111 does not find any
practical application. In this case, the ‘right of visit’ shall be subject to the limitations
of the principle of the ‘freedom of the high seas’ as established by the Article 110 of
the UNCLOS
13 and the Article 8 of the Smuggling Protocol.
14
4 Frontex Joint Operations and Coastal State Jurisdiction
Joint operations coordinated by Frontex in the Mediterranean Sea have increased the
capacity of Member States to patrol well beyond their territorial seas. For instance,
during Frontex joint operation ‘Themis’ in 2018,
15 maritime surveillance activities
of border police ships deployed at sea were constantly supported by an intense
activity of aircraft, helicopters and drone operations coupled with satellite surveillance provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
16 This
militarisation of the Mediterranean Sea has clearly enhanced the maritime situational
picture of Member States involved in the patrolling of the EU external sea borders
11 Scovazzi (1999), pp. 255–256; Caligiuri (2011), pp. 359–385.
12 See Art. 33 (Contiguous zone), UNCLOS.
13 See supra note 5.
14 See supra note 8.
15 See https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news-release/frontex-launching-new-operation-in-cen
tral-med-yKqSc7.
16 The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) is a European Union agency charged with
reducing the risk of maritime accidents, marine pollution from ships and the loss of human lives
at sea by helping to enforce the pertinent EU legislation.
13 Maritime Surveillance of the EU External Sea Borders: Extensive Approaches and. . . 225
contiguous zone and was not interrupted. The ‘right of hot pursuit’ ceases as soon as
the ship pursued enters the territorial sea of its own State or of a third State, unless
there are bilateral agreements between the pursuing State and the flag State that
establish different rules of engagements.
11
If the foreign ship is within a contiguous zone, the hot pursuit may only be
undertaken if there has been a violation of the laws and regulations for the protection
of which the zone was originally created. In this regard, the Article 33 of the
UNCLOS establishes that the coastal State may exercise its jurisdiction as necessary
to prevent and punish the infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary
laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea.
12 As a result, in case of the
pursuit of a foreign ship that has disembarked migrants onshore, a warship may
proceed to intercept that foreign ship on the high seas also if the chase has begun in
the contiguous zone.
Conversely, if a foreign ship that has disembarked migrants onshore is intercepted
directly on the high seas, without any hot pursuit executed by a coastal State’s
warship from territorial sea or contiguous zone, the Article 111 does not find any
practical application. In this case, the ‘right of visit’ shall be subject to the limitations
of the principle of the ‘freedom of the high seas’ as established by the Article 110 of
the UNCLOS
13 and the Article 8 of the Smuggling Protocol.
14
4 Frontex Joint Operations and Coastal State Jurisdiction
Joint operations coordinated by Frontex in the Mediterranean Sea have increased the
capacity of Member States to patrol well beyond their territorial seas. For instance,
during Frontex joint operation ‘Themis’ in 2018,
15 maritime surveillance activities
of border police ships deployed at sea were constantly supported by an intense
activity of aircraft, helicopters and drone operations coupled with satellite surveillance provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
16 This
militarisation of the Mediterranean Sea has clearly enhanced the maritime situational
picture of Member States involved in the patrolling of the EU external sea borders
11 Scovazzi (1999), pp. 255–256; Caligiuri (2011), pp. 359–385.
12 See Art. 33 (Contiguous zone), UNCLOS.
13 See supra note 5.
14 See supra note 8.
15 See https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news-release/frontex-launching-new-operation-in-cen
tral-med-yKqSc7.
16 The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) is a European Union agency charged with
reducing the risk of maritime accidents, marine pollution from ships and the loss of human lives
at sea by helping to enforce the pertinent EU legislation.
13 Maritime Surveillance of the EU External Sea Borders: Extensive Approaches and. . . 225