| dardanell street • ottoman empire • cannon ball bouncing |

| law of the seas | venice | projecting land power to the sea | cannon shot theory | modern version | seasteading legal reference | UNCLOS |

• Did the extension of the weapons range mean that land nations do now project their power globally by default ? And the freedom of the sea is lost ?

The extent to which a nation could control its coastal waters was largely based on the reach of its cannons on the shore. Thus, the 3 nautical mile (nm) limit of the territorial sea resulted from what is often referred to as the “ cannon shot ” rule


coastal waters determined by weapons range


The 3 nautical mile (nm) limit of the territorial sea resulted from what is often referred to as the “ cannon shot ” rule

Quick Reference

The rule by which a state has territorial sovereignty of that coastal sea within three miles of land. Its name derives from the fact that in the 17th century this limit roughly corresponded to the outer range of coastal artillery weapons and therefore reflected the principle terrae dominum finitur, ubi finitur armorium vis (the dominion of the land ends where the range of weapons ends). The rule is now not widely recognized: many nations have established a 6- or 12-mile coastal limit. See also territorial waters.

Everybody can be part of our ventures now… | token list |

UNCLOS ocean zoning | is the freedom of the seas divided in zones? not really. |

• The freedom of the ocean reigns from shore to shore (everywhere the water is salty) and is “todays legal base” for a seamless function of global container trade which can not afford borders and border control at sea.

• In practice rules are different for ship and oil rigs

• In practice rules are different for container ships and fishing fleets

• Why did the Thai ignore UNCLOS when going for Chad Elwartowski

• Are there fast chages of rules for a ship while it is on the ocean far from shore and when it is in the harbor, or crossing 3 miles from a coast ? - in practice not really.