Hello,

This is my first post and as you can tell by my name, I'm interested in the protection of waters. My protection first and foremost!! LOL

As a new private yacht owner, my husband and I are just learning about maritime laws and how they affect our safety. I'm wondering if one of your experts can help answer the question: if we're out in "international waters" (i.e. The Bahamas or Bermuda) how do we know who or what country will respond to us in the event of an emergency? I'm very concerned from what I've read that private yacht owners might be at risk for their boats to be taken over by drug smugglers...? Should we be concerned??

Thanks,
Aunty

The closest country's shore patrol or coast guard would be alerted, but also the rule of thumb is to contact the country that the vessel is flagged under and alert them that they have citizens in peril.

American, Canadian, British, Australian, naval forces will protect their citizens on the open seas and assist each other. Those are not exclusive - other countries would assist during pirate attacks.

The UN General Assembly is now taking steps to act globally. ( www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday...5/Article/index_html)

This will be good news for all ocean travelers.