Customs Amendment (Enhanced Border Controls and Other Measures) Act 2009 (34 of 2009)

Schedule 5   Boarding powers and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Customs Act 1901

50   Subsections 184B(1) and (2)

Repeal the subsections, substitute:

Generally, a foreign ship may be chased if it may be boarded and an order to stop is given

(1) To enable the boarding of a foreign ship under section 184A (apart from subsection 184A(9)), the commander of a Commonwealth ship or Commonwealth aircraft may use it to chase, or continue the chase of, the foreign ship to any place outside the territorial sea of a foreign country if:

(a) a visual or auditory signal:

(i) to bring the foreign ship to a position to enable boarding; or

(ii) to stop the foreign ship;

has been given (whether by the commander of the Commonwealth ship or Commonwealth aircraft or otherwise); and

(b) the signal was given in such a way that it could be seen or heard (as the case may be) by the foreign ship; and

(c) at the time the signal was given, the foreign ship was in a maritime zone in which it could be boarded under section 184A (regardless of the location of the Commonwealth ship or Commonwealth aircraft).

Note: Subsection 184A(9) is about boarding ships without nationality that are on the high seas. Section 185A allows those ships to be boarded, even though the master of the ship has not facilitated the boarding of his or her ship.

Signal made even if not seen or heard by foreign ship

(1A) To avoid doubt, a visual or auditory signal mentioned in subsection (1) is still made even if no person on board the foreign ship saw, heard or understood the signal.

Using different Commonwealth ships or aircraft

(2) To avoid doubt, a Commonwealth ship or Commonwealth aircraft may be used in the chase:

(a) whether or not it was a Commonwealth ship or Commonwealth aircraft referred to in section 184A in relation to the boarding of the foreign ship under that section; and

(b) whether or not the visual or auditory signal referred to in subsection (1) was given from the ship or aircraft.