Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Article 111, the right of hot pursuit allows a coastal state to chase and detain a foreign vessel that has violated its laws while within its internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea, or contiguous zone. This right extends to violations within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) or over the continental shelf, provided the laws being enforced relate specifically to those zone rights, such as fisheries regulations or resource conservation. Crucially, the pursuit must begin when the foreign ship or one of its boats is within the relevant maritime zone and must be continuous and uninterrupted.
The pursuit can only be commenced after a visual or auditory signal to stop has been given at a distance that enables it to be seen or heard by the foreign ship; electronic signals like radar or radio do not qualify under strict interpretations. The doctrine balances a state's sovereign enforcement rights with the historic freedom of navigation on the high seas. A pursuit legally terminates the instant the pursued ship enters the territorial sea of its own country or that of a third state.
If a ship is stopped or arrested outside the territorial sea in circumstances that do not justify the exercise of the right of hot pursuit, it is entitled to compensation for any loss or damage sustained. Furthermore, pursuit can only be conducted by warships, military aircraft, or other clearly marked government ships authorized for public service. This legal mechanism prevents illicit operators from evading justice by merely stepping across invisible maritime borders, ensuring law enforcement maintains authority across vast oceanic distances without infringing on the sovereign waters of neighboring nations.