# 33 CFR § 2.32: High seas

> Federal · Regulations · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.32

## Section

- **Citation:** 33 CFR § 2.32
- **Heading:** High seas
- **Jurisdiction:** Federal
- **Kind:** Regulations
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** September 22, 2026
- **Source:** Publisher's official text
- **Location:** Title 33—Navigation and Navigable Waters > CHAPTER I—COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY > SUBCHAPTER A—GENERAL > PART 2—JURISDICTION > Subpart B—Jurisdictional Terms

## Text

(a) For purposes of special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States as defined in 18 U.S.C. 7, high seas means all waters seaward of the territorial sea baseline.
(b) For the purposes of section 2 of the Act of February 19, 1895, as amended (33 U.S.C. 151) and the Inland Navigational Rules Act of 1980 (33 U.S.C. Chapter 34), high seas means the waters seaward of any lines established under these statutes, including the lines described in part 80 of this chapter and 46 CFR part 7.
(c) For the purposes of 14 U.S.C. 522, 14 U.S.C. 545, 33 U.S.C. 409, and 33 U.S.C. 1471 et seq., high seas includes the exclusive economic zones of the United States and other nations, as well as those waters that are seaward of territorial seas of the United States and other nations.
(d) Under customary international law as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and without prejudice to high seas freedoms that may be exercised within exclusive economic zones pursuant to article 58 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and unless the context clearly requires otherwise (e.g., The International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969, including annexes thereto), high seas means all waters that are not the exclusive economic zone (as defined in § 2.30), territorial sea (as defined in § 2.22), or internal waters of the United States or any other nation.
[USCG-2001-9044, 68 FR 42598, July 18, 2003, as amended by USCG-2007-27887, 72 FR 45902, Aug. 16, 2007; USCG-2020-0304, 85 FR 58275, Sept. 18, 2020;]

## Nearby sections

- [33 CFR § 2.1 § 2.1 Purpose.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.1.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.5 § 2.5 Specific definitions control.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.5.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.20 § 2.20 Territorial sea baseline.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.20.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.22 § 2.22 Territorial sea.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.22.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.24 § 2.24 Internal waters.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.24.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.26 § 2.26 Inland waters.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.26.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.28 § 2.28 Contiguous zone.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.28.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.30 § 2.30 Exclusive Economic Zone.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.30.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.32 § 2.32 High seas.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.32.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.34 § 2.34 Waters subject to tidal influence; waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide; mean high water.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.34.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.36 § 2.36 Navigable waters of the United States, navigable waters, and territorial waters.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.36.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.38 § 2.38 Waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; waters over which the United States has jurisdiction.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.38.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.40 § 2.40 Maintenance of decisions.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.40.md)
- [33 CFR § 2.45 § 2.45 Decisions subject to change or modification and availability of lists and charts.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.45.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-33-2.32. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.