Maritime Jurisdiction & Incident Triage Workbench

Incident Coordinates & Facts

Incident Presets

Channel Transit Position (UK ↔ France) 5.2 nm off Dover

UK Coast (Dover) Median Treaty Line (9.8 nm) French Coast (Calais)

Latitude (N)

Longitude (E)

Alleged Incident / Offense Type

Victim / Target Vessel Status

Seaworthiness & Distress State

Accused Party Jurisdiction & Flag

Ready. Drag map marker or select preset to assess.

Dover Strait Nautical Map & Jurisdiction Boundary

UK Territorial Sea (12 nm)

Incident Lat/Lon: 51.1020° N, 1.4280° E
Distance: 5.4 nm to Dover | 14.2 nm to Calais

UK Coast / Baseline

French Coast / Baseline

1982 UK-FR Delimitation Median

Incident Location (Draggable)

UK Coastline Offset 5.4 nm Inside UK Baseline < 12nm

French Coast Offset 14.2 nm Outside French 12nm Sea

Primary Police / Agency Kent Police & MCA Dover Harbour Police assist

UNCLOS Article Art. 2 & 27 Coastal Criminal Competence

Primary Jurisdiction: English Courts & Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Territorial Sovereignty

The incident coordinate sits within 12 nautical miles of the British baseline (Dover). Under the Territorial Sea Act 1987 (s.1) and Merchant Shipping Act 1995, English criminal law extends to the outer limit of the territorial sea. Slashing or disabling an inflatable vessel carrying passengers constitutes both domestic Criminal Damage and serious Maritime Endangerment.

Statutory Framework & Prosecution Thresholds

Legal Grounding: UNCLOS, Maritime Criminal Law & Dover Strait Delimitation

Anglo-French Maritime Delimitation

The Strait of Dover is only approximately 17 to 20 nautical miles across at its narrowest gap (between Shakespeare Cliff, Dover and Cap Gris-Nez, France). Because both the United Kingdom and the French Republic claim a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, their claims overlap.

Under the 1982 Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the French Republic relating to the Delimitation of the Territorial Sea, an exact equidistant median boundary was established using specified geographic coordinates. North or west of the line is UK territorial waters; south or east is French territorial waters.

Offenses Against Small Craft & Duty of Rescue

Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (s.58): It is a felony offense for any person on a ship to intentionally or recklessly do any act which causes or is likely to cause the loss, destruction, or serious damage of any ship or endanger life.

Criminal Damage Act 1971 (s.1(2)): Destroying or damaging property being reckless as to whether the life of another would be endangered carries a statutory maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Slashing an inflatable dinghy carrying people at sea routinely meets this threshold.

SOLAS Regulation 33 & UNCLOS Art. 98: Every vessel master is under an absolute duty to render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being lost.