Ocean

The ocean covers most of the planet's surface, and the rules governing who may do what in it are layered rather than uniform. The framework most states work from divides the sea into zones measured outward from a coastal baseline. The territorial sea extends a short distance and is effectively sovereign, subject to a right of innocent passage for foreign vessels. Beyond it, an exclusive economic zone gives the coastal state rights over natural resources in the water and on the seabed while leaving navigation and cable laying open to others. The continental shelf regime can extend seabed rights further where the geology supports a claim. Past all of that lie the high seas, open to all states, and the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction, treated as common heritage and administered internationally rather than owned.

That structure explains why the same activity can be routine in one place and contested a few miles away. Fishing, seabed mineral exploration, cable and pipeline routing, scientific research, and offshore energy each sit differently across the zones, and the party holding regulatory authority changes with them. Enforcement is the persistent weakness. Jurisdiction is clear on paper and difficult to exercise across large distances, which is why vessel tracking, port state controls, and satellite monitoring carry so much of the practical load.

Environmental regulation runs alongside the zoning rather than inside it. Marine protected areas restrict activity within defined boundaries, discharge and ballast water rules apply to shipping wherever it is, and impact assessment is generally required before large seabed works. Agreements covering biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction push that reach further offshore.

For an operator, the governance layer shows up as permitting timelines, survey and monitoring obligations, and constraints on where equipment may be placed or discharge may occur. It is worth understanding early, because it often sets the schedule for a subsea project more than the engineering does.