by Chevanev Charles
Editor’s note: readers often ask about the legality of the common practice of “yellow flagging it” through the islands — that is, dropping anchor in the waters of a country where you have not cleared Customs and Immigration, spending the night aboard with the yellow “Q” flag raised without going ashore, and then sailing out of that country’s waters without clearing in. As one correspondent wrote:
“Let’s imagine that I’ve checked out of Customs and Immigration in Bequia and am setting out for the French island of Martinique. An average boat speed of six knots or so sees me off the northern end of St. Lucia at dusk. I’ve no wish to go ashore, so I drop the hook in Rodney Bay to get a good night’s sleep, making sure that I fly the Q flag under the starboard spreaders.
“The question is, am I operating in accordance with International Maritime Law?”
We’ve always answered this question to the best of our ability, but we aren’t “sea lawyers,” so we’re glad to now be able to share this response from Mr. Chevanev Charles, a maritime lawyer at the Temple Stoke (www.templestoke.com) firm based in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Temple Stoke also offers immigration law services from its New York office.
Simple answer: It is ill-advised to make a habit of slipping in and out of a country’s territorial waters without clearing.
From a historical perspective, the “Q” or quarantine flag was the shipping sector’s preventive measure against the spread of infectious diseases. The principles of contagion were understood and with few effective technological and medical standards, the quarantine flag was one of a variety of measures to separate clearly or suspected sick individuals or disease carriers from uninfected people.
In a modern context, the purpose of the Q flag is slightly different. It is a declaration that your ship is free from diseases that may require confinement and it is a signal to port authorities that you would like to be boarded and inspected requesting “free pratique.” Or it signals the intention to disembark, usually via dinghy or water taxi, and pass through Customs and Immigration ashore. “Free pratique” is essentially the license for a ship to enter a port on the assurance that she is free from contagious diseases.
If you aren’t asking to be boarded and inspected, or aren’t signaling your intention to go ashore and clear customs and immigration, you shouldn’t be flying the Q flag.
It is useful to consider that flag etiquette is actually a (sometimes indecipherable) combination of law and maritime tradition. Because most countries have slight differences and requirements in their law, and some actually have vague or no law on the subject, it is best to go with tradition and when in doubt, please contact the authorities of that nation on VHF. Being non-conversant of your obligations could lead you to cause unnecessary insult by giving mixed signals or could lead you to a fine for breaking the law.
Not all countries are bothered with the use of the flag but theoretically the Q flag should be flown as soon as the yacht has entered territorial waters of a country. In the case of Antigua, for example, the Q flag is flown before clearing in (i.e. going through customs) and the courtesy flag is flown only after customs is cleared.
Territorial water limits are enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC, Art. 3) to which the majority of Caribbean islands have acceded. In essence, the territorial water limits are 12 nautical miles from the shoreline. For countries that are archipelagoes, like St. Vincent & the Grenadines, this limit starts from invisible lines that envelop all the islands under their jurisdiction.
While some countries are lax on their enforcement, one must be mindful that not all are lax and it is against port regulations and policy in many Caribbean islands to slip in and out unnoticed.
Based on several conversations with port officials in Antigua & Barbuda as well as St. Vincent & the Grenadines, it is best to contact the authorities of the country you are approaching on VHF radio to avoid misunderstandings.
On approach hoist your Q flag, even if you arrive outside working hours and have to anchor; you must wait until the next working day with the Q flag up to clear in. You should come ashore in your dinghy or take a water taxi in. Then you clear customs and immigration. The documentation you are given will be useful in avoiding increasingly hefty fines levied on those intercepted leaving the island without clearing in. When you have cleared customs and immigration you can head back to your yacht. You should then lower the Q flag and then hoist the courtesy flag of that nation. In most islands of the southern Caribbean port officials will likely be checking to see if all yachts have cleared in, as this is a source of revenue, and will remind you if your Q flag is left up.
It is useful to note that some islands’ ports can be very particular about the courtesy flag. For example, in Barbuda a clean and appropriately sized courtesy flag is expected to be flying after you have cleared customs. The courtesy flag should be flown from the starboard spreader in a position above any other flag. The courtesy flag should be, ideally, without imperfection as many take offense to torn or disproportionately sized flags.
It is also acceptable to fly both the courtesy flag and Q flag before clearing customs. However, flying only the courtesy flag before clearing is not advisable and also against maritime tradition, and in many jurisdictions is against the law.
Chevanev Charles is joining the Compass team with a series of articles on issues of maritime law relevant to sailing community. If you have any questions of general interest, send them in and we’ll see that he gets them. For more information, Mr. Charles can be contacted at ccharles@templestoke.com. These articles are legal information and should not be seen as legal advice. You should consult with an attorney or appropriate port officials before you rely on this information.
