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The third level is international: be it on the High Seas or in contested waters claimed by two or more national governments. Maritime law is one of the oldest and richest bodies of law, and one by its very nature, tending to be international in character. Aside from those occasions where the contest is decided by shot and shell, international and bilateral treaties, such as the English Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971, the Hague Rules as Amended by the Brussels Protocol (1968), and the United Nations (UNCTAD) Minimum Standards For Shipping Agents (1988), set up agreed-upon sets of rules ex ante, while many international disputes are resolved through ADR. Many of the international and national laws, regulations and court decisions can be found in the links below..
Who has the "right of way" on the water?
Usually, power-driven vessels are to keep out of the way of sailing vessels or a "vessel engaged in fishing", unless
they are "restricted in their ability to maneuver" (Rule 18), when overtaking another vessel (Rule 13), or when navigating a "narrow channel or fairway"
(Rule 9), and, other less explicit circumstances. Note, a "vessel engaged in fishing" means any vessel fishing with nets, lines, trawls, or other
fishing apparatus which restricts maneuverability, but, does not include a vessel fishing with trolling lines or other fishing apparatus which does
not restrict maneuverability."
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The
Due Diligence Needed to Rate a Vessel as 'Seaworthy' - Tetley's
Law and Other Nonsense, by William Tetley, Professor, Faculty of Law,
McGill University, the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Maritime and
Commercial Law, Tulane University (loads of information here!)
Supplementary
Federal Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims. Good to know
that the Federal Rules regarding Ships arrests and other matters relating
to civilian law at sea are governed by their own special rules.
Marine, Ships, Pilots,Tugs & Nautical Links
Ship Arrests - Sullivan & Boyd, a Jacksonville, FL firm having the distinction of having 'arrested' a Giant Crane and a luxurious German icebreaker.
Ship Arrest and Sale - a FAQ page by Marine Lenders Services of Seattle.
Arrest, Attachment and Related Maritime Law Procedures (final version published (1999) 73 Tul. L. Rev. 1895-1985) by Prof. William Tetley, Q.C.
Marine Council - Arbitration is often used in lieu of court proceedings. Here is a listing of Florida-based maritime arbitrators.
Demurrage.com - a.k.a. DSI a.k.a. Demurrage Specialists International a.k.a. Jeanette G. Smith. Jeanette warns us to put arbitration terms in the Charter up front, or else.
Stuff happens, and when it happens at sea or otherwise in the nautical context, it usually costs someone a lot of money. From slip and fall, man overboard, running aground, or major calamities, insurance comes into the picture. Insurance at sea comes with it many special considerations, such as the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, Demurrage **, bottomry and General Average.
Treasure Trove - def.~ tresor trouve ~ O. fr. 'found treasure.'
Whether recovering sunken treasure from Davy Jones' Locker, your yacht from the tidal basin or magnesium nodules off the ocean floor, there are the legalities to be taken care of. According to the people at FreeAdvice.com:
The admiralty law of the United States has long recognized that the law of salvage rewards the voluntary salvor for the successful rescue of life or property imperiled at sea. In order to have a valid claim for having rendered salvage services, the salvor must show that the property saved was imperiled, that his services were voluntarily rendered, and that he was successful in whole or in part to the saving of the property.SafeSea's section on Salvage - based on an article authored by noted admiralty lawyer Andrew Anderson. More SafeSea salvage info and resources located here.
International Convention on Salvage 1989 - or SALCON 1989, which codifies old maritime practice into U.S. law.
FreeAdvice: Salvage, Treasure Law
C-Port - organization of and lobbyists for the marine assistance industry.
Vincent DiPilato has put together an outstanding Gateway
into a very comprehensive set of Nautical Links
Journal of Commerce's
Maritime News
Nautical
Lexicons and Dictionaries
The author [Richard Vaughan, Esq.] is a Florida-licensed attorney who has served aboard U.S. Navy vessels in the Pacific Fleet and studied Maritime law under
Professor Bob Jarvis, author of Careers in Admiralty and Maritime Law. Prof. Jarvis is currently a Professor of Law at Nova Southeastern.
SHIP SURVEYORS
Attorney Mike
Vaughn's Commercial Ship Information Center. Open your checkbook because
here is where you can by that cargo vessel you always wanted. Lots of good
information on ship registration, insurance and financing.
Go Topside
OCEAN CARRIERS
Just representative examples. Many more embedded within
the Gateway links on this page.
CRUISE LINES
If hauling cargo in the traditional sense is a tough market,
there is always the cruise line industry, which is quite strong here in
Florida.
Go Topside
FREIGHT FORWARDERS & ALMOST
EVERYTHING ELSE
ShipNet International
- comprehensive site to registries, agents, brokers... the whole nine
yards
Go Topside
SHIP & YACHT REGISTRIES
Germanische
Lloyd - German ship registry's worldwide locations.
Go Topside
PORTS
Seaports Information
Page
Go Topside
NAUTICAL OTHER
Naval,
Marine and Maritime links - LOTS of them. 
Piracy
Links - Yes, it still happens. In the Caribbean, your boat is valuable
for shipping somebody else's drugs, in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific
pirates and Tamils conduct piracy in the old, very unromantic fashion.
VOICES OF THOSE CALLING FOR CHANGE
* "Man overboard - standby to come
about."
** liquidated damages payable for
delay in loading or discharging cargo beyond the "laytime" allowed for
these operations under the charterparty. see also Tetley
- Maritime Law as a Mixed Legal System
CHANTYS AND SUCH
"Farewell To Nova Scotia"
Sea 'chantys'
(and reels, jigs and hornpipes) served not only the purpose of easing the boredom that accompanied shipboard life, it also helped the lads to 'haul away together' around the capstan to raise sail or anchor. Here is a
bibliography.
Go Topside
and French 
.
