WordNet
n. the open seas of the world outside the territorial waters of any nation [syn: high sea] [ant: territorial waters, territorial waters]
Wikipedia
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems ( aquifers), and wetlands.
International waters have no sovereighty, ergo is "Terra nullius" as any state controls it. All States have the freedom of: fishing, navigation, overflight, lay cables and pipelines and research.
Oceans, seas, and waters outside of national jurisdiction are also referred to as the high seas or, in Latin, mare liberum (meaning free sea). The Convention on the High Seas, which has 63 signatories, defines "high seas" to mean "all parts of the sea that are not included in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State."
Ships sailing the high seas are generally under the jurisdiction of the flag state (if there is one); however, when a ship is involved in certain criminal acts, such as piracy, any nation can exercise jurisdiction under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction. International waters can be contrasted with internal waters, territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.
International Waters is a comedy podcast hosted by Dave Holmes and distributed by the Maximum Fun network. The show pits teams of comedians from the United States and the United Kingdom against each other in a panel game format.
Usage examples of "international waters".
Peacetime or not, international waters or not, tensions were running hot in the Arabian Sea just now.
If he turned from the new danger he would parallel safety and stay in international waters and then the ship would do the same again and shepherd him into open seas until his ammunition was gone or the dawn came and he was lost.
The White House, the Capitol building, and the Pentagon had all been virtually destroyed by conventional ballistic missiles launched from converted Chinese container ships lying off the coast in international waters.
An empty coffin was interred in the crypt, he was buried at sea with his mistress, May-may, in international waters off Hong Kong.
This morning, Lieutenant Commander Hanson, on routine patrol, spotted a PLA helicopter firing on an unarmed American pleasure boat in international waters.