Limits Marine Areas — Contingent Zone Limit (High Adriatic)

The contiguous zone, or even contiguous belt, is a sea space extending up to a maximum limit of 24 nautical miles from the baseline of the coast; so 12 nautical miles beyond the territorial sea limit. Unlike the latter, it does not provide sovereign rights to the coastal state, but only control rights on ships in transit, aimed at preventing or punishing infringements of its customs, tax, health or immigration laws. Unlike territorial waters, it is optional and must therefore be declared by the coastal state in order to exist. Italy, although it has not formally declared the contiguous area, has decreed its existence by Article 11e of Law No 189 of 30 July 2002, which amended Article 12 of Legislative Decree No 286/1998 as follows: ‘The Italian vessel in police service, which meets in the territorial sea or in the contiguous area, a vessel whose reason is well-founded to believe that it is used or involved in the illegal transport of migrants, may stop it, undergo an inspection and, if evidence is found confirming the involvement of the vessel in migrant smuggling, seize it by taking it to a port in the State.’