Any sailors here?

This is a very good read on the frustrations and complications of traveling on a boat, with a gun......

The lack of indisputable answers has gun laws in the cross hairs for captains traveling with firearms.

Recent attention comes as the case is pending against Capt. Paul Giusti after his arrest on Aug. 27 for possession of a firearm aboard his employer’s yacht. Giusti said he talked with the N.Y. District Attorney in September and October.

“The D.A. was not aware of some of the facts,” Giusti said by phone in late October. “It sounds hopeful.”

With U.S. national and local gun laws varying in severity, enforcement and jurisdictions, even professionals are taxed for definitive answers.

...

“Many crew get scared because they have no legal way to disembark firearms from the vessel,” Rawlins said. “What do you do, drop them over the side? Sometimes, there is no good answer, and that is the answer.”

Click to expand...

full article here

Most States (non-US ones included) want mariners to be at the mercy of pirates. Some places even treat spears, long blades, spear guns and flare guns as dangerous illegal weapons.

I've done some sailing in the delta and bay area, but never long distance. It didn't even occur to me that there was such convoluted laws regarding firearms.

Weapons laws are a consideration prior to entering territorial waters. On the high seas the most common recommendation is .71 caliber/12 ga. slug at the waterline and 00 shot for close quarters - lots of 'em. Your reception by national authorities will depend on whether they abide pirate-BG or sailors.

Some U.S. ships and aircraft enjoy "sovereign territory" status equivalent to that of embassies, and can carry arms into any foreign country, safe from search and seizure, at least in accordance with international law.

Unfortunately, that status isn't afforded to privately-owned vessels.

In some cases, I think it should, but I fear the bad guys would use it as a haven for running arms.

However, for ships of U.S. registry, transiting in U.S. waters (within 200 miles of the coast), I firmly believe they should be afforded a national status when it comes to the possession and use of firearms for self-defense within her territorial waters, and provided the arms and ammo remain aboard ship, would comply with a much-relaxed Constitutional Carry set of laws, similar to that in Arizona.

In order to preclude abuse along the lines of the aforementioned gun-running, there will have to be some practical restrictions, and subject to U.S. Coast Guard inspection (not abuse). I dunno - a sidearm, long-range firearm, and a back-up gun for everone aboard? As for restrictions on ammo, it's simply not economically practical to "gun-run" ammo, particularly aboard private vessels. Therefore there's no practical limit on the amount of ammo which may be carried, particularly as the more ammo one carries, the more expensive it gets in terms of either fuel expended or velocity lost.