§1581 Boarding vessels

Summary

Customs officers can board any ship or vehicle at any time in the United States, in customs waters, in customs-enforcement areas, or other authorized places, even outside their home district. They can look at the ship’s papers, search the vessel, cargo, packages, luggage, and people, and they can hail and stop a ship or vehicle and use necessary force to make it comply. Officers from the Treasury Department and people the Department allows may also board vessels in the United States or customs waters to enforce navigation laws, stop vessels, and arrest people who break those laws or pursue people who try to escape. If a ship’s master gives a forged or false paper and knows it is false but does not say so, they face a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $5,000, and the vessel may be forfeited. If a ship or vehicle ignores a lawful stop signal from customs, it can be chased and the person in charge can be fined $1,000 to $5,000. Goods, vessels, or vehicles found breaking the law can be seized and people arrested, and customs officers must seize and arrest when the law allows, using necessary force. A vessel that uses boats to bring goods in illegally is treated as operating in the United States and covered by these rules. These rules do not let U.S. officers board a foreign ship on the high seas in a way that would break a treaty, unless there is a special agreement.