Article 110 UNCLOS

UNCLOS Article 110 sets the right of visit on the high seas. A warship encountering a foreign ship, other than one entitled to sovereign immunity, may board it only on reasonable grounds to suspect piracy, the slave trade, unauthorized broadcasting, statelessness, or that the ship though flying a foreign flag or refusing to show one is in reality of the same nationality as the warship. The warship may check documents and, if suspicion remains, search the ship; compensation is owed if the suspicion proves unfounded.