Maritime Interdiction Operation (MIO)

A maritime interdiction operation is a naval mission to intercept, board, search, and where authorized seize a vessel or its cargo to enforce a sanction, embargo, or law. The legal basis is one of three: the flag state’s consent, the right of visit under UNCLOS Article 110 (suspicion of piracy, slave trade, unauthorized broadcasting, no nationality, or false flag), or a UN Security Council mandate under Chapter VII. Examples include the embargo enforcement against Iraq from 1990 and EUNAVFOR Med Irini (2020) enforcing the Libya arms embargo. The boarding itself is executed by a VBSS team led by a boarding officer.