VBSS (Visit, Board, Search, Seizure)

Visit, Board, Search and Seizure is the naval boarding tactic for stopping, inspecting, and where warranted seizing a vessel, executed by a trained boarding team under a boarding officer. It spans cooperative compliant boardings, sanctions and embargo inspections under UN authority, and opposed non-compliant boardings of vessels that resist. The legal basis varies: flag-state consent, the UNCLOS right of visit, a UN Security Council mandate, or self-defense, each setting different rules for the use of force.