ONLINE CURRENTS VOL3 - Flipbook - Page 10
It was not until a full four hours later that the captain initiated a missing person procedure. A
16-vessel search party across a 288-square-kilometer area followed, lasting a total of 3 days.
The search proved unsuccessful, but shone a stark light on the procedural concerns of such
an event in what are largely unregulated international waters, which remain at best an
ambiguous jurisdictional space, and at worst a complete free-for-all.
The jurisdiction of Maritime International Law is clear in where the responsibilities of
investigations such as these lie: “Each state shall cause an inquiry (…), into every marine
casualty or incident of navigation on the high seas involving a ship flying its [own] flag and
causing loss of life or serious injury to nationals of another state” 1 . Which in this case placed
all investigative responsibility onto the Panamanian authorities, given the vessel’s registration
papers and flag. Even though the ownership of the company had ties to Japan 2
and employed Taiwanese workers, the Victoria was flying under the Panamanian flag - a
legal loophole known as a “flag of convenience”.3
The subsequent investigation by Panamanian authorities, however, did not begin until 10
days after Davis’ disappearance, in stark contrast to expected timelines for terrestrial
disappearances. Michael Berkow, director of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, explains
that “in ordinary criminal investigations, we talk about the golden hour, the first hour after
a crime. Here, we had to wait until they came into their next port of call. There are some
very real and unique challenges posed by the tyranny of time and distance in these kinds
of cases.” 4
For their part, Berkow and the US Coast Guard - involved because of Davis’ nationality undertook initial investigations but found their jurisdiction limited. In particular, the US
authorities were prohibited from questioning crew members, with only the ability to sit
in on interviews.
“They asked us to step away,” said Berkow in reference to a request from Panamanian
authorities a few days into the investigation. “We honored that. We don’t have a choice.”
For those involved, it became rapidly evident that multi-stakeholder maritime protocols and
bureaucracies were a severe impediment to advancing the investigation into Davis’
disappearance.Perhaps most notably, it placed the US coast guard near last in the chain of
notification. Only once Victoria’s owners had received notification from the vessel’s captain,
could the news then be passed onto Davis' employers, the Marine Resources Assessment
Group America 5 (MRAG) - who were finally able to notify the US coast guard.
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