# Semi-submersible cocaine subs keep getting caught. How much to go fully submersible? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 30, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-submersible-cocaine-subs-keep-getting-caught-how-much-to-go-fully-submersible/770077 "2016-10-30T02:13:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-submersible-cocaine-subs-keep-getting-caught-how-much-to-go-fully-submersible/770077/21 "2016-10-31T18:59:54Z")
I’m confused - if the sub was sinking anyway, why risk lives by salvaging 1/3 of the contraband? Surely the gov’t doesn’t need that much as evidence for a conviction, and it’s just going to be destroyed anyway. Grab a couple kilos and let the rest sink. ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-submersible-cocaine-subs-keep-getting-caught-how-much-to-go-fully-submersible/770077/22 "2016-10-31T19:16:20Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Ummm… > > While these folks are not exactly sympathetic defendants, How is it that the US Coast Guard can seize craft in international and/or foreign waters? > > By the 3 stories I’ve read on this bust, all agree that the “sub” was not even TRYING to enter US waters. > > I’m guessing this is “might makes right” - nobody is going to object to these crooks getting caught. > > If we replace “cocaine laden semi-submersible” with “fishing trawler”, do the legalities change? > [@](#): > > Under federal law, the Coast Guard’s mandate includes arresting traffickers even if they are on the high seas–that is, far outside any country’s territorial boundaries. Toward this effort the United States has cooperative agreements with many other nations to intercept drug activity. > **[Can the Coast Guard Seize a Vessel in International Waters?](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2001/05/can-the-coast-guard-seize-a-vessel-in-international-waters.html)** > > The U.S. Coast Guard just made the largest cocaine seizure in maritime history, more than 26,000 pounds, when it intercepted a trawler registered to... ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-submersible-cocaine-subs-keep-getting-caught-how-much-to-go-fully-submersible/770077/23 "2016-10-31T19:27:59Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > So, do I understand correctly that the amount of time underwater is quite limited, on the order or hours or at most days at a time? Well, typically yes, but everything goes better with coke. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-submersible-cocaine-subs-keep-getting-caught-how-much-to-go-fully-submersible/770077/24 "2016-10-31T19:33:45Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Ummm… > > While these folks are not exactly sympathetic defendants, How is it that the US Coast Guard can seize craft in international and/or foreign waters? > > By the 3 stories I’ve read on this bust, all agree that the “sub” was not even TRYING to enter US waters. > > I’m guessing this is “might makes right” - nobody is going to object to these crooks getting caught. > > If we replace “cocaine laden semi-submersible” with “fishing trawler”, do the legalities change? I wonder if there are precedents for this? I know that the British navy actively pursued slave ships after slavery was prohibited in England (and before it was outlawed in the US). ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-submersible-cocaine-subs-keep-getting-caught-how-much-to-go-fully-submersible/770077/25 "2016-10-31T20:17:47Z")
Of course there are precedents. The precedent is that navies and coast guards can enforce the law of the sea even in international waters, and this has been the case for hundreds of years. Piracy is the most obvious example, but navies have been enforcing the rules since ancient times. Piracy, smuggling, illegal fishing, human trafficking (they used to call these slave ships), and on and on. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-submersible-cocaine-subs-keep-getting-caught-how-much-to-go-fully-submersible/770077/26 "2016-10-31T21:30:13Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Moving would empty the batteries quite quickly then? When immobile, I take it that a sub doesn’t require much electrical power? > > Is it true that a diesel electric sub is stealthier than a nuclear sub when using only its electrical power? Most only did less than 10 miles per hour submerged, but close to 30 on the surface, which is why they stayed on the surface till they needed to dive. As for pretty quickly draining the batteries, I can’t really do more than guess, how fast they were going, or the electrical load a wartime sub would need. Regarding your second question, a D/E is basically a mobile minefield. It has one shot, and then it becomes a datum point on a map. Unlike a nuke, it cannot get out of the AO quickly enough. If the story is true, and it was not just allowed to get through a battle groups defenses, then that Aussie sub taking a pic of the carrier, should give you an indication of how quiet these vessels are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-submersible-cocaine-subs-keep-getting-caught-how-much-to-go-fully-submersible/770077.md?page=1)