Maritime Code
Vessel operation, maritime safety, piracy, registration, and waterway offenses.Every charge below uses the same title, classification, fine, jail value, citation status, and legal description as the generated MDT SQL.
Maritime Charging Guide
Routine navigation, licensing, registration, and docking violations are citations or misdemeanors. Serious felonies are reserved for smuggling, hijacking/piracy, and comparable intentional criminal conduct. Use the most specific fishing or smuggling statute and avoid duplicate counts for the same cargo or catch.Quick Reference
§3 — No Wake Zone — Inland Waters
Infraction · Fine: $250 · Jail: 0 months · Cite & Release: Eligible · License Points: 2 Any waters within 25 feet of shore are hereby considered a “no wake zone” and restrict the speed of vessels to no more than 10 nautical miles per hour. Applies to the following areas:Alamo Sea
Raton Canyon River
Zancudo River
§6 — No Wake Zone — Coastal & Urban Waters
Infraction · Fine: $300 · Jail: 0 months · Cite & Release: Eligible · License Points: 2 Any waters within 25 feet of shore are hereby considered a “no wake zone” and restrict the speed of vessels to no more than 10 nautical miles per hour. Applies to the following areas:La Puerta Docks
Vespucci Canals
The beach that spans from La Puerta docks to the pier at Y1000
§201 — Unlicensed Operation of Vessel
Class C Misdemeanor · Fine: $500 · Jail: 0 months · Cite & Release: Eligible · License Points: 3 · Community Service: 10 tasks A person who operates any motorized or sail-powered vessel on public waterways without a valid vessel operator’s license is guilty under this code section.§202 — Reckless Operation of Vessel
Class A Misdemeanor · Fine: $1,250 · Jail: 15 months · Cite & Release: No · License Points: 8 · Community Service: 20 tasks A person commits Reckless Operation of Vessel when they operate a vessel with conscious disregard for a substantial and unjustifiable risk to persons, property, navigation, or the environment, including dangerous speed, unsafe maneuvering, or comparable conduct.Charging & stacking: Use Boating Under the Influence when impairment is the primary basis. Serious injury or death may support separate offenses for the distinct harm.
§203 — Boating Under the Influence (BUI)
Class A Misdemeanor · Fine: $1,500 · Jail: 20 months · Cite & Release: No · License Points: 12 · Community Service: 20 tasks A person who operates a vessel while impaired by alcohol or narcotics with a BAC over 0.08 is guilty under this code section.Charging & stacking: Impairment may be established by observations or lawful chemical testing; BAC is not the only method of proof.
§204 — Failure to Obey Maritime Control Devices
Infraction · Fine: $300 · Jail: 0 months · Cite & Release: Eligible · License Points: 2 A person who disregards buoys, lights, signs, or other lawful navigational markers is guilty under this code section.§205 — Unauthorized Mooring or Docking
Infraction · Fine: $400 · Jail: 0 months · Cite & Release: Eligible A person commits Unauthorized Mooring or Docking when they knowingly moor, anchor, or dock a vessel in a clearly posted restricted area, emergency access point, private berth without consent, or other location where docking is prohibited. This offense is ordinarily resolved by citation.§206 — Illegal Cargo Transport / Smuggling
Class B Felony · Fine: $7,500 · Jail: 35 months · Cite & Release: No A person who uses a vessel to transport contraband, narcotics, or unregistered goods into or out of San Andreas waters is guilty under this code section.Charging & stacking: Use general Smuggling or controlled-substance/weapons trafficking when those more specific statutes fully describe the same cargo and course of conduct; avoid duplicative punishment.
§207 — Maritime Piracy / Hijacking
Class A Felony · Fine: $10,000 · Jail: 50 months · Cite & Release: No A person commits Maritime Piracy or Hijacking when, by force, threat, intimidation, or violence, they unlawfully seize or exercise control over a vessel from its lawful operator or occupants.Charging & stacking: Separate robbery, kidnapping, assault, or homicide offenses may apply when they involve distinct victims or harms beyond those necessary to establish the hijacking.
§208 — Illegal Fishing in Territorial Waters
Class B Misdemeanor · Fine: $1,000 · Jail: 10 months · Cite & Release: No · Community Service: 15 tasks A person who fishes in restricted waters, uses unlicensed nets, or exceeds fishing quotas while aboard a vessel is guilty under this code section.Charging & stacking: Use the land-based fishing statutes when conduct is not vessel-specific; avoid charging duplicate fishing offenses for the same catch and conduct.
§209 — Vessel Registration Violations
Infraction · Fine: $250 · Jail: 0 months · Cite & Release: Eligible · License Points: 1 A person commits Vessel Registration Violations when they operate or maintain a vessel required to be registered without valid registration or required registration markings, or fail to display those markings as required by law.Charging & stacking: Knowingly falsifying or altering registration documents or identifiers may be charged under Forgery or another more specific fraud statute rather than treating the falsification as a simple registration infraction.
§210 — Environmental Pollution by Vessel
Class A Misdemeanor · Fine: $2,500 · Jail: 15 months · Cite & Release: No · Community Service: 20 tasks A person who disposes of waste, oil, or hazardous substances from a vessel into San Andreas waters is guilty under this code section.Charging & stacking: Minor accidental discharge is insufficient; the person must knowingly or recklessly release pollutants in violation of environmental law.
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