Sailormongering is the practice of boarding a
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
approaching or newly arrived in port without the permission of its master, and inciting members of its
crew
A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involve ...
to desert their posts and come ashore by tempting them with
prostitutes
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
and
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
. The intention behind the activity might be to subject the unguarded vessel to
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
, hold the inebriated sailors
hostage
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...
or simply drum up business for local
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
s and
brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
s. At the time when the practice was common, it was often accomplished by sending prostitutes carrying large quantities of alcohol onto the targeted ships to serve as lures; those arranging for this to occur might be described as having committed the action in addition to those actually boarding the ships.
Although statutory prohibitions on the practice remain in jurisdictions such as the United States, the offence is effectively obsolete. The relevant law in that country dates from 1872, but the last successful prosecution under it occurred in 1890, in the case of ''United States v Sullivan''.
Greenpeace charge
In April 2002
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
activists boarded the container ship APL ''Jade'', carrying a shipment of illegal Brazilian mahogany at a Miami port, calling on President Bush to return all mahogany shipments from Brazil and to investigate companies that continue to buy it. Twelve individuals were arrested and six Greenpeace activists were charged with sailormongering and sentenced to time served.
On year later in 2003, the
United States Justice Department
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and a ...
prosecuted Greenpeace under the same 1872 statute for boarding the APL Jade that was importing over $10 million worth of Brazilian mahogany. The case garnered widespread ridicule and was dismissed on the third day of the trial, after one and a half days of testimony.
The Greenpeace Mahogany campaign ended when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) listed Bigleaf mahogany (''Swietenia macrophylla'') on Appendix II at CoP12 in Santiago, Chile.
[{{cite web , url=https://www.fws.gov/international/plants/mahogany-listing-history.html , title = Mahogany Listing History]
References
Nautical terminology