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Many elements of current U.S. maritime law can be traced back to the earliest days of exploration and trade in the ancient Mediterranean. The oldest known maritime laws were created there between 900 and 300 BCE.

Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution grants original jurisdiction to U.S. federal courts over admiralty and maritime matters; however, that jurisdiction is not exclusive, and most maritime cases can be heard in either state or federal courts under the "saving to suitors" clause.

The Constitution grants the Supreme Court the power to hear cases involving admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. Generally speaking, this covers cases involving the high seas or other navigable waters within the United States, including shipping and other transactions on those waters.

Maritime law consists of substantive rules created by federal courts, referred to as ?general maritime law?, which do not arise from the Constitution or legislation of the U.S. However, the federal courts' power to create these rules does arise from the Constitution's grant of admiralty jurisdiction, as does Congress's ...

The Coast Guard is the lead federal maritime law enforcement agency and the only agency with both the authority and capability to enforce national and international law on the high seas, outer continental shelf, and inward from the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to inland waters.

The first maritime laws were brought to the Americas in the 1600s with the establishment of vice-admiralty courts at major seaports, but it wasn't until the Judiciary Act of 1789 ? after the American Revolution ? that federal district courts were granted jurisdiction over maritime law cases, with a ?serving? clause ...