## Facts

- The *I’m Alone* was a British-flag vessel of Canadian registry operating during U.S. Prohibition in liquor smuggling toward the United States.
- On March 20, 1929, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter sighted the vessel near the Louisiana coast (within roughly 8–10 miles) and attempted to stop it as it proceeded seaward.
- On March 22, 1929, a second U.S. Coast Guard cutter joined the chase; U.S. officers repeatedly ordered the vessel to heave to for boarding and search, but the vessel refused.
- U.S. personnel fired warning shots and then fired into the vessel’s hull; the vessel sank on the high seas, beyond U.S. territorial waters.
- The crew was rescued, but one crew member drowned.
- Canada presented a claim under a bilateral claims mechanism established by a 1924 U.S.–U.K. convention addressing liquor-smuggling enforcement beyond territorial waters.
- An ad hoc bilateral arbitral commission issued an interim report (1933) and a final report (1935), including a finding that it could investigate beneficial ownership and control of the vessel and venture.
- The commission found that, notwithstanding Canadian registry, the vessel and liquor-running venture were in substance controlled by U.S. nationals.

## Issues

1. Whether the 1924 U.S.–U.K. convention authorized pursuit from the convention’s enforcement zone onto the high seas and the use of force there against the vessel.
2. Whether intentionally sinking the vessel, rather than boarding and seizure, was unlawful under the convention and international law.
3. Whether de facto U.S. beneficial ownership and control limited or defeated Canada’s claim for compensation for the ship and cargo.
4. What forms of reparation were appropriate for the unlawful sinking, including non-pecuniary measures and monetary indemnities.

## Decision

- The commission held that the intentional sinking of the *I’m Alone* on the high seas was not justified under the 1924 convention or international law.
- The commission declined to award compensation to Canada for the loss of the ship and cargo.
- The commission required the United States to provide a formal expression of regret (apology) for the wrongful sinking.
- The commission recommended monetary indemnities for the captain and crew, reflecting personal harm, including loss of life.

## Legal Principles

- Treaty-based boarding/search/seizure authority in an extended enforcement zone does not, without clear authorization, include authority to destroy a foreign-flag vessel on the high seas.
- Even where enforcement action is permissible, the use of force must be limited to what is justified by the governing instrument and international law; sinking a vessel engaged in non-violent smuggling is excessive absent specific authority.
- In determining reparations, an international tribunal may look beyond flag and registry to beneficial ownership, management, and control to assess who economically benefits from the claim.
- Wrongful acts at sea may warrant a combination of non-pecuniary reparation (apology) and targeted monetary indemnities to affected individuals, even if broader state-to-state property compensation is denied.

## Conclusion

The commission found the United States internationally responsible for unlawfully sinking the *I’m Alone* on the high seas, ordered an apology and indemnities for the captain and crew, but denied compensation for the ship and cargo because the venture’s beneficial ownership and control were effectively American and tied to illicit smuggling.


“I’m Alone” (Can. v. U.S.), 3 R.I.A.A. 1609 (1935)