For his 1952 novella 'The Old Man and the Sea,' Ernest Hemingway based some qualities of his lead character on his own fishing boat captain.

For his 1952 novella 'The Old Man and the Sea,' Ernest Hemingway based some qualities of his lead character on his own fishing boat captain.
The term is mainly used figuratively today, but in the past it depended on whom you asked as different cultures gave different answers.
No, a fugitive in a ship is still subject to the laws and regulations of whatever country the vessel is registered to.