Boarding (Earth-5875)

Boarding is to come up against, or alongside, an enemy ship to attack by placing combatants aboard the enemy ship. The goal of boarding is to capture, or destroy, the enemy vessel. Boarding almost always involves stealth in vessels that carry troops to the deck of a ship.

In wartime
Boarding is used in wartime as a way to seize a vessel without destroying it, or to remove its cargo (people or goods) before it is destroyed. It can also be used to aid in the collection of naval intelligence, as soldiers boarding a crippled or surrendered vessel could possibly recover enemy plans, cipher codebooks or machines. For a boarding to be successful, it must occur without the knowledge of the crew of the defending ship, or the ship's defenses must be suppressed.

In peacetime
In peacetime, boarding allows authorized inspectors to supress pirates, mercenary, and smuggling ships.

Trivia

 * Naval boarding on Wikipedia.