Mikoyan, searching civilian ships is parfectly acceptable. Otherwise you would use them to transport troops and weapons, which I cannot allow. That's especially the case since we have no internationally respected rules of war, which I think we should discuss as well at the meeting.
Avalonian ships have been specifically ordered not to intentionally dammage or sink any civilian vessels that show no resistance to the prospect of a search. Penalty for disobedience is forty lashes and a month in the stockade. As long as your merchants cooperate and are not turning themselves into military targets, Mikoyan, there should be no trouble; otherwise, there will have to be blood.