Where conflict arises at sea, these charges may be dropped (5)

I believe the answer is:

depth

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'at sea these charges may be dropped' is the definition.
(as in depth charges)

I don't understand the rest of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for depth that I've seen before include "Deepness" , "Distance from the surface to the bottom" , "Thoroughness" , "Distance from top down as in water" , "Downward extent" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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