Colregs rules of the road

Title: Rules of The Road 1Rules of The Road Purpose and Scope 2Agenda This section of instruction will cover the Rules of the Road, as published in the Navigation Rules (COMDTINST M16672.2D) 3ReferencesCOMDTINST M16672.2D Referred to by mariners as the Rules of the Road 4Navigation RulesPurpose and ScopeAGENDA Purpose and Scope Principles of Maritime Law Rule 1 Applicability Rule 2 Rule of Good Seamanship Rule 3 General Definitions Applicable reading USCG pp. 1-11. 5Purpose of Scope of the Rules of the RoadSources 1972 COLREGS (International Rules) Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea Amended in 1983, 1989, 1991 by the IMO 1980 Navigation Rules Act (Inland Rules) Applies exclusively to US inland waters NOTE Navigation Rules have the force of law. 6Rule 1(a) ApplicabilityNav Rules apply based upon a vessels location. COLREGS Line of Demarcation These rules shall apply to all vessels upon the high seas and in all waters connected therewith navigable by seagoing vessels. 7Rule 2 ResponsibilityNothing in these Rules shall exonerate any vessel, or the owner, master or crew thereof, from the consequences of any neglect to comply with these Rules or of the neglect of any precaution which may be required by the ordinary practice of seaman. General Prudential Rule the mariner is responsible not only for complying with the Rules but also for avoiding a collision. Special Situations In extremis situations 8Special Situations(not covered by the Rules) 9What is Good Seamanship?A. Turn around and go the other way. B. Speed up and pass vessel

– Conduct of vessels in any condition of visibility (Rules 4-10)Section II – Conduct of vessels in sight of one another (Rules 11-18)Section III – conduct of vessels in restricted visibility (Rule 19)Part C Lights and Shapes (Rules 20-31)Part C of the Colreg convention describes the requirements of lights and daily shapes that a ship must carry on to be detected properly by other ships and shows her current navigation status. Part D Sound and Light Signals (Rules 32-37)Part D of Colreg is particularly important during restricted visibility. All the rules listed in part D of the Colreg deal with sounds and light signals.Part E Exemptions (Rule 38)Part E of Colregs contains only one rule, and it is related to the exemptions.Part F Verification of compliance with the provisions of the ConventionPart F of Colregs is the last part of the Colregs Convention. Part F of Colregs was introduced with an amendment on the 1st of January 2016, IMO Resolution A.1085(28).AnnexesAnnex I – Positioning and technical details of lights and shapesAnnex II – Additional signals for fishing vessels fishing in close proximityAnnex III – Technical details of sounds signal appliancesAnnex IV – Distress signals, which lists the signals indicating distress and need of assistance.

Visibility, all other lights must be visible for two nautical miles.Optional masthead lights - any vessel under sail may display a red light over a green light at the masthead with sidelights and stern light. The red over green may NOT be displayed with a masthead tricolor light. It's one set or the other. Lights When MotoringFor all navigational purposes a sailboat under power is considered a power boat. This includes motor sailing - if the engine is on and providing propulsion you are on a power boat, even if the sails are up. This applies to navigation lighting, sound signals in fog and limited visibility, and rights of way. Sailboats under 50 meters under power need to show: A masthead lightSidelights Stern light A power-driven vessel under 23 feet (7 meters) that does not exceed seven knots of speed may display an all around white light, though sidelights should be used if available. What about the USCG (United States Coast Guard) Rules?The USCG has published its own "Rules of the Road" that are based on the COLREGS. In addition, it has rules for the "Inland Waterways" for rivers, inland lakes and the Great Lakes.The good news is this has no impact on what you have to do with your own boat.They mostly relate to lighting changes on towed vessels like barges and tugs. For example, a vessel towing or pushing another vessel in the ocean under COLREGS shows two masthead lights, sidelights and a stern light, whereas in Inland Waterways the towing or pushing vessel displays two yellow towing lights instead of a white stern light. If you sail on lakes, rivers or the Great Lakes where towed commercial traffic is common you should learn the inland lights, but coastal or ocean sailors will never see these. Lighting at

I still remember the condition that was put by our first chief officer for us to enter wheelhouse and keep a watch with him. The condition was that we should know each rule of the road word by word. 18 years later, while writing this post I realize how appropriate his condition was.When it comes to navigation and watch keeping, to be crystal clear about COLREGS is undoubtably the priority. It takes several watches to be kept under the guidance of an officer to be clear about these rules.Problem is that we have nowadays moved from having a trainer to self training. Officers on board a ship are overloaded with their own work and so do not have time to train their juniors. In these cases, junior officers have to work on self training.In this post we will discuss in detail 8 rules every watch keeper must know. But before we move to the rules, we must know the sections in which COLREGS are divided. This is important because not all the rules are applicable in all the situations. For example rules under Part B, Section II are only applicable when you can visually see the other vessel. So we should know which rule is applicable under which condition.Sections and parts of ColregRules of the road are divided into Five parts. These arePart A: GeneralPart B: Steering and sailing rulesPart C: Light and shapesPart D: Light and sound signalsPart E: ExceptionsRecently in January 2016, there is another part (Part F) that has been added in the COLREG. This part deal with the verification of compliance which is not directly related to the seafarers.Rules of part B are further divided into 3 parts based upon the state of visibility.While all the rules are important, rules under part B (Steering and sailing rules) are the one that each seafarer must know at all the times. Here We will discuss some of the rulesRule 5: Look outIf I want my ship staff to follow only one rule, I would ask them to follow rule number 5. In my opinion this is the most important rule in the entire COLREG. All other rules are based on the fact that we are aware of our surrounding. But if we fail to keep a proper look out, we would not be able to apply other rules too.All this rule asks the watch keepers is to be vigilent by keeping their eyes and ear open. It emphasizes on three thingsBy sight and hearing. Which off course means that watch keeper need to keep look out not only by sight but also by hearing. By hearing means continuously listening to VHF and distress frequencies as well as any

Colregs: International regulations for preventing collisions at sea 1972 are a set of rules published by the IMO (International maritime organization) to prevent collisions at sea. Colreg 1972 is the final stage of rules agreed upon a convention in London in 1972.Surely one of the most important innovations adopted in 1972 was the introduction of the traffic separation scheme, analyzed in the details in RULE 10, where it indicated all the requirements that a power-driven vessel and vessels must adopt during their transit. The COLREGs are divided into 41 rules, each being part of a specific part. Part A – General; Part B – Steering and Sailing; Part C – Lights and Shapes; Part D – Sound and Light signals; Part E – Exemptions; and Part F – Verifying compliance with the provisions of the Convention. In the remaining part of the conventions, we find the annexes that detail the characteristics of the lights and shape, their positioning, and sound signaling appliance.Part A (General Rule 1-3)Colregs part A contains the general provision of the Convention and the correct way to interpret and use the Colreg. It is part of part A of Colreg, the rule 1,2,3 that respectively indicate the applications, responsibilities, and definitions.Part B Steering and Sailing (Rules 4-19)Part B of COLREGs is divided into two parts: Section 1 applies to any visibility conditions. Section II – Conduct of vessels in sight of one another (Rules 11-18), and Section III – Conduct vessels in restricted visibility (Rule 19).Section I