Colreg 72

– 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.

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

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

6~8 NM range with no risk of collision, watch keeper need to keep monitoring until these have passed clear.Rule 6: Safe speedSafe speed is the most mis-undertood rule in Colreg. Let me ask a question. Which of these two vessels in Singapore strait at same location are proceeding at safe speedA container vessel moving at 16 knots orA bulk carrier moving at 15 knotsWhat is your answer ?If I have to choose one, for me the container vessel moving at 16 Knots is moving at safe speed. Isn’t it interesting to say that a vessel proceeding at higher speed is safer speed ? If you understand why I chose container vessel as proceeding at safer speed, most likely you already understand this rule.So why I chose container vessel as proceeding at safe speed ? This is becauseContainer vessel is not proceeding at sea speed and has her engine ready for immidiate manoever. Whereas bulk carrier is proceeding at sea speed and would need some notice before they can reduce speed.Container vessels have better manoeverability compared to bulk carrier. So in case of an emergency, container vessel can manoever quickly than bulk carrier.The whole idea behind safe speed is not to not to run into danger because of high speed. Lesser speed gives us more time to assess situation and take effective action.The safe speed depends upon 2 factorsHow early a target can be detectedHow effective the avoiding action will beAll the factors mentioned in the Colreg rule number 6 either affect target detection or the effectiveness of the avoiding action.Rule 18: Responsibilities between the vesselsWhile this is a simple rule which list down the vessels in order of priority, sometimes we can get it wrong. I have seen watch keepers getting irritated with the fishing vessels impeding their passage. We must know that it is power driven vessel who has to keep clear of the fishing vessel and not the other way around.Rule 15: Crossing situationWhen two power-driven vessels are crossing so as to involve risk of collision, the vessel which has the other on her own starboard side shall keep out of the way and shall, if the circumstances of the case admit, avoid crossing ahead of the other vessel.This rule is simple. In a crossing situation with risk of collision, if you have a vessel on your starboard side, you are the give way vessel. In same situation if you have a vessel on your port side, you are the stand on vessel.This rule also guides about what action a give way vessel need to take to avoid risk of collision. It asks the give way vessel to avoid crossing ahead of the other vessel. More often this