Three Simple Rules

MARS Report 200403

Time 0630, daylight, fine and clear with slight seas. Course is 006 at a speed of 16.5kts. An FOC product tanker on a near reciprocal course is fine on my PORT bow with a CPA of 0.3nm passing down my STBD side. There is no other traffic and thousands of square miles of ocean to play in.

When we are 8.0nm apart I alter my course 35deg to starboard and place the tanker 30deg on my port bow. At 6.0nm he has taken no action and I use the Aldis lamp to attract his attention. This ship calls up on the VHF CH16, "LNG flashing me, what are your intentions, do you want to pass green to green or, red to red" !

I remind him of his obligation to alter course to STARBOARD and that my intention to pass red to red would be obvious to any person keeping a lookout. He stands on, I add an extra 10 degrees to STARBOARD and maintain my avoiding action until he is 1.8nm abaft my PORT beam before slowly resuming my original course.

For close quarters situations at sea between 2 ships in good visibility with miles of empty ocean I offer 3 simple little rules :

  1. GIVE WAY TO THE RIGHT.
  2. GIVE WAY WHEN OVERTAKING.
  3. WHEN END ON, BOTH GO TO STARBOARD.

What is so difficult? Why do these situations continue to occur? Changing the current collision rules has been touted over the years to solve these types of problems, how much simpler do you have to make them? Will changes to the current collision rules ensure that OOW's read them ?


 
 

 

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