200158 Danger Area around F3 Buoy

Danger Area around F3 Buoy
Report No. 200158

With reference to your MARS 200038 "Alter Course into Danger", I encountered an almost identical situation in the same region. In my case, I was in command of a ship that was in a similar position to Target B.

(Attached drawing shows the situation described in MARS 200038 - Ed.)

I had to take action to avoid a close quarters situation with south west bound traffic. The majority of traffic outbound from Waandelaar for the South passes round close to the F3 buoy and join the SW lane at as small an angle as practicable. The use of VHF for collision avoidance is not recommended especially in this high traffic density area and at a range of 1mile.