98005 Special Signals

Special Signals
Report No. 98005

In answer to your question, "Should high speed vessels carry additional warning lights to indicate their extra speed?" I would like to express a view from the small slow speed craft that this could indicate a priority or even a right of way that does not exist in law. In many cases the high speed craft will be the give way vessel. In other cases, even when it is the stand on vessel, practicalities will mean that the high speed craft must consider that all other vessels are stationary and she must therefore assume the role of the give way vessel.

It is therefore much more important to highlight the presence of those slow vessels which have no chance of getting out of the way, rather than to highlight the presence of a high speed craft, about which the majority of other vessels can do very little. Possibly the suggestion should be, "Should low speed vessels carry an additional warning light to indicate their presence?"

This, albeit illegal route, is already taken by many fishing boats in displaying an orange hazard warning light. Some of them use this all the time whilst others use it when they believe they are in danger of being overlooked. This signal could well be used by the smaller, less visible vessels to indicate their presence to a larger, faster vessel.

Alternatively, it would be worth considering HSC displaying a special signal providing that there was International agreement that, when displaying such a signal, the HSC would be indicating to everyone else that she would consider herself to be the give way vessel and act accordingly. Complications could arise when two high speed craft are approaching each other but this could be resolved by them both acting according to the COLREGS. A decision would also have to be made regarding whether small high speed pleasure craft would fall into the category of displaying such a signal.

It is interesting to note that in the European Code for Inland Waterway Rules, high speed vessels are required to give way to all other vessels at all times, regardless of whether they are operating in the high speed mode or not. Since these high speed craft will operate in areas where Inland Waterway Rules apply, such as the Hook of Holland and the Scheldt Estuary, it will be interesting to discover whether they actually obey this rule or abandon it as soon as they reduce their speed to that of most other craft.

This is an interesting letter which I hope will provoke more debate. I believe that the author was referring mainly to small, slow, sailing craft, otherwise we could find that a whole host of slower motor driven vessels would want a special signal, therefore making it meaningless. I believe that HSC do generally give way to other vessels. What is the opinion of those in charge of high speed craft?