Who Has the Right of Way Out at Sea?
There is often a lot of confusion as to who has the right of way out at sea. All regulated training courses cover collision avoidance in full, it is one subject every mariner should be knowledgeable on.
So who dictates who has right of way?
The International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea, or for short (IRPCS). The general rule is that less manoeuvrable craft have priority over a more manoeuvrable craft.
Below are some taster IRPCS rules that would apply smaller watercraft; Sailboats have right of way over powered vessel in almost all cases, because the wind dictates their direction. This is not true for overtaking powered vessels.
Fishing vessels always have right of way regardless of their relative position. All vessels fishing with nets, lines or trawls count as fishing vessels. Steer well clear of all fishing vessels.
In overtaking and passing situations, the craft being passed has right of way. The craft doing the overtaking is required to stay clear. Generally, you should not pass on the starboard (right hand) side. If at all possible you should let the craft being passed know you are there.
In narrow channels, powered vessels under 65' can not hamper the operation of large vessels which can't navigate outside the channel. In a head-on-situation, when you feel there is a chance of collision, you should turn starboard (right) and keep the other craft on your port (left) side.
When crossing the path of another craft, the craft on the starboard (right) side has right of way. The craft on the port (left) side must slow and turn to starboard to pass behind the other craft.
These are only a few of the many guidelines and would be more applicable to smaller watercraft i.e Personal Watercraft, Sportsboats, Cruisers, RIBs. Whatever type of boating you are into there is a course to suit your needs, visit an organisation like the Royal Yachting Association (www.rya.org.uk) for more information on training courses for sportsboats, powerboats and RIBs.
3:19 AM
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