A GUIDE TO THE COLLISION AVOIDANCE RULES

The principal part of this classic and world popular title has been arranged in five major parts with the first one providing general information and remaining four addressing the sailing and steering rules, navigating lights and shapes, sounds plus light signals, and exemptions from the applicable requirements. Four annexes to the rules are detailing the lights, shapes, and sound signaling appliances, cover the distress signals as well as the additional signals for the fishing vessels.

In addition, the volume contains the excerpts from the relevant IMO conventions and recommendations, risk assessment tables, manoeuvring information and descriptions. The list of vessels referred to in the volume has also been provided... For several centuries there have been established official rules in existence developed with the intention to prevent the ship collisions at sea; however, there were no any rules that would have statutory force, until last century.

In the middle of XIX century, a set of rules was drawn by the London Trinity House, and one of those rules obliged a steam ship passing another ship in the narrow channel to leave the other ship on her port hand, while another regulation of this set obliged the steam ships on different courses with potential risk of their collision, to alter the course to starboard in order to pass on the port sides. Some other regulations were there for the ships under sail...