Rules of the Road - V: Who Has the Right of Way

2 Cruise Ships and a Car Ferry converging on the narrow passageway into Stockholm, Sweden
Copyright Andy Richards 2022 - All Rights Reserved 

LAST TIME we talked about rules and right of way, we distinguished between sail and engine power. What about between boats in the same power configuration?

BEFORE WE delve further into more situations, there are a couple terms that will help in our understanding of these Rules of the Road:

• Give-Way Vessel - If you are the Give-Way vessel, you must act as if the "stand-on" vessel has the right to keep going the way it is going. It is your responsibility to signal your intentions to the stand-on vessel, and it is your responsibility to maneuver your boat around the other in a safe manner. Also known as a "Burdened" vessel, as it has the burden of giving way.
  
  
• Stand-On Vessel - If you are the Stand-On vessel, it is your responsibility to acknowledge the intended actions of the give-way vessel. You must also maintain your current course and speed until the give-way vessel passes, or you enter a dangerous situation.

MOST OF us have observed situations where there are multiple cruise ships and/or other commercia or military ships of varying size and type moving within the same harbor or mooring spot. This is where the above terms come into play. Assuming none of the vessels are solely under sail power, these vessels must observe the rules vis-a-vis each other:

• when two power-driven vessels are crossing so as to involve risk of collision, the vessel which has the other on her starboard side (the give-way vessel) must keep out of the way

• Each vessel in a meeting situation must alter course to starboard so that each will pass on the port side of the other. At night, you will recognize a head-on meeting situation if you see both red and green side lights at the same time.

• At times there may be some doubt whether the situation is a crossing or a head-on meeting. In case of doubt, you should assume that it is a meeting situation, in which neither vessel has a clear-cut "right-of-way," and each must act to avoid the other

• Any vessel overtaking any other vessel must keep out the way of the vessel being overtaken. The former is the give-way vessel and the latter is the stand-on vessel. This rule applies even if the overtaking vessel is propelled by wind, paddle or oars.

THESE RULES are underpinned by common sense. Much like the rules that charges the person in control of the vessel with acting in a manner that insures the safety of both vessels, the common sense rule when navigating a narrow channel holds that the operator must avoid larger vessels that can only travel in the channel. Even if your vessel is operating under the rules otherwise, you must give way to a boat that could potentially run aground or get into a collision if they left the channel. That would seem to cover most situation where a collision might be an issue with a cruise ship. My comment in the last Rules post was that I cannot imagine any smaller boat wanting to "play chicken" with a ship, no matter what the rules. I'll stick by that one. 😅