(a) When two power-driven vessels are meeting on reciprocal or nearly reciprocal courses so as to involve risk of collision each shall alter her course to starboard so that each shall pass on the port side of the other.
(b) Such a situation shall be deemed to exist when a vessel sees the other ahead or nearly ahead and by night she would see the mast head lights of the other in a line or nearly in a line and or both sidelights and by day she observes the corresponding aspect of the other vessel.
(c) When a vessel is in any doubt as to whether such a situation exists she shall assume that it does exist and act accordingly.
MSN 1781 (M+F): Rules text stated on the document as amended through IMO Res A.910(22); read with MSN 1781 (M+F) Amendment 3 (21 Nov 2023, current — replaces Amendment 2; scope-only change for the Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order 2023). Per Amendment 2 Appendix 2, the only later wording changes are Annex IV (A.1004(25)) and new Part F Rules 39-41 (A.1085(28)).
Contains public sector information reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: MSN 1781.
Independent preparatory study aligned to the MCA OOW (Yachts <3000 GT) oral examination syllabus. Not an MCA-approved course and confers no credit toward a Certificate of Competency.
