Each week, we offer you a question about the boat license. To validate your knowledge or to discover unexplored fields. This week, we are tackling a question on signage.
The famous black ball
This pleasure boat of "Monsieur Tout Le Monde" has a mooring ball on its bow. It is a black signalling tool in the shape of a ball, which is placed on a part of the boat, visible at 360° when it is at anchor.
The RIPAM states
This obligation comes from the RIPAM. Indeed, the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea indicate in rule n°30 " a vessel at anchor less than 50 metres in length must display, in the most visible location, a white light visible over the entire horizon or a ball. Vessels less than 7 metres in length, when at anchor, are not required to display the lights or marker (ball) unless they are anchored in or near a narrow channel, access road or anchorage, or on routes normally frequented by other vessels. "
Even for pleasure boats
The mooring ball, even if it is not very well treed, is mandatory for pleasure boats over 7 m in many cases.
