Every week, we present you with a question about your boating license. Whether you're looking to validate your knowledge, or discover new and unexplored areas. This week, we tackle a question on signals governing port traffic.
It's forbidden to enter the port!
The three fixed red lights are part of the signals governing port traffic. This signage system, in force since 1990, uses lights, and only lights, day and night. Each traffic direction has its own signage. This means that incoming and outgoing ships often have different signals.
In our case, we're faced with three superimposed fixed red traffic lights. This signal indicates one-way traffic. Anyone approaching the red lights must stop. In general, boats leaving the port have three fixed green lights one above the other, giving them permission to leave the port. This was the case that day in Le Havre, where a container ship was leaving the port.
For small boats that can navigate outside the channel, as is often the case with our pleasure craft, an exceptional signal, a white light to the left of the main signal, gives authorization to pass outside the channel. This is not the case at the entrance to Le Havre. On board our yacht that day, we waited for the container carrier to exit before entering.
