Every week, we present you with a question about your boating license. To help you validate your knowledge, or to discover new and unexplored areas. This week, we take a look at a question on navigation lights on ships.
A vessel with limited manoeuvring capacity
A vessel with restricted maneuvering ability is one that is unable to maneuver due to the nature of its operations. As a result, it is impossible for it to deviate from the course of another vessel, and consequently it cannot apply the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972. It is therefore up to the ships sailing around it to deviate from their course. This vessel takes precedence over all others, with the exception of those not in control of their own maneuvers.
In our case, it's the Phares et Balises vessel towing a buoy, as shown in the daylight photo. In this case, the vessel with restricted manoeuvring capacity displays two black balls encircling a black bicone.
At night, you can see her two red lights encircling a white light. The lower red light is the main light (red, green and white depending on the angle from which the boat is seen). The white light at the masthead indicates that this is a motorboat.
