Circular
letter
MSC/Circ.1144
ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE FOR THE UNIFORM APPLICATION OF RULE 1(E) OF THE
INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS FOR PREVENTING COLLISIONS AT SEA, 1972, AS AMENDED
(adopted on 7 December 2004)
1.
The Maritime Safety Committee at its seventy-ninth session (1 to 10 December
2004), noted that Rule 1(e) of the International Regulations for Preventing
Collisions at Sea, 1972, as amended, allows that "whenever the Government
concerned shall have determined that a vessel of special construction or purpose
cannot comply fully with the provisions of any of these Rules with respect to
number, position, range or arc of visibility of lights or shapes, as well as to
the disposition and characteristics of sound-signalling appliances, such vessel
shall com-ply shall comply with such other provisions in regard to number,
position, range or arc of visibility of lights or shapes, as well as to the
disposition on characteristics of sound-signalling appliances as her Government
shall have determined to be the closest possible compliance with these Rules in
respect of that vessel».
2.
The Committee also noted that reports received from mariners, indicate that
difficulties have been encountered at sea at night, in determining the aspect
of an approaching vessel particularly on reciprocal or near reciprocal course
when the two masthead lights of the other vessel are not positioned on the
centre line of the vessel.
3.
The Committee further noted that this could lead to the ship's officer arriving
at a wrong decision as to whether the risk of collision exists or not;
particularly taking into account that Rule 14(b) provides that "such a
situation shall be deemed to exist when a vessel sees the other ahead or nearly
ahead and by night she could see the masthead 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».
4.
This circular complements MSC/Circ.473 of 18 May 1987 the guidance provided in.
5.
Member Governments are invited to take into account the potential problem posed
to other vessels, whenever they grant exemptions under Rule 1(e) and to do so
only in very extraordinary circumstances. Financial aspects should not be a
consideration for granting exemption.