2

must keep out of harms way, for the first comer is only required to take ordinary precautions to prevent damage.1 He must bear the risk who voluntarily places his ship in a position where danger may arise to another. A ship has no right to be placed in such a berth as to make it inevitable that she must take the ground on the ebb tide to the probable risk to vessels moored in her vicinity.s

A vessel to whom a foul berth is given is not required to take more than the ordinary and usual precautions against bad weather and she will not be responsible for the damage she may do, although it might have been prevented by the exercise of unusual precautions.1

A vessel about to come to an anchor is not entitled to consider her own safety alone. She is bound to have regard to the safety of other vessels which are navigating, or at anchor, in her vicinity, and those on board of her should act as reasonable men, as men of prudence and skill would act, with due regard, not only to the safety of their own ship, but also to the safety of other vessels.5

6

Her crew should at all times be sufficient to work the ship so as to protect the ship against the ordinary incidents of peril which a competent seaman would foresee and provide against, and if the vessel is moored, there should be sufficient hands on board to let her anchor, or to take other precautions to prevent damage if the moorings break."

go

An officer should not relinquish his charge to one of inferior rank at a time when his vessel is actually manoeuvring in order to keep clear of an approaching steamer.

8

The speed of a vessel should always be such that damage is no done to other craft. A vessel must not go at such a speed that her swell may cause damage to other craft, even though she is going at a speed that may be permitted by local bye-laws."

1 The Patriot to. 2 L.T.N.S. 301.

2 The Lidskjalf. Swab. 117.

3 The Indian. 2 Asp. O.S. 217.

4 The Vivid. 1 Asp. 601.

5 The Annot Lyle. 6 Asp. 51.

6 The Excelsior. L.R. 2 A. & E. 272.

7 The Kepler. 2 P.D. 40.

8 The Khedive. 5 App. Cases, 897.

9 The Batavier. 9 Moo. P.C.C. 286.

A steamer when near the coast,' or when passing over a fishing ground,' is not justified in running at full speed on a night so dark that vessels can only be seen at a short distance.

If a ship is so navigated as to expose other ships to unusual danger, she must be responsible for their not getting out of the way.

It is a prudent rule in a winding river, in the absence of special regulations, for a steamship about to round a point against the tide, to wait until the vessel coming in the opposite direction has passed clear.1

When a ship carries a latent instrument, as a ram, dangerous to others, she must take reasonable precautions that it does no damage, and she ought, if necessary, to warn approaching ships.5

The law throws upon those who launch a vessel the obligation of doing so with the utmost precaution, and of giving such a notice as is reasonable and sufficient to prevent any injury happening from the launch. Moreover, the burden of showing that every reasonable precaution has been taken, and every reasonable notice given, lies upon those managing the launch.6 A vessel that obstinately refuses to get out of the way of a launch will be in fault for a collision."

1 The City of Brooklyn. 1 P.D. 276.

2 The Pacific. 9 P.D. 124.

3 The La Plata. Swab. 223.

4 The Talabot. 63 L.T. 812.

5 H.M.S. Bellerophon. 3 Asp. 58.

6 The Andalusian. 2 P.D. 231.

The George Roper. 8 P.D. 120.

7 The Cachapool. 7 P.D. 217.

RESERVATION OF RULES.

ART. 30

RESERVATION OF RULES FOR HARBOURS AND INLAND NAVIGATION.

ARTICLE 30.

Nothing in these Rules shall interfere with the operation of a special rule, duly made by local authority, relative to the navigation of any harbour, river, or inland waters.

The local Rules do not in all cases preclude the operation of the Regulations for preventing collisions at sea. When they conflict, the local Rules supersede the general Regulations.1 Local Rules have been made applicable to the following, among other places :

and the Dockyard ports of Chatham, Sheerness, Woolwich, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Pembroke, Portland, and Queenstown.

1 The C. S. Butler, L.R. 4 A. and E. 238.

ART. 31.

DISTRESS SIGNALS.

DISTRESS SIGNALS.

ARTICLE 31.

When a vessel is in distress and requires assistance from other vessels or from the shore, the following shall be the signals to be used or displayed by her, either together or separately, viz. :—

In the daytime—

1. A gun or other explosive signal fired at intervals of about a minute;

2. The International Code signal of distress indicated by NC;

3. The distant signal, consisting of a square flag, having either above or below it a ball, or anything resembling a ball.

4. A continuous sounding with any fog-signal apparatus. At night

1. A gun or other explosive signal fired at intervals of about a minute;

2. Flames on the vessel (as from a burning tar-barrel, oil barrel, &c.);

3. Rockets or shells, throwing stars of any colour or description, fired one at a time, at short intervals; 4. A continuous sounding with any fog-signal apparatus.

These signals are made by virtue of Section 434 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894.

The master of a vessel who displays, or allows anybody under his authority to display, the signals when his vessel is not in distress, will be liable to pay compensation for any labour undertaken, risk incurred, or loss sustained, in consequence of the signals having been taken for signals of distress.1

1 Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, Section 434, Sub-sec. 2.