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26

Fishing Vessels

Fishing vessels show green over white when trawling, red over white for other fishing, and sidelights plus sternlight when making way.

Rule 26 prescribes lights for fishing vessels.

a
A vessel engaged in trawling shall exhibit two all-round lights in a vertical line, the upper being green and the lower white. A vessel of 50 metres or more also exhibits a masthead light abaft of and higher than the green light. When making way, she also shows sidelights and a sternlight.
b
A vessel engaged in fishing other than trawling shall exhibit two all-round lights in a vertical line, the upper being red and the lower white. When making way, she also shows sidelights and a sternlight.
c
If outlying gear extends more than 150 metres horizontally from the vessel, an all-round white light or cone apex upward is shown in the direction of the gear.

By day, the normal fishing day shape is two cones point to point in a vertical line.

Recognition Sequence

1

Classify the vessel state first: underway, making way, stopped, at anchor, aground, towing, fishing, pilotage or special condition.

2

Read special lights vertically from top to bottom before using sidelights and sternlight to confirm aspect.

3

Then confirm the answer with the day shape, vessel length and any extra signal such as towing lights, deck illumination or a cylinder.

Exam Focus

1

Avoid identifying a vessel from one colour alone. Many mistakes come from spotting a red light and guessing before checking the full pattern.

2

If the question mentions 'making way', 'underway but stopped', 'at anchor' or 'aground', that wording usually determines which extra lights or shapes appear.

Key Takeaways

1

Trawling is green over white; other fishing is red over white

2

The extra sidelights and sternlight appear only when the fishing vessel is making way

3

Outlying gear beyond 150 metres requires an additional light or cone in the gear direction

4

The basic fishing day shape is two cones point to point

Common Mistakes

Mixing up trawling with other fishing

Forgetting that fishing gear can create a hazard offset from the vessel itself

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