Rule 26 — Fishing Vessel Lights
NIGHT. A vessel in your vicinity shows at or near her masthead two all-round lights: GREEN OVER WHITE, in a vertical line. She is making way.
Scenario briefing
NIGHT. A vessel in your vicinity shows at or near her masthead two all-round lights: GREEN OVER WHITE, in a vertical line. She is making way. What is she doing?
Applicable COLREG rule(s)
📸 Night recognition — 8 aspects
The same vessel rendered every 45° of aspect — bow, starboard bow, beam, quarter, stern, port quarter, beam, bow. Use this strip to learn how the lights present from each approach angle. Click any image to view full size.
Key teaching points
- Rule 26(b): a vessel trawling (gear dragged through the water) shows two all-round lights vertically — GREEN OVER WHITE.
- Rule 26(c): a vessel engaged in fishing OTHER than trawling shows two all-round lights vertically — RED OVER WHITE.
- Both add the normal lights of her size when making way (Rule 26(b)(ii), 26(c)(ii)).
- Vessels engaged in fishing with gear extending more than 150 m horizontally also show an all-round white light in the direction of the gear (Rule 26(c)(ii)).
Common mistakes to avoid
- Confusing fishing green-over-white with a single green starboard sidelight — wrong arc, wrong light count.
- Approaching a stationary trawler from the direction of her gear without spotting the 150 m gear-marker white light.
Why it matters
Exam relevance
Rule 26 fishing lights and Rule 18(a)(iii) priority are a standard paired oral question in Yachtmaster Coastal/Offshore and STCW OOW.
Related scenarios
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