Question 132 Rules of the Road

The correct answer is B) Both vessels should alter course to starboard and pass port to port. This is correct because the lights displayed in illustration D071RR indicate that the vessel ahead is a power-driven vessel underway. According to the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), when two power-driven vessels are meeting head-on, they should both alter course to starboard and pass port-to-port. The other options are incorrect because: A) Sounding an overtaking signal is not appropriate in a head-on situation. C) Altering course to port would result in a starboard-to-starboard pass, which is the opposite of the COLREGS requirement. D) Holding course and speed is not the correct action for a head-on encounter.