Vessels underway at night must show navigation lights. Navigation lights indicate the:
- presence of a vessel
- approximate direction of travel
- type of the vessel ie - power-driven or sailing.
Small rowing and sailing boats
Small rowing and sailing boats are the only vessels that don’t need navigation lights when operating at night, but operators of these vessels must instead carry a torch or lantern showing a white light and show it in sufficient time to prevent a collision.
Under 12 metres in length
Vessels under 12 metres in length use the following lights in various combinations, depending on whether the vessel is sail or power-driven, underway or at anchor.
| Colour |
white
|
red/green |
white |
white |
| Angle of visibility |
225°
|
112.5°
|
135°
|
360°
|
As with channel and other lateral markers, the green sidelight indicates starboard and red indicates port, when looking in the direction of travel.
Power-driven vessels while underway
Power-driven vessels while underway must show either:
- a masthead light, separate or combined sidelights and a sternlight or
- a white light visible all round and separate or combined sidelights, provided that the all-round white light is positioned so as not to interfere with the operator's vision.
The masthead or all-round white light must be a minimum of one metre above the sidelights.
Sailing vessels while underway
Sailing vessels while underway must show:
- separate or combined sidelights and a sternlight or
- a single, tri-colour lantern, fixed to the masthead.
Vessels at anchor: sail or power-driven
Vessels at anchor, either sail or power-driven, must show a single white light visible all round.
Dredge signals
Vessels undertaking dredging, diving or underwater operations display either two black diamonds in daylight hours or two green lights at night to indicate the side on which it is safe for other vessels to pass. This is the only time when red and green lights may not indicate a vessel’s direction of travel.
A dredge also displays either two black balls in daylight hours or two red lights at night on the side where dredging is taking place – to indicate where it's unsafe to pass.
More information
On this site
Distress signals
Manoeuvring and warning signs
Giving way
Buoys, beacons and marks