Question 396 Rules of the Road
90% to passINTERNATIONAL ONLY You intend to overtake a vessel in a narrow channel, and you intend to pass along the vessel's port side. This action can only take place if the vessel to be overtaken takes action to permit safe passage. How should you signal your intention?
The correct answer is D) Two prolonged blasts followed by two short blasts. According to the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS), when a vessel intends to overtake another vessel in a narrow channel, the overtaking vessel must signal its intention by sounding two prolonged blasts followed by two short blasts. This alerts the vessel being overtaken that the overtaking maneuver is about to take place and allows the vessel being overtaken to take any necessary action to facilitate a safe passage. The other options are incorrect because they do not follow the proper COLREGS signaling requirement for this situation. Option A (two short blasts only) and Option B (two prolonged blasts only) do not convey the full intention to overtake. Option C (two short blasts followed by two prolonged blasts) reverses the order of the signal, which is not the correct COLREGS signal.
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