When another vessel is not complying with avoid-collision obligations, what should a compliant vessel do?

• A. Cease all movement until the other vessel changes course.
• B. Take appropriate action within the Rules to maintain safety and avoid collision.
• C. Sound a series of long blasts until heard.
• D. Stop immediately.

Answer: (B)

When a vessel does not follow avoid-collision obligations, you must act within the Rules to keep safe and prevent a collision. The Regulations require you to use all available means to determine risk and to take early, decisive action to avoid danger. That means adjusting your own course or speed as needed—altering heading to pass well clear, reducing speed, or stopping if necessary—to ensure safe passage, regardless of the other vessel’s behavior. You should monitor the situation and communicate your intentions in a safe manner, but you cannot rely on the other vessel to move for you.

Ceasing all movement or stopping immediately isn’t a mandated or blanket remedy for every scenario; such actions can create new hazards depending on traffic, speed, and vessel type. Sound signals are useful for communication, but they do not replace the required maneuvering to avoid collision. The essential idea is to take appropriate action under the Rules to maintain safety and avoid collision.