International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea

The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea are the rules of the road for vessels, set out in the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, known as the COLREGs and administered by the International Maritime Organization. The convention was adopted on 20 October 1972 and entered into force on 15 July 1977. It was designed to update and replace the Collision Regulations of 1960, which were adopted at the same time as the 1960 SOLAS Convention. One of its main innovations was recognition of traffic separation schemes: Rule 10 gives guidance on conduct in or near them, and the first such scheme was set up in the Dover Strait in 1967. The convention contains 41 rules in six parts, covering general matters, steering and sailing, lights and shapes, sound and light signals, exemptions and verification of compliance, with four annexes on technical requirements for lights, shapes, sound signalling appliances, signals for fishing vessels and international distress signals. Rule 1 applies the rules to all vessels on the high seas and connected navigable waters, and Rule 5 requires a proper look-out at all times.