Abstract
There are no defined criteria to decide the time of action for avoiding collisions according to the COLREGS due to the characteristics of sea traffic. However, it has been pointed out that the difference of the time to take action by both vessels sometimes leads to collisions or near-misses. COLREGS defines the give-way vessel and the stand-on vessel by applying rules to vessels in sight of one another. The action by the give-way vessel is just to take early and substantial action to keep well clear. In contrast, two actions are specified for the stand-on vessel. The first is to keep course and speed, and the second is to avoid a collision when the give-way vessel is not taking appropriate action. In this study, we focused on the stand-on vessel, and investigated the time of action taken by students and person with sea experience using a questionnaire. The result demonstrated that students who complete a sea training tend to judge the time for action earlier and more consistently than university students and person with sea experience. The results also exhibited no differences between university students and person with experience. The time of action taken by the stand-on vessel was discussed, and the need for further training and education about the time of action necessary to avoid a collision was pointed out.
