insideSail
PT
Learn/Collision Regulations/Annexes and supplementary provisions

By insideSail

AI-assisted editorial review · version 3 ·

Annexes, exemptions and audit: other parts of the same regulation

Annexes I–IV and Rules 38–41 concern more than encounter rules.

8 min read
Manual contents
In this guide
Four documents identify lights and shapes, nearby fishing, sound appliances and distress. A panel separates Rule 38 exemptions from Rules 39–41 state audits without certifying a boat.
Four annexes and two parts

Original recognition schematic, not to scale; not navigation instruction.

insideSailOriginal insideSail artwork — all rights reserved
Enlarge the diagram
Four documents identify lights and shapes, nearby fishing, sound appliances and distress. A panel separates Rule 38 exemptions from Rules 39–41 state audits without certifying a boat.

Knowing Rules 1–19 does not exhaust the COLREGs. Lights and shapes have technical requirements, sound appliances specified performance, nearby fishing additional signals, and distress its own identities.

Four annexes belong to the structure. Part E addresses exemptions and Part F state compliance verification.

The illustration organises documents and subjects without certifying a boat or turning editorial reading into an IMO audit. Each reference has an independent database identity so that version, subject and source can be followed rather than everything disappearing into one generic regulation link.

Annex I: a drawing does not establish installation

Annex I addresses vertical and horizontal positioning, separation, sectors, colour, intensity, shapes and approval. A correctly coloured light can still be incorrectly installed, obscured or outside the required sector.

The lights lesson represents Rule 21 nominal sectors, not complete tolerances and photometric conditions. Construction and installation approval belongs to the appropriate flag-state authority.

An editorial verified label is not that approval and does not dispense with other requirements. The diagram’s scope therefore needs to remain visible wherever it accompanies educational text or a model specification.

Annexes II, III and IV: signals are not interchangeable

Annex II supplements Rule 26(d) for fishing vessels near others engaged in fishing. It includes gear states and length conditions rather than replacing Rule 26 base lights.

Annex III concerns sound appliances, including performance, installation and approval, not just blast duration. Annex IV identifies distress and need of assistance and constrains use.

Drawing a ball, sound wave or radio icon cannot establish that physical equipment or display complies with these annexes. A complete technical specification and competent assessment require more than a recognition image.

Rule 38: bounded historical exemptions

Rule 38 links construction before entry into force of the 1972 regulations to compliance with the 1960 regulations and enumerates potentially exempted requirements. Some concessions were temporary and others permanent.

It does not free old boats from all rules or give every boat predating a date the same exemption. Identify requirement, construction condition and applicable provision.

The convention’s original entry date should not be invented as the individual effective date of every subsequently amended paragraph. Establishing a particular exemption belongs to documented assessment, rather than an age filter on a model database.

Rules 39–41: the audits concern states

Rule 39 defines audit, audit scheme, Code for Implementation and audit standard. Rule 40 requires contracting parties to use the Code when executing their obligations; Rule 41 addresses periodic Organization audits, administration, state facilitation and follow-up actions.

This added Part F entered into force on 1 January 2016 according to the consulted IMO history. It did not create a sailboat seaworthiness certificate or platform safety score.

The subjects are contracting parties and institutional implementation, which should remain distinct from an owner’s equipment inventory or an article’s editorial review.

A complete reference identifies the particular provision, document version, authority and jurisdiction. The date somebody consulted a PDF is not every included rule’s commencement date.

Compare normative wording with publisher commentary: an IH explanation does not become a COLREG provision by sharing a publication. The confirmed 35(j) discrepancy in the IH English appendix shows why familiar numbering alone cannot establish a paragraph’s contents.

Source, version and exact passage make that difference verifiable. The international instrument, national implementation and educational explanation retain their separate documentary roles.

Sources and references

  1. COLREGs Annex IV — Distress signals ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Annex IV; printed p.79, PDF p.85; International cross-check USCG.

    Annex IV, IH printed p.79 (PDF p.85); cross-check International annex in USCG handbook. Installation/approval is not taught.

    Checked on
  2. RIEAM / COLREGs — Rule 39: Definitions in Part F ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Rule 39, IH normative Portuguese printed p.63 (PDF p.69); English normative cross-check IMO Resolution A.1085(28), annex PDF pp.3–4. Rule 40, IH normative Portuguese printed p.63 (PDF p.69); English normative cross-check IMO Resolution A.1085(28), annex PDF pp.3–4. Rule 41, IH normative Portuguese printed p.63 (PDF p.69); English normative cross-check IMO Resolution A.1085(28), annex PDF pp.3–4.

    Rule 39; Part F source concordance reviewed 2026-10-11 using IH Portuguese and IMO A.1085(28). Part F effective 2016-01-01; consultation date is separate. USCG 2024 handbook ends at Rule38 and is not the Part F cross-check. Rule 40; Part F source concordance reviewed 2026-10-11 using IH Portuguese and IMO A.1085(28). Part F effective 2016-01-01; consultation date is separate. USCG 2024 handbook ends at Rule38 and is not the Part F cross-check. Rule 41; Part F source concordance reviewed 2026-10-11 using IH Portuguese and IMO A.1085(28). Part F effective 2016-01-01; consultation date is separate. USCG 2024 handbook ends at Rule38 and is not the Part F cross-check.

    Checked on
  3. RIEAM / COLREGs — Rule 26: Fishing vessels ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Rule 26, normative Portuguese printed p.40 (PDF p.46); International English cross-check in USCG handbook.

    Rule 26; IH normative Portuguese printed p.40, PDF p.46; English International column cross-check. Individual provision commencement not established: valid_from remains null.

    Checked on
  4. RIEAM / COLREGs — Rule 38: Exemptions ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Rule 38, normative Portuguese printed p.61 (PDF p.67); International English cross-check in USCG handbook.

    Rule 38; IH normative Portuguese printed p.61, PDF p.67; English International column cross-check. Individual provision commencement not established: valid_from remains null.

    Checked on
  5. RIEAM / COLREGs — Rule 36: Signals to attract attention ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Rule 37, normative Portuguese printed p.59 (PDF p.65); International English cross-check in USCG handbook.

    Rule 37; IH normative Portuguese printed p.59, PDF p.65; English International column cross-check. Individual provision commencement not established: valid_from remains null.

    Checked on
  6. RIEAM / COLREGs — Rule 20: Application of lights and shapes ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Rule 20, normative Portuguese printed p.29 (PDF p.35); International English cross-check in USCG handbook. Rule 21, normative Portuguese printed p.29 (PDF p.35); International English cross-check in USCG handbook.

    Rule 20; IH normative Portuguese printed p.29, PDF p.35; English International column cross-check. Individual provision commencement not established: valid_from remains null. Rule 21; IH normative Portuguese printed p.29, PDF p.35; English International column cross-check. Individual provision commencement not established: valid_from remains null.

    Checked on
  7. Navigation Rules and Regulations Handbook — corrected August 2024 ↗

    United States Coast Guard Navigation Center · International column only, Rules 1–38 and Annexes I–IV. The adjacent U.S. Inland column is excluded.

    Official PDF directly consulted. International/Inland differences are not European rules. Filename says 08-12-2024; landing page says corrected 8 August 2024: no unsupported exact correction day inferred.

    Checked on
  8. COLREGs Annex II — Additional signals for fishing vessels fishing in close proximity ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Annex II; printed p.75, PDF p.81; International cross-check USCG.

    Annex II, IH printed p.75 (PDF p.81); cross-check International annex in USCG handbook. Installation/approval is not taught.

    Checked on
  9. RIEAM / COLREGs — Rule 35: Sound signals in restricted visibility ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Rule 35, normative Portuguese printed p.55 (PDF p.61); International English cross-check in USCG handbook.

    Rule 35; IH normative Portuguese printed p.55, PDF p.61; English International column cross-check. Individual provision commencement not established: valid_from remains null. Review discrepancy: IH English appendix printed pp.89–90 omits current paragraph (j), the under-12m alternative, and labels pilot clause (j). USCG International Rule35(j)/(k) supplies the current distinction; Editorial source concordance checked 2026-10-11: IH Portuguese normative Rule35(j)/(k), PDF61, and USCG INTERNATIONAL Rule35(j)/(k), PDF113, agree. The IH English appendix omission/misnumbering remains recorded; no professional approval is claimed.

    Checked on
  10. Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 ↗

    International Maritime Organization · COLREG 1972, as amended · Structure; adoption 20 October 1972; entry into force 15 July 1977; 2013 amendment, Part F effective 1 January 2016.

    Overview used for structure/history only. Its Rule 33 bell summary is not treated as consolidated normative wording.

    Checked on
  11. RIEAM / COLREGs — Rule 32: Definitions of sound signals ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Rule 33, normative Portuguese printed p.53 (PDF p.59); International English cross-check in USCG handbook.

    Rule 33; IH normative Portuguese printed p.53, PDF p.59; English International column cross-check. Individual provision commencement not established: valid_from remains null.

    Checked on
  12. COLREGs Annex I — Positioning and technical details of lights and shapes ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Annex I; printed p.65, PDF p.71; International cross-check USCG.

    Annex I, IH printed p.65 (PDF p.71); cross-check International annex in USCG handbook. Installation/approval is not taught. International/Inland distinction checked in the USCG PDF: International §3(a) half-length/100m agrees with IH; the quarter-length/50m value belongs to U.S. Inland and is not imported. No dimensional installation prescription is reproduced.

    Checked on
  13. IMO Resolution A.1085(28) — COLREG Part F, Rules39–41 ↗

    International Maritime Organization · Resolution A.1085(28), adopted4 December2013; annex pp.2–3 / PDF pp.3–4 · Resolution paragraph2: entry into force2016-01-01; annex Rules39,40,41, PDF pp.3–4. Cross-check IH2025 Portuguese PartF PDF69.

    Exact English normative Part F source. The USCG2024 handbook covers1–38, not39–41. Editorial source concordance checked2026-10-11.

    Checked on
  14. COLREGs Annex III — Technical details of sound signal appliances ↗

    Instituto Hidrográfico / International Maritime Organization · Annex III; printed p.77, PDF p.83; International cross-check USCG.

    Annex III, IH printed p.77 (PDF p.83); cross-check International annex in USCG handbook. Installation/approval is not taught.

    Checked on

Regulatory references

Keep discovering

The next piece of the puzzle

Navigation lights: sector, function and state Distress signals: recognise the message without rehearsing an emergency

Discuss this concept

Read-only conversation

Loading the conversation…

More