Which lighting combination is required for a single vessel being towed alongside?

Which lighting combination is required for a single vessel being towed alongside?

• A. Sidelights and a stern light
• B. Stern light only
• C. Masthead light and sidelights
• D. No lights necessary

Answer: (A)

When a vessel is being towed alongside, it is treated as a towed vessel and must display lights that signal its status to other vessels. The operator behind the tow should not be using a forward masthead light, since the vessel isn’t under its own power. Instead, showing the red and green sidelights together with a white stern light lets others see the towed vessel from the sides and from behind, clarifying its position and movement in the area. The masthead light would imply underway power ahead, which could mislead other vessels. A stern light alone wouldn’t provide visibility of the vessel’s sides. And no lights at all is unsafe and illegal at night. So the appropriate lighting for a single vessel being towed alongside is sidelights and a stern light. (Note: the towing vessel may have additional towing-specific lighting, but that isn’t the focus for the towed vessel itself.)

When a vessel is being towed alongside, it is treated as a towed vessel and must display lights that signal its status to other vessels. The operator behind the tow should not be using a forward masthead light, since the vessel isn’t under its own power. Instead, showing the red and green sidelights together with a white stern light lets others see the towed vessel from the sides and from behind, clarifying its position and movement in the area.

The masthead light would imply underway power ahead, which could mislead other vessels. A stern light alone wouldn’t provide visibility of the vessel’s sides. And no lights at all is unsafe and illegal at night.

So the appropriate lighting for a single vessel being towed alongside is sidelights and a stern light. (Note: the towing vessel may have additional towing-specific lighting, but that isn’t the focus for the towed vessel itself.)