Did you know that navigation lights, including replacement bulbs, must be Coast Guard approved?
Navigation lights aboard vessels are prescribed by the “Rules of the Road,” part of the convention for International Regulations to help prevent potential conflicts and accidents. Specifications for lights vary depending upon the type of vessel. When purchasing navigation lights from manufacturers, boaters should make sure that the product contains the following information:
- USCG Approval 33 CFR 183.810
- Meets ABYC A-16 or Equivalent
- Tested by an approved laboratory, and Date Tested
- Name of Manufacturer and Model No.
- Visibility of Light in Nautical Miles
- Identification and Specification of the Bulb
Certification ensures that navigation lights provide the proper luminous intensity and cut-off angles. Some manufacturers produce and distribute navigation lights, which are less expensive but do not meet certification requirements; use of such lights could result in the issuance of a notice of violation. Boaters should check for certification before purchase.
Coast Guard authorities have expressed concern via a recent “Safety Alert” about decorative lighting like those placed along rubrails, below the waterline, or just above the waterline which can visually impair a boater’s ability to distinguish another boat’s navigation lights, and likewise impair one’s own vision for safe navigation.
Rules for navigation lights specify that only those lights prescribed, or those that don’t interfere with those prescribed, may be used. Intensity requirements for each light, per vessel size are also prescribed in the Rules. Annex I of the Rules specifies the vertical and horizontal spacing of each of the required lights.
To read the “Rules of the Road” including Rules 20, 21, 22, and Annex I, click HERE. For questions, email cgnav@uscg.mil
Header Photo Credit: Sail World
Text Photo: ilearntoboat.com
