🔍 Key Concepts

• Rule 34 – Maneuvering and Warning Signals in the Navigation Rules • Difference between maneuvering signals (I am altering course/engines) and warning/doubt signals (I doubt your intentions) • The meaning of short blast, prolonged blast, and how many blasts are used for each purpose

💭 Think About

• First, ask yourself: which signals (1, 2, or 3 short blasts, etc.) are specifically used to indicate your own course or engine movements, and which are used ONLY when you are unsure of the other vessel’s actions? • Look at each choice and decide: is this something I’d use to say what I am doing (turning, backing, leaving a berth), or to say I don’t understand what you are doing? • Recall from Rule 34: how many blasts, and of what type, are required for the ‘doubt’ or ‘danger’ signal—does it involve prolonged blasts, short blasts, or a combination?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify in Rule 34(d) which signal is prescribed when there is doubt about the other vessel’s intentions or actions. • Confirm that prolonged blasts are generally associated with power-driven vessel underway in restricted visibility or leaving a dock, not with doubt about collision avoidance. • Ensure the correct option uses short and rapid blasts, and check how many are specified in the rule for a doubt/danger situation.