🔍 Key Concepts
• Additional lights for warships authorized by the Secretary of the Navy under the Navigation Rules (Annex I / Rule 1(e))
• Difference between standard navigation lights and special-purpose signals (e.g., mineclearance, exercises, submarine ID)
• How color + pattern (flashing/steady) + arrangement relate to the operation being indicated
💭 Think About
• First, decide which options look like standard COLREGS lights used by many vessels, and which look like special U.S. Navy-only signals.
• Think about which types of operations (submarines, mineclearance, torpedo firing, aircraft launch) already have their own normal light shapes/signals in the Rules, and which needed extra authorization.
• Ask yourself: which of these would most likely need a discrete, identifying signal that doesn’t confuse other Rule-defined lights (masthead, sidelights, towing, restricted, etc.)?
✅ Before You Answer
• Verify which option describes a light that is not already defined as a standard configuration in the Navigation Rules (e.g., mineclearance shapes/lights are already in the Rules).
• Check for a light that could be displayed in addition to normal navigation lights without being mistaken for another vessel status (e.g., not duplicating restricted, towing, NUC, etc.).
• Confirm that the signal sounds like something that would be unique to a ship of war, not a general-purpose light or flare other vessels might use.