🔍 Key Concepts

• Towing and Towed Vessel Lights under the Navigation Rules (Annex I and Rules 24/25) • Difference between manned vs unmanned barges when being towed • How lighting requirements change (or don’t change) with method of tow (astern, alongside, pushing)

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: does the requirement to show lights on a towed barge depend on whether anyone is on board the barge, or on the fact that it is being towed? • Consider why barges are required to show lights at night in the first place. What danger are those lights helping other vessels avoid? • Think about whether the lighting rule is limited to just one towing configuration (astern only), or applies to any barge that is part of a tow.

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify what the Navigation Rules say about any vessel being towed at night and its lighting, regardless of manned/unmanned status. • Check whether there is any exception that says barges “need not be lighted” in normal towing situations at night. • Confirm if the rules make a distinction between tow astern vs alongside/pushing ahead for the requirement that the barge itself display lights.