🔍 Key Concepts

• INLAND ONLY towing lights and special flashing lights for pushing and towing alongside under the Inland Navigation Rules • Meaning of two yellow towing lights in a vertical line at the stern versus one yellow over a sternlight, and how that differs from the tug’s masthead lights • Difference between lights on the tug and lights on the tow (barge)

💭 Think About

• Look closely at whether you are seeing the tug’s stern area or the barge’s stern area — which one normally carries yellow towing lights? • Ask yourself: when a tug is pushing ahead on inland waters, what color and arrangement of lights mark the stern of the tow? How many? • Compare what lights are carried when a barge is being towed astern versus pushed ahead. Which configuration uses a pair of yellow lights together at the aft end of the tow?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify in the Inland Rules that two yellow lights in a vertical line at the stern are associated with a tow in a particular pushing or alongside configuration • Confirm whether a barge itself (not the tug) may exhibit yellow towing lights when pushed ahead on Inland waters • Check that you are distinguishing between a tug’s sternlight/towing light combination and the stern lights required on the barge in different towing modes