A power-driven vessel operating in a narrow channel, with a following current, on the Western Rivers, is meeting an upbound vessel. Which statement is true?

A power-driven vessel operating in a narrow channel, with a following current, on the Western Rivers, is meeting an upbound vessel. Which statement is true?

• A. The Upbound Vessel Has The Right-Of-Way
• B. The Vessel With The Greater Length Has The Right-Of-Way
• C. The Downbound Vessel Has The Right-Of-Way
• D. Both Vessels Must Stop To Avoid Collision

Answer: (C)

In narrow channels on inland waters, the vessel going downstream (downbound) is the stand-on vessel in a head-on meeting with an upbound vessel, especially when there’s a following current. The downbound vessel should maintain its course and speed, while the upbound vessel must take early and substantial action to avoid collision. The current favors the downbound vessel maintaining its path, and the upbound vessel, fighting against the current, has the more limited ability to maneuver safely, so it yields. Therefore, the downbound vessel has the right of way. The other ideas—that the upbound vessel has the right of way, that right of way depends on vessel length, or that both must stop—do not align with how these inland narrow-channel rules are applied.

In narrow channels on inland waters, the vessel going downstream (downbound) is the stand-on vessel in a head-on meeting with an upbound vessel, especially when there’s a following current. The downbound vessel should maintain its course and speed, while the upbound vessel must take early and substantial action to avoid collision. The current favors the downbound vessel maintaining its path, and the upbound vessel, fighting against the current, has the more limited ability to maneuver safely, so it yields. Therefore, the downbound vessel has the right of way. The other ideas—that the upbound vessel has the right of way, that right of way depends on vessel length, or that both must stop—do not align with how these inland narrow-channel rules are applied.