A vessel nearing a bend or an area of a channel or fairway where other vessels may be hidden by an obstruction shall sound

A vessel nearing a bend or an area of a channel or fairway where other vessels may be hidden by an obstruction shall sound

• A. A short blast
• B. A single short blast
• C. Three short blasts
• D. A prolonged blast

Answer: (D)

When there’s a bend or an area where other vessels may be hidden by an obstruction, you need to alert approaching traffic to your presence. A single prolonged blast does this most effectively because its longer sound travels farther and through possible noise or limited line-of-sight, giving vessels in the blind area time to take appropriate action. This warning helps prevent collisions before sight of each other is possible. Short blasts or multiple short blasts are used for different signaling purposes and don’t provide the same broad warning in a blind or obstructed area.

When there’s a bend or an area where other vessels may be hidden by an obstruction, you need to alert approaching traffic to your presence. A single prolonged blast does this most effectively because its longer sound travels farther and through possible noise or limited line-of-sight, giving vessels in the blind area time to take appropriate action. This warning helps prevent collisions before sight of each other is possible. Short blasts or multiple short blasts are used for different signaling purposes and don’t provide the same broad warning in a blind or obstructed area.