In restricted visibility, you hear a fog signal forward of your beam and nothing appears on your radar. You must:

In restricted visibility, you hear a fog signal forward of your beam and nothing appears on your radar. You must:

• A. Maintain current speed
• B. Slow to bare steerageway
• C. Stop
• D. Speed up

Answer: (B)

In restricted visibility, you must control speed to give yourself time and room to detect and maneuver around any potential danger. Hearing a fog signal forward of your beam suggests another vessel could be directly ahead or on a crossing path, but if your radar shows nothing, you can’t assume the other vessel isn’t there. Reducing speed to bare steerageway—the slowest speed at which you can still steer the vessel—provides the maximum ability to alter course or speed quickly if the other vessel becomes visible or its bearing changes. It also reduces the risk of collision should the vessel be closer than you think. Stopping would remove forward movement needed to maneuver, and maintaining or increasing speed would leave you with less time and space to respond.

In restricted visibility, you must control speed to give yourself time and room to detect and maneuver around any potential danger. Hearing a fog signal forward of your beam suggests another vessel could be directly ahead or on a crossing path, but if your radar shows nothing, you can’t assume the other vessel isn’t there. Reducing speed to bare steerageway—the slowest speed at which you can still steer the vessel—provides the maximum ability to alter course or speed quickly if the other vessel becomes visible or its bearing changes. It also reduces the risk of collision should the vessel be closer than you think. Stopping would remove forward movement needed to maneuver, and maintaining or increasing speed would leave you with less time and space to respond.