Page 37 - Collision Avoidance Rules Guide

implied, requirement, stating more specifically what is expected and
making it the subject of a separate rule.
Look-out man

On all but the smallest vessels a seaman should normally be posted
on look-out duty from dusk to dawn and sometimes by day, espe-
cially when the visibility is restricted. Maintaining a proper look-out
is an important element of safe watchkeeping. Requirements for safe
watchkeeping are laid down in Chapter VIII of the International
Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 as amended. (See pages 213-14.)
Mandatory standards regarding watchkeeping, including standards
for keeping a proper look-out, are contained in Part A, Chapter VIII
of the STCW Code. (See pages 215-24.) Guidance on watchkeeping
arrangements and principles to be observed is given in Part B of the
STCW Code. (See pages 225-27.)
It has often been stressed in the Courts that the look-out man
should, preferably, be stationed forward, unless weather conditions
make this impossible, so that his attention will not be distracted by
conversations and activities of personnel on the bridge. A further
advantage, which has particular application to vessels without opera-
tional radar, is that he may be more likely to hear fog signals coming
from ahead. However, other factors such as the need to have a sea-
man immediately available in case of sudden emergency and the
value of being able to communicate directly with the look-out man
should also be taken into ~rrn*in+
Dea Mazzella-Estoril

I thought it right to ask the Elder Brethren who are advising me in this case
what is their view of the practice of stationing the look-out man on the navi-
gating bridge. . . . They tell me that the look-out should certainly be sta-
tioned somewhere else in the ship; forward, if possible, if the weather
conditions allow it. If, however, the weather is such as to forbid the possi-
bility of a look-out being posted forward, then at least he ought to be sta-
tioned on the upper bridge. (Mr Justice Willmer, 1958)
Cab0 Santo Tome-Cometa
She has definitely the noisier kind of engines, as is shown by the evidence
of an independent ship as well as by one’s own knowledge of diesel engines
at full speed, and it seems to me, and I am advised by my assessor, that it

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