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Author name: Captain Mark Poster, CMI

Historic steam-and-sail hybrid vessel navigating rough ocean waters with billowing sails, black smokestack exhaust, and maritime flags flying above the deck.

A Brief History of the Navigation Rules and Defining the Undefined Terms

Leave a Comment / COLREGS, Maritime Law, Navigation Rules (NAVRULES), NAVRULES /

By CAPT Mark Poster, CMI The evolution and development of our current Navigation Rules is truly fascinating, especially when one considers how many of today’s rules are entirely consistent with the past regulations. Even with the enormous advancement of maritime technology, resulting in higher speeds and various types of watercraft of all sizes and performance […]

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Lake Powell: Bad Buoys and a Neglected System

Leave a Comment / Aids to Navigation (ATONS), Boating & Sailing, Marine Technology & Innovation, Maritime History /

By CAPT Mark Poster, CMI Every mariner needs to be aware of the various buoyage systems in your area of operation, and just as importantly, to obtain whatever local information, such as laws and hazards, that may be helpful for a safe day on the water. Buoys have been around for a long time. The

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Two marine vessels attempt to occupy the same space at the same time.

A Chronology of the Rules through the Collision Avoidance Funnel

Leave a Comment / Collision Avoidance, Marine Law & Regulations, Maritime Safety, Navigation Rules (NAVRULES) /

By CAPT Mark Poster, CMI The occurrence of vessel collisions raises several pertinent questions: despite the existence of the Navigation Rules, why and how do vessel collisions still happen? Don’t the Navigation Rules exist to direct what proper actions vessels are to take as they approach a “risk of collision” situation? And then, the next

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Three book covers for three editions

Book Review: “Boat Accident Reconstruction and Litigation”

Leave a Comment / Boat Accident Reconstruction /

By CAPT Mark Poster, CMI Book Review: “Boat Accident Reconstruction and Litigation” Third Edition by Roy Scott Hickman & Michael M. Sampsel, contributing authors Jeanne-Marie D. van Hemmen & Sterling Stires. Table of contents, introduction, 18 chapters with endnotes, appendices, about the authors, index, 512 pp, 6 X 9 inches, originally published in 1999, 2nd

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Image shows serious damage to boat from a collision

Collision Basics: When Three Vessels are involved, who is More at Fault?

Leave a Comment / Collision Basics, Marine Investigations & Case Studies, Waterway Safety Education /

Many Marine Law Enforcement and “expert” reports submitted either miss the point of, or don’t understand violations of the Navigation Rules. Specifically, which vessel is at fault, and why is one vessel more at fault than the other? According to the Rules, if both vessels are underway and a collision results, then they are both

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Boat crash damage to speed boat

Why don’t all LE Accident Reports include Violations of Both Vessels?

Leave a Comment / Boat Crash, Collision, Marine Investigations & Case Studies, Marine Law Enforcement, Waterway Safety Education /

By CAPT Mark Poster, CMI   According to the way the Navigation Rules are written, if two vessels are underway (even if not making way) and a collision occurs, then violations can be attributed to both vessels. Most often, however, one vessel will have the majority of violations, or what is known as “causative fault”.

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Boat crash damage to speed boat

Should I Pass that Boat?

Leave a Comment / Farwell’s Rules of the Nautical Road, National Transportation Safety Board, NAVRULES, Passenger Safety, U.S. Coast Guard /

Farwell’s Rules of the Nautical Road If you are a Coxswain or Instructor teaching NAVRULES, you will want to be familiar with Farwell’s Rules of the Nautical Road, as it is the most authoritative book on the interpretations of the Navigation Rules and is based on case law. Published by the U.S. Naval Institute Press (9 th

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