Module 5 - COLREGs
Rule 2 — Responsibility
What you will learn
Use Rule 2 to preserve ordinary seamanship and respond to special circumstances without treating it as permission to improvise away from the Rules.
Rule 2 keeps responsibility with the owner, master and crew. Departure is a narrow safeguard for immediate danger, not a general 'common sense' exception.
Rule 2(a) says that nothing exonerates a vessel, owner, master or crew from the consequences of neglecting the Rules, precautions required by the ordinary practice of seamen, or precautions required by the special circumstances. Compliance therefore includes preparation, competent watchkeeping and sensible action around circumstances the individual rules do not list exhaustively.
Rule 2(b) requires due regard to dangers of navigation and collision and to special circumstances, including the limitations of the vessels involved. A departure may be necessary to avoid immediate danger. That high threshold does not justify a preferred shortcut, an informal VHF passing arrangement, or late action created by an avoidable lookout failure.
The command task is to agree who is conning, who is plotting, what evidence triggers action and when the skipper must be called. If another vessel fails to act, duties escalate under Rule 17 and Rule 2; blame can be considered later, while immediate collision avoidance cannot.
Separate planned action from emergency departure
A give-way vessel remains steady. Your yacht is stand-on, but shoal water limits one side and a fast craft closes astern on the other.
1. Use the ordinary Rules first
Continue the Rule 17 assessment and make any permitted action early enough to remain predictable.
2. Identify immediate danger
If the geometry removes safe ordinary options, state the danger and vessel limitations explicitly.
3. Choose the least-dangerous departure
Depart only as necessary, communicate the action on board and monitor every contact.
Sense check: If there was ample time for ordinary Rule 8 or Rule 17 action, Rule 2 should not excuse a later improvised manoeuvre.
Common mistake or limitation
- Rule 2 is not permission to break rules whenever 'common sense' suggests it; departure is tied to necessity and immediate danger.
- Shared responsibility does not erase distinct give-way and stand-on duties.
Recap
- Rule 2 preserves responsibility for the Rules, ordinary seamanship and special circumstances.
- Departure is limited to what may be necessary to avoid immediate danger.
- Early command triggers make an emergency departure less likely.
Optional quick check
Section 2 of 12
Which situation best supports a Rule 2(b) departure?
Sources and factual review
Reviewed 2 September 2026 - Coastal Skipper Revision.
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