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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!ulysses!allegra!princeton!eosp1!lincoln
From: lincoln@eosp1.UUCP (Dick Lincoln)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: American Aircraft Carrier collides with USSR sub!
Message-ID: <748@eosp1.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 27-Mar-84 13:26:23 EST
Article-I.D.: eosp1.748
Posted: Tue Mar 27 13:26:23 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Mar-84 07:18:44 EST
References: <2618@rabbit.UUCP>, <726@eosp1.UUCP> <208@cepu.UUCP>
Organization: Exxon Office Systems, Princeton, NJ
Lines: 19

>> By the international rules of navigation on the high seas,
>> submarines are always at fault when collisions like this happen
>> because submarines cannot conform to the rules: lights, signals and
>> appropriate steaming procedure when two vessels approach.

> Well yes and no, Subs in the process of surfacing *MUST* yeld
> right-of-way to *ALL* other vessels (because most other vessels won't
> know that they are there).

At night submarines are at fault in collisions even when they are on
the surface and have been for some time, because they do not conform to
international rules for night time running: they do not display the
proper running lights.  The modern sumarine simply does not have the
required amount of hull length above water to display such lights even
when the submarines are entirely "surfaced".

There was a collision incident of this kind about ten years ago
involving a USN submarine; sorry, I don't recall all the details except
for the outcome in international court: the sub was held responsible.