Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972

(London, 20 October 1972)

THE PARTIES TO THE PRESENT CONVENTION,

DESIRING to maintain a high level of safety at sea,

MINDFUL of the need to revise and bring up to date the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea annexed to the Final Act of the International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea, 1960,

HAVING CONSIDERED those Regulations in the light of developments since they were approved,

HAVE AGREED as follows:

Article I. General obligations

The Parties to the present Convention undertake to give effect to the Rules and other Annexes constituting the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, (hereinafter referred to as "the Regulations") attached hereto.

Article II. Signature, ratification, acceptance, approval and accession

1. The present Convention shall remain open for signature until 1 June 1973 and shall thereafter remain open for accession.

2. States Members of the United Nations, or of any of the Specialized Agencies, or the International Atomic Energy Agency, or Parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice may become Parties to this Convention by:

(a) signature without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval;
(b) signature subject to ratification, acceptance or approval followed by ratification, acceptance or approval; or
(c) accession.

3. Ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument to that effect with the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (hereinafter referred to as "the Organization") which shall inform the Governments of States that have signed or acceded to the present Convention of the deposit of each instrument and of the date of its deposit.

Article III. Territorial application

1. The United Nations in cases where they are the administering authority for a territory or any Contracting Party responsible for the international relations of a territory may at any time by notification in writing to the Secretary-General of the Organization (hereinafter referred to as "the Secretary-General"), extend the application of this Convention to such a territory.

2. The present Convention shall, upon the date of receipt of the notification or from such other date as may be specified in the notification, extend to the territory named therein.

3. Any notification made in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article may be withdrawn in respect of any territory mentioned in that notification and the extension of this Convention to that territory shall cease to apply after one year or such longer period as may be specified at the time of the withdrawal.

4. The Secretary-General shall inform all Contracting Parties of the notification of any extension or withdrawal of any extension communicated under this Article.

Article IV. Entry into force

1. (a) The present Convention shall enter into force twelve months after the date on which at least 15 States, the aggregate of whose merchant fleets constitutes not less than 65 per cent by number or by tonnage of the world fleet of vessels of 100 gross tons and over have become Parties to it, whichever is achieved first.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, the present Convention shall not enter into force before 1 January 1976.

2. Entry into force for States which ratify, accept, approve or accede to this Convention in accordance with Article II after the conditions prescribed in sub-paragraph 1(a) have been met and before the Convention enters into force, shall be on the date of entry into force of the Convention.

3. Entry into force for States which ratify, accept, approve or accede after the date on which this Convention enters into force, shall be on the date of deposit of an instrument in accordance with Article II.

4. After the date of entry into force of an amendment to this Convention in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article VI, any ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall apply to the Convention as amended.

5. On the date of entry into force of this Convention, the Regulations replace and abrogate the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1960.

6. The Secretary-General shall inform the Governments of States that have signed or acceded to this Convention of the date of its entry into force.

Article V. Revision conference

1. A Conference for the purpose of revising this Convention or the Regulations or both may be convened by the Organization.

2. The Organization shall convene a Conference of Contracting Parties for the purpose of revising this Convention or the Regulations or both at the request of not less than one-third of the Contracting Parties.

Article VI. Amendments to the Regulations

1. Any amendment to the Regulations proposed by a Contracting Party shall be considered in the Organization at the request of that Party.

2. If adopted by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting in the Maritime Safety Committee of the Organization, such amendment shall be communicated to all Contracting Parties and Members of the Organization at least six months prior to its consideration by the Assembly of the Organization. Any Contracting Party which is not a Member of the Organization shall be entitled to participate when the amendment is considered by the Assembly.

3. If adopted by a two-third majority of those present and voting in the Assembly, the amendment shall be communicated by the Secretary-General to all Contracting Parties for their acceptance.

4. Such an amendment shall enter into force on a date to be determined by the Assembly at the time of its adoption unless, by a prior date determined by the Assembly at the same time, more than one-third of the Contracting Parties notify the Organization of their objection to the amendment. Determination by the Assembly of the dates referred to in this paragraph shall be by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting.

5. On entry into force any amendment shall, for all Contracting Parties which have not objected to the amendment, replace and supersede any previous provision to which the amendment refers.

6. The Secretary-General shall inform all Contracting Parties and Members of the Organization of any request and communication under this Article and the date on which any amendment enters into force.

Article VII. Denunciation

1. The present Convention may be denounced by a Contracting Party at any time after the expiry of five years from the date on which the Convention entered into force for that Party.

2. Denunciation shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument with the Organization. The Secretary-General shall inform all other Contracting Parties of the receipt of the instrument of denunciation and of the date of its deposit.

3. A denunciation shall take effect one year, or such longer period as may be specified in the instrument, after its deposit.

Article VIII. Deposit and registration

1. The present Convention and the Regulations shall be deposited with the Organization, and the Secretary-General shall transmit certified true copies thereof to all Governments of States that have signed this Convention or acceded to it.

2. When the present Convention enters into force, the text shall be transmitted by the Secretary-General to the Secretariat of the United Nations for registration and publication in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations.

Article IX. Languages

The present Convention is established, together with the Regulations, in a single copy in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic. Official translations in the Russian and Spanish languages shall be prepared and deposited with the signed original.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned being duly authorized by their respective Governments for that purpose have signed the present Convention.

DONE AT LONDON this twentieth day of October one thousand nine hundred and seventy-two.

Contents

PART A. GENERAL
PART B. STEERING AND SAILING RULES
PART C. LIGHTS AND SHAPES
PART D. SOUND AND LIGHT SIGNALS
PART E. EXEMPTIONS
ANNEX I. POSITIONING AND TECHNICAL DETAILS OF LIGHTS AND SHAPES
ANNEX II. ADDITIONAL SIGNALS FOR FISHING VESSELS FISHING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY
ANNEX III. TECHNICAL DETAILS OF SOUND SIGNAL APPLIANCES
ANNEX IV. DISTRESS SIGNALS