According to information received from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), an alarming number of vessels passing Singapore have been observed to have illegal modifications of their COLREG navigation RAM/NUC lights. Vessels have been observed with the RAM/NUC navigational lights’ globe or screen painted the wrong colour in order to comply with the Singapore Strait Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS). However, by doing so, the vessels are no longer in compliance with the COLREG RAM/NUC requirements. These violations may have undesirable consequences. After these changes, the vessels can no longer display the correct COLREG lights, thus posing a serious threat to navigational safety due to the increased risk of collision. In addition, port authorities, such as AMSA, will detain vessels observed to have such illegal modifications.
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