Under the special rule for a Traffic Separation Scheme, which vessel is not to impede a PDV following a traffic lane?

• A. A vessel under 20 meters in length
• B. A vessel over 70 meters
• C. A vessel on passage outside the lane
• D. A vessel under 60 meters

Answer: (A)

In a Traffic Separation Scheme, there is a special allowance that helps a power-driven vessel (PDV) stay in its lane without being impeded. The rule says that a vessel of less than 20 meters in length is not to impede the passage of a vessel which is following a traffic lane. That makes the smallest vessels the exception to the general need to keep clear of a PDV in the lane, because the PDV is enforcing the lane’s path.

So the vessel under 20 meters is the one that isn’t required to impede the PDV following the traffic lane. Larger vessels and those outside the lane don’t have that exemption, and would still be expected to avoid impeding the PDV. A vessel on passage outside the lane isn’t the protected case, since it isn’t following the lane.