Official rule text as published in the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Rules
| International | Inland |
|---|
| Any vessel (or class of vessel), provided that she complies with the requirements of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1960, the keel of which is laid or is at a corresponding stage of construction before the entry into force of these Regulations, may be exempted from compliance therewith as follows: | Any vessel or class of vessels, the keel of which was laid or which is at a corresponding stage of construction before December 24, 1980, provided that she complies with the requirements of the statutes named below, shall be exempted from compliance with the technical Annexes to these Rules as follows: |
| (a) The installation of lights with ranges prescribed in Rule 22, until 4 years after the date of entry into force of these Regulations. | (a) The installation of lights with ranges prescribed in Rule 22 — vessels of less than 20 meters in length are permanently exempt. |
| | (b) The installation of lights with color specifications as prescribed in §7 of Annex I, until 4 years after the effective date of the Inland Navigational Rules Act of 1980, except that vessels of less than 20 meters in length are permanently exempt. |
| (c) The repositioning of lights as a result of conversion from Imperial to metric units and rounding off measurement figures — permanent exemption. | (c) The repositioning of lights as a result of conversion to metric units and rounding off of measurement figures — permanently exempt. |
| (d) The repositioning of masthead lights on vessels of less than 150 meters in length, resulting from §3(a) of Annex I — permanent exemption; on vessels of 150 meters or more, until 9 years after the date of entry into force of these Regulations. | (d) The horizontal repositioning of masthead lights prescribed by Annex I — vessels of less than 150 meters in length are permanently exempted; and power-driven vessels of 12 meters or more but less than 20 meters in length are permanently exempt from Rule 23(a)(i) and (ii), provided that in place of those lights the vessel exhibits a white light aft visible all-around the horizon. |
| (e) The repositioning of masthead lights resulting from §2(b) of Annex I, until 9 years after the date of entry into force of these Regulations. | |
| (f) The repositioning of sidelights resulting from §2(g) and 3(b) of Annex I, until 9 years after the date of entry into force of these Regulations. | |
| (g) The requirements for sound signal appliances prescribed in Annex II, until 9 years after the date of entry into force of these Regulations. | |
| (h) The repositioning of all-round lights resulting from §9(b) of Annex I — permanent exemption. | |
Implementing Rule (33 CFR 81.20) — Lights and Sound Signal Appliances
Each vessel under the 1972 COLREGS, except vessels of the Navy, is exempt from the requirements of the 1972 COLREGS to the limitation for the period of time stated in Rule 38 (a) through (g) if: (a) her keel is laid or is at a corresponding stage of construction before July 15, 1977; and (b) she meets the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1960 (33 U.S.C. 1051-1094).
MyCOLREGS explanation
Summary
Skip the details here unless you own a genuinely old vessel — keel laid before 1977 (International) or December 24, 1980 (Inland). If your boat was built any time since, Rule 38 simply does not apply to her at all, full stop.
For the handful of vessels old enough to qualify: Rule 38 is a grandfather clause. It let those older vessels phase in some of the newer, purely technical lighting and equipment specifications — light ranges, exact positions, colors — over several years, or in some cases permanently, rather than requiring an expensive retrofit overnight. It applies only to specific listed technical items in the Annexes, not to the actual navigation and collision-avoidance conduct rules — an exempt vessel still has to follow every steering, sound-signal, and right-of-way rule exactly like everyone else.
Real World Example
Most of Rule 38's phase-in periods ran out decades ago, four to nine years after the effective dates set in the 1970s and 80s, so a boater invoking grandfather rights as an excuse for outdated equipment today is almost always mistaken - only a handful of the listed exemptions, like light repositioning after the metric conversion, were ever made permanent.
Practice Questions
Q1. You're looking over an old wooden trawler built decades ago and notice her masthead light isn't positioned exactly where Rule 23/Annex I would put it on a boat built today. Her owner says Rule 38 grandfathers her in. Is that generally the kind of thing Rule 38's exemptions cover?
A. No - Rule 38 exempts naval vessels from carrying any lights at all; it has nothing to do with civilian vessels like a trawler, since military vessels operate under an entirely separate lighting regime.
B. No - Rule 38 only excuses vessels from the collision-avoidance conduct rules, like crossing and overtaking, not lighting specifications, which every vessel must meet regardless of her age.
C. Yes - Rule 38 generally excuses older vessels, built before the current Rules took effect, from certain newer technical lighting/equipment specifications, often for a limited phase-in period.
D. Yes - but only for fishing vessels, since Rule 38 was written specifically with commercial fishing fleets and their older, converted hulls in mind, not pleasure or cargo vessels.
Q2. A vessel's keel was laid before the applicable cutoff date referenced in Rule 38. Does that exempt her from Rule 34's maneuvering and warning signals?
A. Yes, Rule 38 exempts older vessels from all signal requirements, since the rule was written as a blanket grandfather clause covering every provision that postdates a vessel's original construction.
B. Yes, but only on inland waters, since the International Rules' cutoff date for Rule 38 exemptions does not apply to vessels operating exclusively inside U.S. inland waters.
C. No, because Rule 38 only applies to sailing vessels, whose rigging and hull form were the original justification for grandfathering older technical lighting specifications.
D. No — Rule 38's exemptions apply only to specific technical items listed in the rule, such as light ranges and positioning, not to the maneuvering and warning signal requirements of Rule 34.
Practice Question Answers
Q1.
C. To excuse certain older vessels, built before the current rules took effect, from some newer technical lighting/equipment specifications, often for a limited phase-in period. Rule 38 is a grandfather clause covering technical items like light ranges and positions for vessels built before the rules' effective date — it does not touch the conduct/steering rules. A overstates the exemption as covering all lighting for an entire vessel class. B goes even further, wrongly exempting core conduct rules like crossing and overtaking - Rule 38 never touches those. D names an unrelated rule and vessel type.
Q2.
D. No — Rule 38's exemptions apply only to specific technical items listed in the rule, such as light ranges and positioning, not to the maneuvering and warning signal requirements of Rule 34. Rule 38 lists specific exempted items tied to technical annex specifications — it does not create a blanket exemption from operational rules like Rule 34. A overstates the exemption as covering every signal requirement. B invents a location-based limitation. C invents a vessel-type limitation. Rule 38's exemptions are narrowly scoped to specific technical items, not the maneuvering and warning signals of Rule 34.