Just as there rules of the road for driving a car, there is also rules for navigation when one at the helm of a marine vessel. The International Maritime Organization is the group in charge of defining these regulations and rules for vessels that pertain to steering, sailing, sounds, lights, shapes, and rights of way. These rules apply to any vessel from the smallest skiff to the largest supertanker. There are various degrees of certification that are required by anyone wishing to pilot a boat depending on the purpose of a vessel, vessel tonnage, types of cargo etc€¦ This article describes some of the basic rules and principles that every basic seaman should know before operating a marine vessel.

Any person navigating a marine vessel should be familiar with these basic definitions of the various types of ships operating on the water.
A power driven vessel -any vessels driven by mechanical propulsion of any kind.
Sailing vessel -a marine vessel that is not using any mechanical propulsion whatsoever; therefore, a boat that is using both sail and mechanical propulsion does not fall under this category.
The vessel engaged in fishing -a fishing vessel that is hauling or setting any gear that restricts that vessels maneuverability. This does not pertain to a pleasure boat fishing with rod and reels.
Vessels restricted in its ability to maneuver -any specialized vessel that maybe inhibited its ability to maneuver because of apparatus it is utilizing such as laying cable, surveying, minesweeping, or tending buoys.
A vessel constrained by her draft -any vessel that is restricted because of the depth of water and which is operating.
Vessel underway -any vessel is that it's not made fast to shore, at anchor, or ground is a vessel that is underway, even if, this vessel is just drifting in open water.
Seaplanes - aircraft designed or fitted to maneuver on the water.

The use of a Global Positioning System (GPS) has made many marine operators believe this is all they need to navigate a vessel in any type of water or weather conditions. This is completely false. Every navigator should know how to use several types of navigational equipment such as sea charts, compass, radar, and if possible a sextant. Depending on the ship's electronics alone has caused many maritime accidents over the years. Plotting a course using the vessels computer plotter is fine, but it should be cross checked with up to date sea charts, GPS, or radar. Another aspect of ship handling is the understanding of how winds, currents, tides, and swells will affect navigation and maintaining control of marine vessels. A lot of computer programs for navigation are on the market that were made from open sources of information, and not by properly trained maritime map makers. Know by whom your charts and plotting programs were produced by.

Most rules of navigation are logical and have been adapted over the centuries by the most experienced seaman. Rules like passing an oncoming vessel port to port when possible, or keeping your ship to the starboard side of a narrow waterway apply around the world. A navigator must know the many rules of ocean navigation: what the different colored buoys represent; the difference sequences of lights on a mast represent; lighthouse signals and their sequences. Basic rules such as red-right-return, which refers to keeping your vessel to the right side of a red colored buoy when returning in a channel marked by green and red buoys€"are only gained through experience and by knowledge of other able bodied seaman.