CHAPTER XL
NOTICES TO MARINERS.
THESE Notices are issued by the Admiralty for the information of
mariners in foreign-going vessels,
(a) Daily Notices of an .urgent nature or of major importance.
(6) Weekly Notices containing information which has become avail-
able during the previous week for the correction of Admiralty
Charts and Sailing Directions.
(c) A Quarterly Edition gives in collated form the information
published in the weekly editions during the previous quarter.
Notices for home-trade and fishing vessels are also issued daily and
weekly,
4. On 1st January of each year the Board of Trade publishes and
distributes, for the use of foreign-going, home-trade, and fishing vessels,
a book containing general information for the guidance of Mariners,
e.jr., notices regarding distress signals, life-saving, various special
signals, etc. Copies of the daily, weekly, and quarterly editions may
be obtained at any Mercantile Marine Office.
These Notices are applicable to the navigation of British waters and
some of the more permanent are, in efiect, supplementary to the Inter-
national Eegulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. We give here a
synopsis of the more important Kegulations issued within recent years
up to 1936.
Closing of Ports.—When a port is closed by order of the Admiralty
3 red balk vertical are displayed from a prominent position by day, and
at night 3 red lights vertical. When those signals are shown by an
Examination vessel they are additional to her usual navigation lights.
Vessek entering the harbour proceed according to instructions;
if no instructions are given they must go to the Examination Anchorage
marked on the chart or keep out to sea.
Three white lights vertical are shown when the port is^ open, Vesselg
are requested to have ready at hand 2 all-round red lanterns and 2
all-round white lanterns to be displayed as directed.
The examination vessels on duty fly a special flag, white and red
Horizontal surrounded by a blue border.
SGne Sweeping Operations.—Mine-sweepers show a black ball at
the foremast-head and a black ball at tie yatdarm pn the side on whjbh i
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