Safety and rules · 6 minute read
Autopilot lookout requirements
Understand autopilot lookout requirements under COLREGs Rule 5. Review Australian recreational and commercial duties and practical watchkeeping routines.
of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea says that every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper lookout by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision. It does not mention autopilots because it does not need to. The duty is on the vessel, all the time, whoever or whatever is steering.
In Australia the Collision Regulations apply through the Navigation Act 2012 for vessels under Commonwealth jurisdiction and through each state and territory's marine safety legislation for recreational vessels. Every state's boating handbook restates the lookout duty in plain words. This guide is general information, not legal advice; the point is practical.
Key facts
- Rule 5
- Proper lookout by sight and hearing at all times
- Applies via
- Navigation Act 2012 and state marine safety acts
- Autopilot
- Not a lookout; not mentioned, not excused
- Commercial
- NSCV and AMSA add steering and watch requirements
- Penalties
- Fines, licence action and liability after an incident
What a proper lookout means with a pilot engaged
The rule is about appraisal, not hands on the wheel. A crew member in the cockpit scanning the horizon, checking AIS and radar, listening for engines and fog signals, and able to take the helm immediately is keeping a proper lookout. A crew member below reading, with the pilot steering and the alarms off, is not. A solo sailor asleep is not, whatever the alarm settings, and honest solo sailors acknowledge that compromise rather than pretend otherwise.
All available means includes the electronics: AIS, radar, the plotter and the alarms. It also means using them. An AIS receiver with the CPA alarm disabled is a tool not being used.
How the law reaches a recreational boat
Each state's legislation adopts the Collision Regulations for its waters and adds a general duty to operate safely. Transport for NSW, Maritime Safety Queensland, Safe Transport Victoria, the WA Department of Transport, Marine Safety SA, MAST in Tasmania and the NT Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics all publish the lookout duty in their handbooks and enforce it. After a collision or grounding, an engaged autopilot with nobody keeping watch is evidence of a breach, and it follows the skipper into insurance claims and civil liability.
Commercial vessels and the NSCV
Domestic commercial vessels are regulated by AMSA under the National Standard for Commercial Vessels. Beyond , the and the vessel's safety management system set out steering, watchkeeping and crewing requirements, and surveyors assess steering arrangements including autopilot override. Charter operators, fishing vessels and work boats should treat the autopilot as part of the SMS: who may engage it, when it must be disengaged, and how the watch is kept.
Australian lookout risks in traffic and restricted visibility
Coastal shipping lanes off NSW and inside the Great Barrier Reef, where large ships move at 12–20 knots and a yacht on a route with nobody looking closes a mile in three minutes. Fishing fleets working at night without AIS off every state. Whales along the east coast from June to November and off WA in the same season. Trailer boats and PWCs in Moreton Bay and the Broadwater. Bar entrances where a pilot has no business being engaged at all.
Route following is not a lookout
Practical lookout routines under autopilot
A named person on watch whenever the pilot is engaged, in the cockpit or at a station with a clear view. A scan every few minutes, more in traffic. AIS CPA and radar guard alarms set. Off-course and cross-track alarms set. A handover briefing at each watch change. A tether when leaving the companionway. These are the habits instructors teach, and they are the habits investigators look for afterwards.
Questions
Frequently asked
Can I go below to make a coffee with the pilot on?
Briefly, having scanned first, with alarms set and nothing within range, in open water. The duty is continuous, so the shorter the better, and not at all in traffic or near hazards.
Is an AIS alarm a lookout?
It is one of the available means and it must be used, but it does not replace sight and hearing. Many vessels carry no AIS transmitter.
Do the rules differ between states?
The lookout duty is the same everywhere because it comes from the Collision Regulations. Licensing, safety equipment and speed rules differ by state.
What about singlehanded racing?
Race organisers accept that solo sailors sleep, and the Collision Regulations still apply. Solo sailors manage the risk with short sleeps, alarms, AIS and route choice, and the law does not give them an exemption.
Practise autopilot operation with an instructor
Habits are learned at the helm with someone watching. The training section explains what a good instructor covers and where to find one in your state.