R.O.R. CARDS
Flags, Day & Night Signals — 392 cards that turn Rules of the Road from something you memorize into something you recognize on sight.
How R.O.R. Cards Work
At sea, you usually spot the pattern before you know what it means. Every card is built around that reality: a visual on the front, the full interpretation on the back.
Visual
Lights, shapes, flags, buoys or a vessel-encounter diagram — exactly as you'd see it.
Interpretation
Identification, meaning, the applicable COLREG rule, and any sound or day signal.
Action
The required or expected action — including give-way/stand-on where it applies.
See a Card From Every Category
Tap any card to flip it and see the back.
What's Inside the Box
392 cards across 8 categories.
Night Signal Cards
Navigation-light patterns shown exactly as they'd appear from ahead, astern, port and starboard — identify the vessel and the required action.
Day Signal Cards
Day shapes and flags vessels display when lights aren't the primary signal — towing, fishing, restricted in ability to manoeuvre and more.
Buoys & Marks Cards
Lateral, cardinal, isolated danger and safe water marks — colours, shapes, topmarks and light characteristics for Region A.
ICS Flag Cards
International Code of Signals alphabet flags and their standardized meanings.
Numeric Flag Cards
0 through 9 plus the decimal flag, for numbers and coded messages at sea.
Substitute Flag Cards
First, Second and Third Substitute flags — used to repeat a flag already in a hoist.
Situation / Collision Cards
Full vessel-encounter scenarios — identify give-way and stand-on, assess risk of collision, and decide the correct action.
ICS Practice Cards
Worked examples of multi-flag hoists, including substitute-flag combinations.
Beyond Memorizing — Real Decisions
Instead of asking “what does this light mean?”, Situation Cards put you inside a full vessel encounter: your vessel, a target, a bearing, and visibility conditions.
- check_circleIdentify the encounter — head-on, crossing, overtaking, restricted visibility
- check_circleAssess whether risk of collision exists
- check_circleDetermine the give-way and stand-on vessel
- check_circleState the required action and applicable COLREG rule
Who It's For
Built for anyone on the deck side who needs to recognize a signal faster than they can look it up.
Ordinary Seaman / AB
Builds fast, confident recognition of lights, shapes, flags and buoys used every watch.
Deck Cadet
A hands-on way to drill COLREG recognition alongside Function 1–3 coursework.
2nd Mate Candidates
The 45 Situation Cards mirror the give-way/stand-on reasoning MMD orals actually test.
Officers & Captains
A fast physical reference for the bridge — no screen, no searching, just flip and check.
About the Author
Awanish Chauhan
Second Officer, Merchant Navy
Awanish Chauhan is a maritime professional who has sailed as a Second Officer, working across navigation, watchkeeping, cargo handling and deck management.
After creating the 2ND MATE FG guide, he built R.O.R. Cards to solve a different problem: Rules of the Road knowledge that's memorized for an exam tends to fade fast on watch. A physical, visual deck of cards makes recognition automatic instead.
Follow @OctaSeaOfficial on Instagram for more.
392 cards, 8 categories, one deck you can flip through on watch, in the mess, or before your orals.
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