Until 1998, the most recent complete text on the law of collision published on this side of the Atlantic had been John Griffin’s The American Law of Collision, which appeared in 1949. So many significant changes have occurred in collision law since then that a new American text was certainly indicated. The most significant of these changes was, of course, the adoption of the 1972 COLREGS, which became effective in 1977 – the first complete revision of the International Rules since 1889. Also of great importance was the substitution of a single set of U.S. Inland Rules, identical in most respects to COLREGS, for the former Inland, Great Lakes, and Western Rivers Rules. Other significant changes were the adoption of the proportional fault rule by the U.S. Supreme Court in Reliable Transfer Co. v. United States, and the widespread use of radar and ARPA in marine navigation.

COLREGS and the current U.S. Inland Rules are arranged in much more orderly fashion than their predecessors, and the authors have followed the same order in treating the individual Rules. In addition to the Rules, the book covers damages, both-to-blame collisions, and official investigations. It also includes chapters on pilotage, towage, marine pollution, limitation of liability, marine insurance, salvage, and general average, all in relation to collisions.