2 A closer look at The Alexandra I collision and the tension between the narrow channel rule and the crossing rule:
While we have established that different situations are governed by different parts of the COLREGS, it has yet not been clarified why the English courts needed to make a decision between the narrow channel rule and the crossing rule in this case. We must understand first and foremost the primary duties that stem respectively from each of the two aforementioned rules (infra, 2.1 & 2.2), before we take a look at the treatment The Alexandra I case received in each of the admiralty, appellate and supreme court (infra, 2.3).