Fleet Operations

Any Questions or Confusion on these rules, please raise with the Arbiters as soon as possible so we can elaborate and improve!

Fleet operations can be messy business, so in order to clear up any confusion on the subject, the following guidelines have been put in place to assist fleets and fleet combatants with various tasks and ideas such as methods of escape, terms of surrender and methods of repair.

Initiation

Fleet Operations occurs when either side has more than 2 ships present - this is to differentiate it from Piracy. In progress Fleet Operations cannot become Piracy. If unsure, ask an arbiter!

Escape & Surrender

In order to Escape a conflict, a ship must close sails & gunports after reaching a friendly port. Once a ship has closed sails and “Escaped” it cannot then enter back into combat once it has repaired. Once a ship has escaped, it is out of the fight permanently, until such a time as the fleet engagement is over. The ship must declare 'Ship Name has Escaped from Fleet Operations' in global chat.

For a ship to have properly escaped a fleet battle, the ship must reach a friendly port. If that port is not owned or operated by the company that ship is with, the ship must request Safe Harbour (including for allies). This means announcing in global chat that 'Ship Name is requesting safe harbour at Port & Company Name'. Once the port owners reply a confirmation, the ship may then lower sails and come to a complete stop. Ships that have escaped the fleet engagement are not subject to piracy or the Rules of Plunder.

Please allow for a few seconds of cannon balls in flight before accusing of foul play - as much as we want, communication is not instantaneously transmitted, understood and acknowledged.

In order to Surrender a ship must close sails & gunports and announce in chat that 'Ship Name is surrendering'. Once a ship has surrendered it cannot re-join the fight but may move to not be in the middle of a fight, or anchor nearby. Once the fleet engagement is over, it will be subject to the Rules of Plunder (See Piracy), should the company that the ship belongs to have lost the fight.

Mid Fight Repairs

There are two methods of repair for a ship during a fleet engagement. One is to utilise a fleet tender to carry resources into the fight, for ships to pull alongside and transfer repair materials, ammunition and other resources across during the fight.

The other is for a ship to find an island, drop a few crew on to it, sail around for a bit and then pick the crew back up at slow speed once the crew has gathered resources and material necessary for repairs.

During both of these manoeuvres, the ships cannot be halted. No matter how slowly they may move, the ships must still be moving, otherwise they will be counted as surrendered and removed from the fight.

During a Fleet Engagement, only one Torpedo Schooner may be in the fight. If it is sunk, the company it belongs to may not launch a pre-prepared torpedo schooner during the engagement as a replacement.

Arbiter judgement may be called to ensure that specific ships are not breaching these rules.