Vessels that carry dangerous materials must be painted with hazardous shipping colors to warn on coming or other vessels to maintain a distance to avoid any accident. Most vessel on the high seas transport safe or moderately safe cargo but some special vessel transport hazardous materials for which the IMO has set certain colors that vessels caring hazardous material must painted with to provide ample visual warning while out at sea on approaching a harbor or port.

Vessel that carry compostable material or acids are supposed to be painted using bright colors such as orange, red or yellow signifying the vessel level of danger and distance other vessels must maintain from the vessel. This color coding is more visible on newer vessel but color coding has been used on cargo and passenger vessels for many decades know.

Painting different pipelines using different colors help quickly identify the different ship pipelines making maintenance easier and faster. Modern or new ships are usually painted with a color that would suit the cargo they transport since this is usually predetermined when the order for the vessel is places.

Specialized vessel military carriers also have a code that is usually determined by the nation that owns the vessel, this can range from gray, blue or green but a mixture of the colors may also be used. In the same manner submarines are usually painted a universal black the reason being they spend most of their time submerged underwater.

In the same way that nature uses colors to warn of dangers that may be impending, so have the shipping industry adapted the colors to provide warning in advance to minimize danger to the public, but this form of signaling may not be a suitable one in the future as acts of terrorism increase in the 21^st century. Painting these vessels differently makes them venerable to attack and the enemy could easily target vessel due to the coloration it bears to haulm another nation or people.

With this in mind the IMO must take in to consideration the very essence of using hazardous shipping colors which may turn from a warning to a target. The situation is complicated but bears huge credibility for debate whether the colors should continue being used or abandoned altogether. The color codes used on vessel have helped avoid and maintain high levels of safety for crew, vessel and harbors.

Since safety remains the first priority in the shipping industry color coding must continue being used but changes may require to be made n the future to avoid disasters that could be avoided from happening. Strategies like applying smaller color code stripes on vessel rather than painting the whole vessel with hazardous color may be an option to be considered, but the color codes will remain an essence of shipping, providing safety and speedy maintaince or rescue of personnel or crew on board vessels.

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