You have been observing your radar screen and notice that a contact has remained in the same position for several minutes. Your vessel is making 10 knots through the water. Which statement is TRUE?

When observing that a contact has remained in the same position on the radar screen while your vessel is moving at 10 knots, it indicates that the contact is moving in such a way that its position appears unaffected by your own movement. This scenario suggests that the contact is likely on the same course and speed as your vessel.

In navigational terms, if both vessels are moving at 10 knots in the same direction, the relative motion between your vessel and the contact would be zero, resulting in the contact appearing to be stationary on the radar screen. This is consistent with the principles of relative motion where two objects traveling at the same speed and in the same direction maintain their positional relationship to each other.

The other statements would not apply in this scenario. For instance, if the contact were dead in the water, you would expect it to be stationary with respect to your vessel but would not confirm that it is moving at the same speed. A malfunctioning radar could produce erroneous information, but in this situation, the observation of the contact's steady position is indicative of an actual navigational scenario rather than a failure in the radar system. Additionally, if the contact were on a reciprocal course, it would be moving towards your vessel, and you would observe