Most close calls in Kuwait waters do not come from speed, they come from hesitation. Two boats approach, each skipper waits for the other, and nobody decides. Right-of-way rules exist so the decision is already made before you get there.
Before you head out, check the wind and sea state plus tide times and heights at Shuwaikh and Shuaiba ports in the B7R app, and plan your day around it.
In every encounter one boat gives way and one boat stands on. The give-way boat changes course or speed early and obviously. The stand-on boat holds course and speed so the other skipper can predict you.
But one rule sits above the rest: if a collision is developing and the other boat is not reacting, you act. Right of way is not a shield, and holding your track to prove a point is how dents and injuries happen.
A sailboat under sail generally has priority over a powerboat, unless you are in a sailboat with the engine running, in which case you count as a powerboat.
A boat on its anchor or a fisherman drifting on his line cannot manoeuvre at all. The whole duty is yours: keep enough distance for swell and current, and never cut between two moored boats or between a fisherman and his line. If you are the one anchored, sit clear of the traffic lane and show a light at night.
The worst assumption in Kuwait Bay is that the ship's watchkeeper has seen you. A commercial vessel needs a long distance to stop and cannot swing out of her lane. She holds a steady track into the port. Small craft are agile, so clear the shipping lane before anyone has to move for you.
Dhows on a busy track are the same story: pass astern, never across the bow.
Keep your own lights clean and bright, and never point a searchlight at an approaching boat: you blind the other skipper for seconds he does not have.
A short call on channel 16, then a move to a working channel, sorts out most situations. One sentence such as "I am on your starboard side, I will give way" removes all doubt. But many small boats carry no radio and many skippers do not answer, so your obligation stays with you.
Wide open throttle near the slipway, passing a fishing boat within a couple of metres, stopping mid-channel to wait for a friend, and turning hard to port off the ramp without a look: all of it creates chaos nobody needed.
These rules are short, and they prevent the worst days on the water. Let the B7R app handle the planning: tide times and heights, sea state, the fish guide, catch log, seasons, navigation tools, and the SOS emergency button. Free on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.q8dm.b7r