Ship handling
- Understand the effect of the propeller (including transverse thrust), the rudder, and wind and current on the hull and superstructure.
- Know squat and interaction in shallow and narrow water, and reduce speed accordingly.
- Describe berthing and unberthing using lines and springs, and the standard helm and telegraph orders.
- Know the drill for a steering or telegraph failure, emergency steering, and anchoring including dragging.
Emergencies
First actions on a grounding or collision
- Raise the alarm, handle the engines as appropriate, and inform the Master.
- Sound round the ship and assess damage and flooding; close watertight boundaries.
- Check for pollution and injuries and account for all persons.
- Fix and record the position and time, and make the required reports.
- Take damage-control action and, if warranted, initiate distress procedures under IAMSAR.
WARNING — The first minutes decide it Raising the alarm, informing the Master and accounting for people come before investigation. A calm, practised drill in the first minutes of a fire, flooding or grounding is worth more than any later effort.
TIP — Explain the why, not just the what In the oral, describing how wind and thrust act on this ship, and how you would recover a steering failure, shows command potential far better than reciting a procedure. The examiner wants the reasoning.