Where candidates trip up
The most common failure is treating this topic as purely theoretical — candidates can list distress signals but cannot articulate the Master's legal duty, the decision framework for proceeding or not, or the content and limitations of IAMSAR Vol III itself. A second failure is confusing the duty to assist persons in distress (SOLAS V/33, a Master's personal duty) with the vessel's SAR cooperation obligations. Examiners will probe both.
IAMSAR Volume III — what it is and why it is carried
IAMSAR is published jointly by IMO and ICAO. Volume III, Mobile Facilities, is the on-board reference for ships and aircraft participating in a SAR incident. It contains search patterns, communications procedures, on-scene coordinator (OSC) guidance, and survivor care checklists. Carriage is mandatory under SOLAS V/21 — it is a required publication, not optional guidance. Examiners expect the Master to know it is operationally usable, not just filed away.
The Master's duty to render assistance — SOLAS V/33
On receiving information from any source that persons are in distress at sea, the Master is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance. This duty sits with the Master personally — it cannot be delegated. It applies regardless of flag, nationality of those in distress, or circumstances in which they are found.
A Master may be released from this obligation only when:
- The vessel is itself in serious danger, or
- Another vessel has been requisitioned and is complying, or
- The Master of the other vessel or the RCC advises assistance is no longer necessary.
Critically: reasons for not proceeding must be recorded in the Official Log Book. Failure to record is itself a deficiency. Examiners will ask what you record and why.
Distress signals
Distress signals are listed in Annex IV to the COLREGs. Candidates must know the principal signals by category — visual (red parachute flare, orange smoke, flames on vessel, SOS by light/sound/flags N over C), sound (continuous sounding of fog signal), radio (MAYDAY on 2182 kHz / Ch 16, DSC on Ch 70 / MF-DSC), and electronic (EPIRB, SART/AIS-SART). On a superyacht the Master must know the equipment carried, how each is used, and its limitations.
An EPIRB activates on immersion or manually and transmits to COSPAS-SARSAT via satellite, alerting the relevant MRCC with MMSI and position. An AIS-SART broadcasts a target on AIS at 1-minute intervals — visible to any vessel with AIS but not to satellites; range-limited. A radar SART paints a series of arcs on a 9 GHz radar — the vessel must be within radar range.
SAR coordination framework
Search and rescue is coordinated by Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) through a global network under SOLAS V and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. The Master's role once on scene may be as OSC (on-scene coordinator) if designated or if first to arrive — IAMSAR Vol III gives the OSC's duties directly. Examiners at command level will ask whether the Master would accept OSC designation and what that entails.