Where candidates go wrong
The most common failure is treating this as a procedural checklist recitation — listing what happens on the muster card — rather than demonstrating command decision-making. Examiners are assessing the Master's role as the directing mind, not the crew member who operates the hose. A second common failure is conflating fire-fighting organisation with abandon ship organisation; they are distinct command actions with different decision thresholds and different moments when the Master's authority is absolute.
The Master's command position
You are the person who declares the emergency, allocates resources, escalates the response, and makes the decision to abandon. You do not fight the fire yourself — you direct. Your position is normally the bridge or emergency command post where you maintain situational awareness, coordinate with the engine room, manage communications (including shore/flag authorities), and make time-critical decisions.
Fire-fighting organisation
Muster Bill (Station Bill) assigns every person a duty station, a role, and the personal equipment required. It must be posted in conspicuous places. As Master you are responsible for its currency — after any crew change it must be updated before departure.
A competent response has two functional teams:
- Attack team — trained fire-fighters with appropriate BA sets, hose, and boundary cooling equipment.
- Support/boundary team — controls spread, cools adjacent bulkheads, mans the fire pump, stands by with backup BA sets, maintains the tallying of BA wearers (entry time, pressure, calculated duration).
BA team control is a Master-level concern. You must ensure a tally system is in operation; no BA wearer enters without time and pressure logged. If communications with the interior team are lost, you direct withdrawal immediately — the instinct to press forward costs lives.
Escalation triggers — when to request external assistance (coastguard, tug with fire-fighting capability) — are your call. Call early; you can stand down external resources, you cannot reverse a delayed call.
SOLAS II-2 and the applicable yacht code (the Red Ensign Group Yacht Code, REG YC Part A, which superseded LY3) set the structural and equipment baseline; your command job is to use that capability effectively.
Abandon ship organisation
Abandon ship is the Master's decision alone. It is irreversible; partial commitment of survival craft in deteriorating conditions is more dangerous than either staying aboard or full immediate abandonment.
Key command considerations:
- Mayday transmitted, position confirmed, EPIRB/SART activated before the order.
- Survival craft manned and lowered on your order — not before.
- Headcount at muster, headcount in survival craft, headcount after rescue — accountability is a command responsibility throughout.
- Designated Officer-in-Charge of each survival craft briefed on rendezvous/rescue co-ordination intentions.
- Master is last to leave; this is legal custom and an exam expectation.
Drills underpin all of this. SOLAS III/19 (implemented via REG YC) requires abandon ship and fire drills monthly per crew member, and within 24 hours of departure if more than 25% of crew have been replaced. Drills must be realistic enough to test the actual muster bill assignments — they are not a muster-card reading exercise any more than the exam should be.