What the Examiner Is Really Probing
This outcome tests whether you think and act as the person in command — not as someone who reacts to events, but as someone who controls the response. A pass-standard answer demonstrates a clear mental model: assess, contain, communicate, and decide. The examiner wants to hear command language, not a checklist recited from memory.
Underlying Knowledge
Immediate Priorities — Any Damage Scenario
Your first three questions, in order:
- Are people safe? Account for all crew and any passengers. Are there casualties requiring immediate action?
- Is the vessel in immediate danger of sinking or loss of control? Stabilise the situation before anything else.
- Is the situation deteriorating or stable? This drives every decision that follows.
Collision
- Stop engines if immediate risk of further flooding through propeller wash or dragging the casualty.
- Do not back off immediately — the other vessel's hull may be acting as a plug. Assess before manoeuvring.
- Sound alarm; muster crew; close watertight doors and openings.
- Assess your vessel: bilge soundings, visual inspection of compartments, damage control party assigned.
- Assess the other vessel: your duty to render assistance (SOLAS V/33) is a master's legal obligation. Render assistance so far as you can do so without serious danger to your vessel and those on board.
- Transmit DSC Distress or Urgency as situation demands; notify flag state and port authority.
- Do not move the vessel until you have a clear picture — or until remaining will cause greater danger.
- Record everything: times, actions, weather, positions.
Grounding
- Stop engines; assess whether propeller is fouled or tunnel flooded.
- Do not immediately attempt to refloat — first determine whether the vessel is holed. Refloating a holed vessel in deep water can sink her.
- Bilge soundings and visual inspection of all compartments.
- Note state of tide and whether tide is rising or falling — this is critical to your decision on whether to wait or act.
- Consider: What is the seabed type? Is the vessel pounding? Is weather worsening?
- Calculate whether lightening ship (fuel, water, stores) aids refloating without increasing danger.
- Mayday or Pan-Pan as appropriate; notify coast guard, owner, flag state.
- If attempting to refloat: lay out an anchor to prevent the vessel going further aground.
Heavy Weather Damage and Water Ingress
- Locate the source: collision damage, failed stern gland, sea cock failure, porthole or hatch breach.
- Pumping is a management tool, not a solution — find and plug the source.
- Use available damage control materials: soft wood plugs, collision mat, hull foam, shaped timber.
- Reduce the vessel's motion if ingress is through deck openings — alter course or reduce speed.
- Redistribute crew weight and ballast to keep the damaged area as high as possible.
- Monitor bilge levels continuously; if rising faster than pumps can manage, escalate immediately to distress.
- Watertight integrity: close all non-essential sea cocks; check all through-hull fittings.
How to Structure Your Spoken Answer
Open with the command stance: "My immediate priority is the safety of those on board and the vessel." Then walk through assess–contain–communicate–decide. Give the examiner a logical sequence, not a list of bullet points. Show that you are making decisions, not just executing procedures. Quantify where you can — state of tide, bilge levels, pump capacity — to demonstrate technical grip. Always bring the answer back to your legal obligations: render assistance, report to the appropriate authority, maintain the log.