Practical seamanship
- Rig and supervise the pilot boarding arrangement to the required standard, with the ladder, lighting, manropes and a lifebuoy ready, and see the pilot safely aboard and away.
- Prepare the vessel for sea: secure tenders, toys, deck stores and anything that can move, close and log watertight and weathertight openings, and confirm emergency equipment is accessible.
- Apply good practice to mooring and anchoring, working aloft and over the side, and enclosed-space entry, and understand the dangers of each.
- Know the anchor party, the mooring stations and the standard helm and engine orders.
The key conventions
| Instrument | Covers |
|---|---|
| SOLAS | Safety of life at sea: construction, LSA, fire, radio, safe navigation, ISM, ISPS |
| MARPOL Annex I | Prevention of pollution by oil |
| MARPOL Annex IV / V / VI | Sewage / garbage / air pollution |
| Load Line / STCW / MLC | Freeboard / training and watchkeeping / seafarers' rights and hours |
| The conventions the OOW works within. |
Large yachts and small commercial vessels operate under the relevant code — the Large Yacht Code or a small-commercial-vessel code — alongside SOLAS and MARPOL, carrying the certificates and record books those require. The OOW applies discharge limits, special-area rules and the ship's own plans, and knows where the certificates are kept and when they expire.
The Code of Safe Working Practices
The Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (CoSWP) is the day-to-day safety bible: it sets out risk assessment, permits to work, personal protective equipment, and the safe methods for the hazardous jobs — enclosed-space entry, working aloft and outboard, hot work, mooring under tension and lifting. The OOW enforces it as a matter of routine, because most shipboard injuries come from ordinary jobs done without the proper precautions.
WARNING — Enclosed spaces and snap-back kill Enclosed-space entry without atmosphere testing, a permit and a standby person, and standing in the snap-back zone of a mooring line under tension, are two of the deadliest routine hazards at sea. The CoSWP exists to prevent exactly these.