dover

Masters Orals – Pass
Robert O’Leary – 10 years mostly in Class I pax
Chris Roe- Dover
Remote
1.5 hours
Stood by 15’ before in the ‘Lobby’ of the meeting, a few minutes after the listed start time the
examiner appeared in his living room, P&O ferries models visible in the background. Introduced
himself and made the standard statement “no trick questions and this will be a discussion mostly”.
A couple of minutes were taken up completing a tour of the room and giving a declaration that I
have my Mobile off and no recording devices. A power point is used for the briefing / introduction
including if connection fails or if suspected of cheating.
This exam for the most part really was a discussion with a few direct questions thrown in. where I
put ‘General Chit Chat’ it really was a professional discussion.
Through the exam a variety of separate power points were used including.
– Met equipment / Compasses
– Restricted Vis situations
– Buoyage
– Daytime ROR situations
– ROR Lights.
The Exam
 Explain your career at sea so far?
– Made a big point of being on polar passenger ships and this seemed to prick his interest
a so we spent around 5 mins discussing this and pax age etc.
 Synoptic chart from May shared as first slide of power point (lots of fronts on Atlantic, deep L
over N.North sea, H off Cornwall)
– Give a general description of weather?
– Look at low over Norway, how to calculate wind speed? (Wanted to hear correct for
friction)
– Are you a voluntary observer ship? (General chitchat about weather)
– How would you expect 2nd mate to plan passage from Bristol channel to St.Kitts (General
chit chat about weather routing and heading south on rumb line, avoiding north Atlantic
fronts, weather routing, using Ocean Passages etc)?
– As a Master how would you prepare for heavy weather? (Best data, went to delaying /.
changing sailing)
– Under ISM what must the Company make sure the master is aware of? (Power of
Overriding authority, we had a general chit chat about company support and how we
have the statement on the first page of the SMS, he liked that).
 Image of Sextant
– Do you do / get people to do Cel Nav? (General chit chat about cadets etc)
– How do you know the accuracy of a GPS?
– What is likely to happen when trump wins with GPS? (Jokey question looking for turning
off WAAS/ DGPS / Degrading signal)
– How would you compare GPS to Celestial? (Spoke about taking morning, noon and
evening sights, using Mercator plotting sheets).
 Image of Compass Rose
– What is problems with magnetic compasses near poles (Big Variation)
– What would you adjust on passage from poles to equator (Heeling Error bucket)
– 2nd Mate takes a compass error, Error is 3°W and Variation is 3°W what is the deviation?
(Nil, he expressed upset that he had failed a candidate earlier in the day for not being
able to work it out)
 Image of Marine Hygrometer
– What is this?
– Why is the wet bulb important? (dew Point, restricted vis)
Segway onto………
 Radar image (N Up, RM, Own Vector length, Plots) see annex 1.
– One vessel, 050°, 3 plots, 6 min intervals. Crossing, Estimate CPA & TCPA and action.
– 2nd vessel appears 180°, Right stern, over taking fast, actions for both.
(Quite a long discussion about responsibilities, who can do what and my action)
– Your lookout reports a bell signal forward of the beam, actions?
 Put me on a Standard General Cargo Ship.
– What certificates would you expect to find (Statutory, Class and Secondary)
– How many conventions are there (I said I don’t know the exact number but there is
plenty!)
– What Statutory Certificates would you expect? (Started rattling them off then he
disappeared!!! His internet cut out, I didn’t realise immediately and carried on then
waited for a while on my own before his return! He retuned and said I think you got
them all and I wont make you repeat)
 If you were on a Class II pax ship between Dover and Calais who would issue your DG DOC?
– I didn’t know so I said flag and if ACS class (He said she isn’t foreign flag so ACS
didn’t apply………)
 On a UK flag ship who issues your PSSC? (Flag)
 How long is a PSSC valid for?
 Ships going to assistance of Air Craft ditched into the Sea?
– How do you prepare for recovery (RB teams, Recovery of persons plan)
– Can you take more survivors than is on your PSSC (Yes, Overriding authority)
– Who would you report to (Company, Flag, Class).
 You come across ice?
– Masters reporting requirements (Damage Messages)
– Other circumstances when reports needed? (Ice accretion, Storm, TRS)
– Who do they go to and what information?
 You are in cabin, there is Ice accretion, you feel the ships getting very tende, you go to the
bridge the Mate wants to ballast the ship down below her marks,
– Can you do this (Masters overriding authority, better than an angle of LOLL)
– Who should you report to (Flag, Class, Company)
 You are in heavy weather; the ship is slamming.
– Effects on ships structure?
– Effect on ships stability?
 You take ice damage and put back to port
– Who would you arrange to meet (Notary for Noting Protest)
– Who else would you report to? (Flag, Class, Company and MAIB)
 Crew member joins with SEA on Phone?
– What would you do as Master (Get it printed & signed / accept digital if in company
policy, we went onto to chit chat about what MCA are happy to accept when on
compliance audit)
At this point the examiner went on a comfort break…. On return from comfort break.
 Buoyage (Using a Power Point and scrolling though and stopping, wanted ID, Light and
action).
– STBD hand lateral Region A
– STBD Lat preferred channel to port region A
– PORT lad preferred channel to Stbd Region B
– Safe Water Mark
– Isolated Danger Mark
– North Cardinal Mark
– South Cardinal Mark
Move onto power point slides with a ship, direction and cardinal marks.
– HDG South, West Cardinal right ahead
– HDG South East Cardinal to port West to STBD(Annex 2, fig 1)
– HDG North, East Cardinal to port, West Cardinal to STBD (Annex 2, fig 2)
– HDG South, West Cardinal to Port, East Cardinal to STBD (Annex 2, fig 3) (almost got
me)
 Day time ROR Situations (In all scenarios, ROC exists, you have been called by OOW and 5
short already sounded)
– PDV on port side not giving way
– PDV almost head on, OOW can see both side lights and masts but is unsure.
– Overtaking in Narrow Channel
– Open Water, Fishing Vessel on Port bow.
– TSS Fishing vessel on port bow.
– Open water vessel 2 miles astern closing slowly
– Open water, vessels astern now only 1 mile and a PDV now on the STBD side.
(Almost f**ked it on this one, I uttered the words stand on for the overtaking and
had to backtrack then quote the first lines of rule 13!!!!!) We then went on to chit
chat about training cadets / officers in overtaking and using the vhf to tell other
ships what is going on…..
 ROR lights (Full ID, day shape and fog signal)
– PDV Prob +50 ahead underway prob making way
– 2 white lights, so V/L @ anchor or out of range of Side lights.
– Vessel RAM at anchor
– Fishing vessel, making way port aspect.
With this he asked me how I think I had done, went over his notes and informed me I had
passed!!!!!!
Over the moon, none of the words in the English language can sum it up.
I would like to for this final time give my sincerest thanks to all the team at Fleetwood. You have
seen me though 3 oral exams, 2 sets of SQAs and 2 sets of HND/HNC first time. Bravo to you. I have
the upmost respect for what you do and how you do it!
Jonathan Ward, you are an extraordinary man, I don’t think I would have done it without you! I have
you say a special thanks to you for your entertaining tutorship over the years and getting me hooked
on Fisherman’s Friends.
Good Luck to everyone going up, it’s a different experience to normal but no less nerve racking!!
000° Annex 1 Fig 1
Initial Radar plot
shown, reproduced as
displayed.
Own Vector Length
1.
2.
3
Annex 1 Radar Plotting
000°
Annex 1 Fig 2
2nd Radar plot shown,
reproduced as
displayed.
Own Vector Length
1.
2.
3
3
2
1
Annex 1 Radar Plotting
180°
Annex 2 Fig 1, HDG 180
Annex 2 Buoyage
000°
Annex 2 Fig 2, HDG 000 Annex 2 Buoyage
180°
Annex 2 Fig 3, HDG 180 Annex 2 Buoyage