[esailor Team]

Orals Report
Chief Mate Unlimited/Master 3000gt
August 2021
Surveyor: Captain Hawkins (Belfast)
Result: Pass 1st Attempt

Joined the Teams call around 15 minutes early, surveyor joined exactly on time and introduced himself. Standard procedure of ensuring nobody in the room, doors closed, no recording devices, no paperwork etc. Swivelled my laptop to prove I was alone and had nothing on my desk to assist me. Confirmed I was here for Chief Mate Unlimited/Master 3000gt, asked my previous experiences and delved straight into the questioning. He had the syllabus in front of him, said he would work his way through it and reference it when required.

Chief Mate at all times unless he stated otherwise.

Questions:

• Joining a 2999gt vessel (no specific type) as Master, taxi has just dropped you on the quayside. Procedure for joining?
• You mentioned Load Lines, what are you looking for?
• What if the vessel is submerged beneath her summer marks?
• Master only has 24 hour handover period with you, what information do you want?
• Cargo carrying capacity, how do you know this?
• What is Net Tonnage? Displacement? Deadweight? What is the relationship between Displacement and Deadweight?
• You mentioned certificates, what certificates are required under the ISM Code?
• DOC Validity? Surveys? Who issues it? SMC Validity? Surveys?
• AFSYC, who requires it? Validity?
• What do you know about the Safe Manning Document? Who issues it?
• New Chief Officer Joining, what certification do you expect?
• Certification for Deck Crew?
• Duties of Chief Mate?

Shared his screen and showed a Met Office Synoptic Chart:
• Pointed to a trough, asked what it was.
• Describe the weather coming over the UK. (North Atlantic Depression)

Shared an extract of a Paper Chart:
• Light characteristics of two lights.

Manoeuvre:
Anchor is already hanging off; how would I make fast to this buoy? Two men standing by on the buoy. Wind was 10 knots, no direction indicated. Right hand screw.

Said I would pass the buoy at a safe distance proceed to the outer port limit that was as safe and practicable then Snub around. He moved the buoy up the screen to indicate the relative movement so I could see the room I had to manoeuvre. Questioned my reasoning for using the anchor. Approached with bare minimum steerage, said a heaving line would be thrown, questioned the strength of my throw… Said in that case I’d expect a mooring boat to pass a heaving line to the buoy.

Chief Mate on a Bulk Carrier going from Antwerp to New York.
• How would you assist the 2nd Mate with passage planning?
• You are loading a cargo of steel coils, tell me your actions from inside your office, to the deck, to the hold.
• How do you know how much you can load?
• What is the pre-loading survey?
• What are your checks on the magnetic compass?
• Checks and maintenance on free fall lifeboat?
• Fumigation, what are your concerns?
• Departed, on watch and cook reports fire in the galley. Actions?
• You’ve now ran aground. Actions?
• Hull was damaged, you require a dry dock. How do you prepare as Chief Mate?
• You mentioned 2 gangways, what else do you expect the dry dock to provide?
• Fresh Water? What’s that for?
• Charterer calls and tells you they require you to paint the funnel. Actions? No shore side crane available.

Radar Plot:
Relative Motion. Told me I was heading 000° doing 5 knots.

Single echo detected. Actions? He then gave two more echoes. Actions?
Then immediately gave me 3 more blips to port. Answered both situations as they were individual situations, as they appeared at different times and had already taken action for the first. As I went to Starboard for the one to port, he questioned about the one to starboard. I said I thought they were individual situations, and revised my action. Probably got out of jail by explaining my reasoning for each action as per Rule 19 while I was doing it.

Lights & ROR:
Showed me a powerpoint of lights. Asked what they were, occasionally asking arc of visibility of specific lights.
• FV Port Aspect.
• Trawler not making way or anchored.
• Anchored probably more than 50m Starboard aspect.
• NUC not making way.
• RAM not making way.
• Towing Partially Submerged Object. Actions if on Port side?

Buoyage:
Gave me a number of buoys to identify, either by looking at the buoy as a whole, or its topmark alone. Then gave me a number of cardinal marks to identify, my ships heading, and asked my actions.
• Heading 090° – South Cardinal
• Heading 180° – West Cardinal
• Heading 180° – South Cardinal
Bit of confusion between us on the last one, he kept asking where the danger was. I gave the usual spiel of conducting navigational risk assessment, check chart, stop the vessel, etc. Said I could only determine where the safe water was from what he gave me.

More Questions:

• You are Master, OOW calls and says they have encountered fog, actions?
• Difference between Towage & Salvage contracts?

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