[esailor Team]

Master Unlimited
October 2023
First Attempt
Insan
1hr 15 mins
Pass

Initially I had a few issues getting Teams to work. It kept opening in my browser instead of the app which concerned me as the guide said you should try and get it to use the app. I told Insan about this and he thanked me for letting him know, said it wasn’t preferred practice but would be fine.

Asked my about my experience and current position so I went into full detail on this including my last ship, particulars etc. He said I would be on my last ship unless he told me otherwise, and always UK flag.
Taking over as master what is the procedure?
What certificates would you take over?
What about crew certificates?
What certificate do crew need if they are working on a passenger vessel? I said crisis management and human behaviour but he wanted one more and had a total mind blank on this but he helped me out and reminded me of crowd management.
Before you depart 2nd engineer is missing what will you do?
Who do you contact shore side?
Will you sail without him if you are below SMD?
What certs does MCA issue under ACS?
How do you do a pilot master exchange?
You depart but fog appears in the river what will you do? He insinuated he wanted me to go to anchor so I went though that procedure.
Running moor vs standing moor what’s the difference?
Chief officer reports anchor fouled what will you do? OK you’ve left the anchor on the seabed who will you contact?
You are going into heavy weather what will you do?
You are in dangerous semi circle in Southern Hemisphere what will be your actions?
Now you have a MOB what will you do?
What is the expanded inspection scheme and who does it apply to? I got this confused with the enhanced survey program. I admitted I thought I had confused it and he helped me out and basically told me the answer.
What is different in an expanded inspection? He wanted to hear me mention a drill. Lucky guess on my part…
Asked about passenger counting and how it was done. There is an M notice on this which I mentioned.
What is the SEEMP and what is in it? What is in part 3? I blagged this a bit and started talking about carbon index and tiers of engines and he seemed happy enough
What are the different types of cargo a bulk carrier can load? He wanted to hear about type a,b, and c. I wasn’t really sure but mentioned about liquifying cargo so he went into that and asked me what information I would be looking for on that so I told him about TML etc which he seemed happy enough with.
A bit about enclosed space, asked as Master what I think about enclosed space entries and how I would deal with them. I talked about meetings, training, risk assessments, avoiding doing them at all if possible.
Buoys:
Only one. He just wanted action no need for top mark, light or anything. I did tell him what the buoys were though, more to get the situation clear in my own head rather than anything else. Heading south with a West Cardinal Mark to port and East Cardinal mark to starboard. You have to pass between them
Rules:
He said ROC always exists and no need to bother with series of bearings etc. Tell me what the vessel is and what you would do.
Tug and tow over 200m on your port side. I initially started answering this as if it was RAM but realised my mistake and immediately corrected myself and gave a full explanation of the mistake I had made and what the situation actually was which I think saved me here. He reminded me to take my time when answering!
In a TSS PDV crossing from port.
Vessel aground right ahead. He asked me about what I would do as master here. I said I would contact the other vessel in case she needed assistance.
Lights:
Identify vessel, navigational status and what action. Didn’t ask about sound signals.
FV seen from astern with outlying gear more than 150m.
CBD on port bow. I said I would go to starboard he asked if you could go to port. I said no because she might slow down. He was happy enough with that.

RV:
Explained all plots would be head up relative motion and said that I can draw them out myself if I needed to but it wasn’t required. I drew them just to be on the safe side and get it clearer in my head.
Showed me head up relative motion plot with O,O2 and A all on top of each other.
I explained it was same course and speed as us.
Ok vessel ahead slows down and the plot now looks like this. He re-drew the plot to show but didn’t put the W, but he had told me it was overtaking already so I drew the plot and showed him where W would be in an overtaking situation. He asked for my action and I said I could go either side but would go to starboard and keep my starboard side clear.
Ok you’ve gone to starboard and other vessel is 3 miles away but you hear a fog signal forward of your beam what will you do? Standard rule 19 answer about taking way off however I did mention the fact that the other vessel was over 3 miles so I knew it wouldn’t be her fog signal due to range of the whistle.
How would you instruct or what orders would you give your OOW regarding restricted vis?
He asked me how I thought it had gone and told me I had passed. Not much feedback afterwards he said congratulations, told me he would send an e-mail and logged off.
There was probably a few other things in there that I can’t remember but it was relatively straightforward. I always tried to give practical answers imagining myself on my last ship. Always mentioned having meetings, risk assessments etc which I think is what he was looking for at masters level. There were a few things I really wasn’t sure of and those ones I was honest about and said I wasn’t sure. He just moved on and asked something else. He was good at guiding you towards the right answer or what he was looking for and would usually stop me in the middle of my answer and move on once he was happy.
Overall I thought it was a fair exam with no tricks and he did his best to put me at ease. No shouting etc. Some of the questions might look daunting but if you mention a few key points and answer in a practical way he soon moves on.

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