[esailor Team]

OOW ( Unlimited ) (Revalidation via Alternative Route)
Online Orals Report
Date: 02/02/2021
Examiner : Khademul Insan
Time 45 mins
Result: Pass
WARNING: A light-hearted appraisal of my orals, don’t take my actions as the right way but they were good enough for me….
Logged onto MSTeams 10 minutes before due time and examiner appeared on time. Did the identification checks and confirmed that my phone was off then asked for details of my previous ships.
I started off with tankers, cargo ships, “ahaa, so bulk carriers?” Bugger. “and in what position?” Second Mate, but I’ve sailed as Master. Pause, “Whaaaaaat??? So why are here for OOW?”
So I explained that I spent 20 years flying planes for a living and was back to the ocean wave. At this point I think the look on his face realised I was completely mad. I also realised he hadn’t even looked at my discharge book or knew that it was a revalidation process. I then tried to continue to explain I been on cruise ships and HIGH SPEED CRAFT
“So, you’re joining a bulk carrier” AAAAAARGGHHHHHH!
“How do you know your duties onboard the ship?”
Well this was where I almost stumbled at the first fence. I must have been asleep during the “How to know what you’re doing on a ship” lesson. Maybe just me being brain dead or not knowing what he was after – a common theme through the exam, he has certain ideas of what he wants but you have to decipher the question. If he asked what my duties were under ISM etc I could have rattled them off but….To be fair he gives plenty of prompts until he gets the right buzzwords and then moves swiftly on.
“So you’re preparing to sail, what would you check on the bridge?”
Went through all the usual checks including steering gear, radars, then stopped me to how I would know about accuracy of the GPS. I told him a little box flashes up and tells me “low accuracy”. Bugger, that was an Airbus. Only joking, turned out he wanted to know about HDOP which I duly explained.Then asked me what Differential GPS was. Easy peasy.
Swiftly moved on, “ How would you go about planning making a passage plan, any passage plan?”
Started off with the standard A-P-E-M and went into Company / Charterers requirements etc then all the publications.
Stopped me at routeing charts “How many routeing charts are there?”. Haven’t got a scooby. (Rhyming slang for those non-brits: “Scooby Doo= Clue”Well I did know there were 12 for each Ocean x the no. of oceans . Just looked up – apparently approx 144!Was happy that I knew about them, move on..
“Now you’re using ECDIS, how do you know if the charts are corrected and up to date?” Usual stuff , check against CNM, UKHO website etc. “Difference between ENC’s and RNC’s”. Just gave a brief description.
So you’re heading out with the Pilot on board and the Captain leaves the bridge, what will you do?”
I started off explaining that I would make sure that Captain had clearly handed over control then I would monitor the helmsman, lookout, monitor position with reference to route plan etc.
“How would you plot your position?”
So, radar ranges x 2, radar range and bearing… “How would you take a bearing?” Bridge wing repeaters , radar ebl- remember, 2 ranges is more acurate. “How to you check your gyro bearings are accurate?” Use transit lights / marks for gyro error. “ Anything else?” Parallel Indexing. Yep that was the buzzwords…move on….
“You get an alarm for a nav light out, what do you do?”. I switched over to 2nd system but wouldn’t have it changed until daylight. Then risk assessment for working aloft and dangers of radar or aerial transmissions, work permit etc.
“So now you now need to rig the pilot ladder, tell me what you would do”. Risk assessment, rig as per Solas V/23, COSWP etc, stopped me when I started telling him height between steps etc, I was really boring him by now.
Then some random stuff about GMDSS requirements, I listed some of the required equipment Navtex, VHF, etc but wasn’t sure what was missing. Eventually realised he wanted reference to sea areas A1, A2 etc.
Random buoyage interlude: “ Tell me the buoy and your action “ Isolated danger right ahead – identified the buoy, light sequence but check the chart for action as it shouldn’t appear right ahead. Then starboard hand preferred channel mark, IALA A: Alter course to port (inbound).
Back to the bloody bulk carrier again…”What would you be doing on watch while loading/unloading?” Check C/O’s orders, check loading plan and maintain ballast /de ballast etc while watching stability/ stresses etc. Stopped me there “What is free surface effect?” I pretty much explained the little GZ diagram in my head with virtual rise in G and reduction in GM , no problemo.
“Now a bunker barge is arriving, what actions?. I explained that I would check with the port that we were able to continue cargo while bunkering. Call engineers, SOPEP kit, B flag or red light in some ports, R.A for bunker area, lighting, portable extinguishers, scuppers plugged. He then prompted me for more so I said SOPEP again, turned out that was the next buzzword and he hadn’t heard me the first time!
Then a bit about LSA / FFA : Colour code for extinguishers, how to I check a Dry Powder? Told him PMS would have checks and if was serviceable on board what I would do. Haven’t needed to do it in almost 30 years but no problem!
Then “Tell me what you would expect to find in your lifeboat” .Memory scratching time, 25 years , not much call for lifeboats on HSC’s.!
Back to buoyage and RoR.
He now uses an MCA/CG app with little pictures and scenarios. Started off with:
Heading 180 Actions?
Now this should be simple but there’s a little devil on your shoulder tapping you on the ear saying “turn left” “turn right”. Ignore the devil, plough straight through the middle, but who on earth lays buoys like that?!!
Next to ROR,
He uses this program that has a ship moving and you tell him to stop when you see the day signal. Be aware, they display really small on the screen and I had trouble figuring out what I was actually seeing: first up tug and tow o crossing form port with diamonds on each. Really oddly placed on top of very tall poles that make you think it’s RAM. It’s not, stand on the 5 short blasts etc. “Can you go to port?”. No way José! Vessel aground – I had to confirm with him that is was 3 black balls as it could have been a cylinder, really difficult to see: stop vessel, check chart etc.
Can’t remember the rest but nothing sneaky. Then TSS- a strange bird eye’s view from above, a couple of basic crossing situations, no big deal. Narrow channel with ferry crossing from starboard : 5 short/call master/slow down.
Then night lights : FV with gear, actions? V/L engaged in underwater ops, red/green lights…Minesweeper ahead…
Just wanted actions, only asked for one fog signal and didn’t dwell on length etc..
Now restricted vis. He put one mark dead ahead on plotting sheet about 10nm. “What next”. So we played the good old “continue the plot” game until it showed I was overtaking and I said I could overtake either side. The vessel was now about 5 miles ahead and you hear a fog signal ahead ; actions? Aha I thought I know this one! Make sure you know fog signal ranges, the tracked vessel is heading away and max range on the whistle is 2nm (Annex 3, c,) so the signal you heard must be somebody else so slow/take all way off as per R19(E).
And that’s about it, told me I’d passed, virtual handshakes all round. Asked me if I was going back to Easy jet (Nah) , showed me the signed NOE which came back a couple of hours later for signing and return to Exams@…
So 20 years away, 4 weeks cramming and 45 minutes interrogation.
Insan is very fair and as I say, prompts you to get out what is in your head, that has to match what is in his head, a little bit difficult to understand occasionally with his accent and audio but no sneaky motives. Obviously knows nothing about HSC.
I’ve been robbed!. What about all the stuff on MES systems, HI Fog extinguishing, critical speeds and |Froude equations? All that excess information now taking up valuable space in my limited brain …
Thanks to GMA: Shayne and Vinil- Is the mocktail in the post?
Thanks to our little wine&RoR study group : for me, more about the wine and social interaction than the RoR in these dark days of lockdown.
(P.S. Anyone know a billionaire with a private jet and a mega yacht?)

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