Colreg.net

Examiner: Kaiser Ali

Date: 21/07/11- Thursday - 0900 -1000

Name: John Ferguson

Ship Type: Reefer

Result: Pass

Whilst in the waiting room he handed me a sheet of paper asking two questions:

• Write out all the documents required for DG 

• mandatory DG reporting requirements 

Inside the exam room:

First thing he asked for my discharge book and passport, didn’t even mention the TRB. We then had a chat about my previous ships in a bit of detail, he asked about trading routes, cargo carried, crew nationality etc.

Instruments

• Take reading on sextant

• What is side error

• Take pressure on PAB.

• Corrections for PAB

• Why do you correct it for height and temp? Do you add it or subtract it? Why? (Wanted a reason why you add it, not good enough just to say because it says on it you do)

• What’s that white box? (Stevenson screen)

• What’s inside it? (Hygrometer)

• If both thermometers are the same temperature what does it mean?

• Would you ventilate your cargo hold if the temperatures were the same?

LSA/FFA

• Type of lifeboats was on your last ship?

• How often do you need to launch them in the water?

• Full procedure for launching and recovery? (Wanted to know about FPD’s and On load/Offload)

• Would you send anyone down with the lifeboat during a drill?

Met

• Signs of TRS approaching?

• Wind veering northern hemisphere, where are you in relation to the TRS?

• What is diurnal pressure variation?

Regulations

• Certificates required by ISM, survey details ( 5 year validity, renewal, intermediate etc.)?

• SSO and his duties. Safety committee duties. Who chaired safety meetings?

• Certificate required by ISPS? (5 year validity etc.)

• Marpol annex 1, what are the requirements of it? Certificate required?

 Cargo

How would you prepare your hold for cargo operations?

• What precautions would you take before entering the hold?

Equipment

What equipment did you have on bridge?

• AIS limitations?

• When does GPS go into D.R?

• How would you know this had happened?

• Steering gear test? (Wanted to know 35 – 30 in 28 seconds, and where this information is found – SOLAS V)

• What to do if the EPIRB activates accidentally

Routine jobs

• Preparation for heavy weather

• Permit to work

• Passage planning – APEM (Wanted to know what info you’d get from Master, C/O and chief engineer)

• What is wheel over position?

• Parallel indexing

Rules/Restricted Visibility

• How do you determine safe speed?

• What rule number is it?

• Understanding of scanty information?(especially wanted not to use 2 radar plots)

• AB comes to the bridge saying he heard a fog signal forward of the beam, but there is nothing on the radar, what would you do? (Rule19 e)

• What rules apply in restricted visibility?

• TSS - Which vessels can use the separation zone?

Situations

                           My Vessel                                        Other Vessel

TSS                    PVD following lane                       PDV crossing from port in opposite lane

Open sea         CBD                                                 Tug/Tow crossing from port

Open sea         CBD                                                Tug/Tow RAM crossing from port

Open sea         PDV                                                 Tug/Tow crossing from port

Open sea         PDV                                                 Tug/Tow RAM crossing from port

There were more but I can’t remember them.

Lights/Day shapes

• What day shape toes a tug and tow show if length of tow >200m?

• What lights a towing vessel > 50m tow >200m would show?

Wanted all the details of the next 3:

• Pilot vessel underway possibly making way, viewed from astern

• Aground > 50m

• NUC underway not making way

Buoys

• East Cardinal

• Port lateral mark – Region B

• Isolated danger mark

• Preferred channel to starboard – Region B

Overall I thought he was a fair examiner. If I ever forgot to mention a something, he would ask another question relating to it, to establish if I really didn’t know it or just forgot to mention.

Thanks to all the lecturers at college for the oral preparation. I would recommend anyone studying for their orals to use the COSOFT CD it is very usefully, with regards to lights, situations and radar plotting. The blue seamanship notes book is a good study aid as well.