Orals Revision: SOLAS, MARPOL, ISM & MLC in Depth (Chief Mate / Master Management Level)

Orals revision card — MIN 653 (M) Amendment 1, Deck Oral Exam Syllabus. STCW Code A-II/2, Function: Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board, management level. This is the same competence area as the OOW card, but the bar moves from 'basic working knowledge' to 'monitor and control compliance' — examiners expect you to actually apply this, not just recognise it.

The Documents & Certificates Cluster

• Which certificates and documents are required aboard by international convention, how they're obtained, and their period of validity
• Planned renewal and extension of certificates — this is a real command responsibility, not paperwork trivia

Convention-by-Convention Responsibilities

• Load Lines Convention (1966, as amended) — your responsibilities under it, load line marks, entries and reports on freeboard/draft/allowances
• SOLAS (1974, as amended) — your responsibilities under it as Master/Chief Mate specifically, not just OOW-level awareness
• MARPOL — your responsibilities including record-keeping (Oil Record Book), methods and equipment to prevent pollution, and measures to prevent pollution both in port and at sea
• Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention — genuinely new at this level, doesn't appear in the OOW syllabus
• International Health Regulations — maritime declarations of health

ISM, MLC, ISPS — Purpose and Application

The verb changes from 'basic awareness' (OOW) to 'purpose and application' (Chief Mate/Master) for both the ISM Code and MLC 2006 — you're expected to know how these actually operate on your ship, not just that they exist.

Command-Level Extras Not in the OOW Syllabus

• National legislation implementing international agreements/conventions
• Reports required by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB)
• Putting into port with damage to ship/cargo — both business and technical angles, and safeguarding of cargo
• Obligations with respect to pilotage, and towage/salvage agreements
• Master's responsibility regarding stowaways and prevention of smuggling
• Requirements for statutory and classification surveys

Quick Self-Check

• What's genuinely new at Chief Mate/Master level that an OOW isn't expected to know? (Hint: BWM Convention is one clean example.)
• Talk through what 'purpose and application' of the ISM Code actually means in a real decision on your ship, not the textbook definition.
• What are your reporting obligations to the MAIB, and when do they trigger?

Test yourself: ISM · Marpol · MLC · Legal Knowledge Checks.

Related Reading

• Seafarer Rights Under MLC 2006
• MLC 2025 Amendments — shore leave, repatriation and harassment protection, the kind of live detail examiners expect Chief Mates to actually know, not just cite
• Port State Control CIC — a real current PSC campaign, useful grounding for the Flag/Port State competence