Question 1

MV CEDAR RIDGE, 0215. You are the OOW. The engine telegraph is set at full ahead. You notice the RPM repeater on the bridge has dropped from 98 to 74 RPM over the last 4 minutes without any engine room call. Visibility 2nm. Headland 9nm to the west. Set/drift pushing the vessel 1.5 knots toward the headland.

What is your immediate priority?

Accepted Answer

Call the Master immediately and simultaneously ring the engine room to report the loss of RPM. Do not wait to investigate further — you are approaching a headland in reduced visibility with a set toward it and your speed is unexpectedly reducing SOLAS V and standard BRM require the Master to be called for any change that may affect the safe navigation of the vessel — and a loss of power approaching a headland in restricted visibility with an adverse set is exactly that situation. The instinct to "investigate before disturbing the Master" is a dangerous normalisation: the Master cannot make informed decisions if he is called 10 minutes late. Call Master AND engine room simultaneously. The course alteration alone solves nothing if the engine is failing.

Question 2

Before the Master or engine room responds, at 0217 a total blackout occurs. All navigation lights, radar, ECDIS, and steering control lose power simultaneously. The emergency lighting activates. The vessel is now at 8nm from the headland, making approximately 8 knots on momentum. No response from the engine room.

What is the FIRST thing you do?

Accepted Answer

Sound the general alarm immediately to muster all crew. Make a SECURITÉ broadcast on VHF Ch.16 to warn other traffic that you are a vessel not under command. Attempt to raise the engine room by telephone. Sound the NUC sound signals (2 prolonged blasts) In a blackout the immediate priority is collision avoidance — you are a vessel not under command and traffic cannot see you. General alarm alerts crew; NUC signals (COLREGS Rule 35e: 2 prolonged blasts in restricted visibility) warn other vessels; SECURITÉ on Ch.16 provides situational awareness to the traffic picture. Manual steering is irrelevant without propulsion. Leaving the bridge to investigate the generator is a solo action that abandons the conn at the most critical moment. The emergency generator will start automatically — your job is collision avoidance and crew muster.

Question 3

The emergency generator is running. Navigation lights are restored. Radar is coming back online. However, the steering gear is not responding — the hydraulic system runs off the main switchboard, not the emergency board, and the changeover has not completed. The vessel is 7nm from the headland, making 6 knots on momentum. Set/drift continues at 1.5 kts toward the headland.

What is your priority action while awaiting steering restoration?

Accepted Answer

Stream a drag or drop an anchor if depth permits. Verify depth on echo sounder (85m reported earlier). An anchor in 85m is marginal but may help arrest drift. Simultaneously notify coastguard (MAYDAY or PAN PAN depending on immediate danger assessment) and maintain NUC signals At 6 knots with 1.5 kts of set, you have less than 45 minutes before the headland. Waiting passively for steering restoration is plan continuation bias — you must assume it will NOT be restored in time and act accordingly. 85m is the limit of anchoring in most cases but with no engine and no steering it must be assessed. Coastguard notification at PAN PAN level (urgency, not yet distress) buys you SAR assistance that takes time to mobilise. Manual tiller is a valid backup but must be requested through the deck officer, not improvised by a lone AB.

Blackout Grounding Practice Questions