Question 1

A bilge alarm sounds and you find genuine water ingress at the base of the engine. You believe you can make it back to port with the pumps running. What should happen alongside that decision?

Accepted Answer

Alert the Coast Guard by VHF immediately, in parallel with attempting the return — early notification costs nothing if the situation resolves itself, but buys critical time if it doesn't On Sea Breeze III, the skipper phoned the owner and attempted a return to port, but no VHF or phone call was made to the Coast Guard during the 28 minutes between the bilge alarm and the vessel sinking. MCIB's own conclusion was direct: "the correct use of VHF in emergency situations is essential." Early notification doesn't commit you to an evacuation — it just means help is already moving if you need it.

Question 2

You need to send a distress alert because the vessel is taking on water faster than the pumps can cope. Which message format and channel/priority is correct?

Accepted Answer

A "Mayday" distress call on Channel 16 / DSC distress alert, giving position, nature of distress and assistance required Grave and imminent danger requiring immediate assistance (e.g. uncontrolled flooding) requires a Mayday distress call / DSC distress alert — Pan-Pan is for urgency without immediate danger to life, and Securité is for navigational safety information.

Question 3

True or False: An EPIRB should be registered with the relevant national authority, and the registration details kept up to date so that a false alarm can be quickly resolved or a real activation correctly attributed.

Accepted Answer

True True. EPIRB registration links the unique beacon ID to vessel and contact details, allowing SAR authorities to quickly verify activations (genuine or false) and contact the vessel/owner — unregistered or out-of-date beacons slow down the SAR response and waste resources.