Your vessel (180m LOA, 8m draft) needs to anchor off the port of Falmouth in deteriorating weather. As Chief Mate, describe how you would select an anchorage and the information you require.

A. Anchorage selection criteria: shelter from forecast wind direction and sea state; minimum depth 2x draft (16m) with good rise of tide; holding ground (mud or clay preferred over sand; rock and shingle are poor); swinging room = vessel length + cable scope + safety margin (typically 6-8 shackles: 150-200m of cable in that depth). Information required: chart detail of the area (charted depths, underwater obstructions, cables, anchorages designated by harbour authority); tide and tidal stream; weather forecast direction and strength; other vessels at anchor; emergency escape route (can we get underway if anchor drags?). Let go the anchor on a short scope, then veer to full scope. Monitor for anchor drag by bearing on transit or fixed point.

B. Anchor in the shallowest water available to minimise cable length. Depth should not exceed the vessel's draft by more than 1 metre.

C. Select the anchorage nearest to the port entrance to minimise approach time when weather improves. Holding ground is not relevant for short stays.

D. Swinging room equals the vessel's beam multiplied by the number of shackles deployed. Cables are deployed at a ratio of 3:1 depth to cable in all conditions.

A. At management level: hull fouling and speed/fuel trade-off; weather routing service integration; piracy risk assessment (Gulf of Guinea — IMB/BMP6 procedures, MSCHOA registration, citadel arrangements); regional seasonal weather (harmattan, North Atlantic gales timing); full port approach analysis for Lagos (pilot boarding area, VTS, port congestion, anchorage assessment, agent contacts); cargo condition requirements throughout (ventilation against condensation in tropical transit); crew fatigue management across the voyage duration; load line zone changes (Summer to Tropical); emergency contingency analysis (abort ports, refuge areas); environmental compliance across all jurisdictions transited.

B. The Chief Mate passage plan is identical to the OOW plan. The difference is only that the Chief Mate signs it and presents it to the master for approval.

C. At management level, the primary additional consideration is fuel consumption optimisation. Safety planning is the OOW's responsibility during the voyage itself.

D. Management-level passage planning focuses on commercial considerations such as ETA commitments and port scheduling. The safety elements are unchanged from OOW level.

A. Parallel indexing uses a radar index line set parallel to the vessel's intended track at a known distance from a fixed radar target (headland, breakwater, isolated rock). As the vessel proceeds, the radar echo should remain on or near the index line — deviation indicates the vessel is off-track. Used for: restricted visibility coastal passages; harbour approaches; narrow channel navigation where fixed marks are reliably radar-conspicuous. Limitations: requires a strong, reliable radar target that returns a consistent echo; dependent on radar accuracy (beam width, set and drift errors); can give false confidence if the target gives ambiguous echoes; does not replace visual fixing when available.

B. Parallel indexing is a technique for comparing two radar targets simultaneously. It is only used when ECDIS is not available.

C. Parallel indexing measures the distance between two vessels on radar. The index line represents the minimum CPA required and alarms when breached.

D. Parallel indexing is an ARPA function that automatically plots the vessel's track and corrects for set and drift. It requires no manual input from the navigator.