Question 1

Reviewing the permit log, the Master finds several permits over recent months closed by the authorising officer without any corresponding completion note from the competent person. What does this indicate, and what should the Master do?

Accepted Answer

It indicates the closure step is being treated as administrative rather than substantive — the Master should investigate whether authorising officers are verifying completion before closing, and reinforce the procedure if not Closure without a completion note from the competent person suggests the verification step itself may be missing, not just its documentation — a pattern worth investigating at process level.

Question 2

A cadet is told a hot work permit was issued "this morning" and asks the bosun how long it's valid for, without checking the form itself. What is the maximum validity period a permit to work can have?

Accepted Answer

24 hours from issue, with any shorter job-specific time limits also stated on the permit COSWP Chapter 14 sets 24 hours as the maximum validity period a permit can be issued for, with any further job-specific time limits stated on the permit itself.

Question 3

An OOW taking over the watch finds a permit for overside work was issued 20 hours ago and the job is still running. The outgoing OOW says it's "basically the same job, don't worry about it." What should the new OOW do?

Accepted Answer

Check elapsed time against the 24-hour limit, recognise it's close to expiry, and flag to the authorising officer that revalidation will be needed rather than letting it lapse unnoticed A permit approaching its validity limit needs proactive attention at handover, not passive monitoring — the new OOW's job is to flag it to the authorising officer before it lapses, not to wait for it to expire.