Maritime Questions › Permit To Work Rank

A cadet asks who is "really" responsible if something goes wrong on a permit signed by the Chief Officer while the Master is ashore. What's the basic answer?

A. Responsibility transfers completely to whoever physically signed the permit

B. Responsibility is shared equally among the entire crew on board at the time

C. Day-to-day authorisation can be delegated to qualified officers, but the Master retains overall accountability for safety on board — delegation doesn't remove the Master's responsibility

D. The company ashore is solely responsible, regardless of who signed

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?

A. There is no fixed maximum — it depends entirely on the job

B. 48 hours, renewable once without re-inspection

C. 24 hours from issue, with any shorter job-specific time limits also stated on the permit

D. 7 days, matching the standard watch rotation

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?

A. Accept the outgoing OOW's assessment and take no further action since the job scope hasn't changed

B. Cancel the job immediately without consulting the authorising officer

C. Wait until the 24-hour mark is actually reached before mentioning anything

D. 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

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