The Chief Engineer raises that several PMS tasks are overdue due to a combination of crew workload and a recent spares delay, none individually urgent but the backlog is growing. How should the Master respond?

A. No action is needed since each individual task is described as not urgent on its own

B. Simply instruct the Chief Engineer to complete all overdue tasks immediately regardless of priority or root cause

C. Take the trend seriously as a developing risk in its own right, not just a paperwork tracking issue — review which overdue tasks involve critical equipment, prioritise those, and address the root cause (workload, spares supply chain) rather than simply asking for the backlog to be "caught up" without addressing why it built up in the first place

D. Defer the discussion until the backlog becomes large enough to be reported as a formal non-conformity

A. A PMS eliminates the need for any reactive/breakdown maintenance once fully implemented

B. To ensure equipment is maintained at intervals based on manufacturer recommendation, class/statutory requirement, and operational criticality before it fails, shifting maintenance from purely reactive (fix it when it breaks) to proactive — with the added benefit of providing a documented, auditable history of what has been done and when

C. The PMS exists purely to generate paperwork for class surveys, with no real operational safety function

D. A PMS is only relevant to engine room equipment and has no application to deck or bridge equipment

A. All equipment should receive identical maintenance treatment regardless of its function or consequence of failure, for simplicity

B. Criticality assessment is only relevant to DP vessels and has no application to conventional vessels

C. Equipment is assessed for criticality based on the consequence of its failure (safety, environmental, or operational impact) and how quickly that consequence would materialise — safety-critical equipment with no redundancy (e.g. steering gear) warrants tighter maintenance intervals and guaranteed spares availability compared to equipment whose failure has minimal or easily-managed consequence

D. Criticality is determined solely by the original purchase cost of the equipment, not its function or failure consequence