A crew member accidentally triggers a DSC distress alert on the VHF set. Your examiner asks: "What must be done, and why is simply ignoring it or hoping no one noticed not an acceptable response?"

A. A false distress alert must be CANCELLED promptly and correctly, not simply ignored — an uncancelled false alert will typically be treated by the receiving MRCC/coast station as a genuine distress, potentially triggering an actual SAR response (vessel diversions, aircraft, resource commitment) for an emergency that does not exist. The correct cancellation procedure depends on the equipment/service used: on VHF, this generally means resetting the equipment and immediately broadcasting an oral cancellation on the distress traffic channel (Ch 16) addressed to "all stations," giving the vessel's name, call sign/registration, and MMSI, and clearly stating the DSC alert is cancelled; for MF/HF, the cancellation must be transmitted on the frequency bands the original false alert used; for a satellite (e.g. Inmarsat) alert, the RCC must be notified of the cancellation via the same land earth station through which the false alert was originally sent.

B. A false distress alert requires no cancellation action at all — MRCCs are expected to simply disregard any alert believed to be false without confirmation from the originating vessel.

C. The only correct response to an accidental DSC distress activation is to power down the VHF set completely and take no further communication action of any kind.

D. False distress alerts may only ever be cancelled by the vessel's flag state administration ashore; the ship itself has no role or ability to cancel its own false alert.

A. Nothing — a test lift can proceed immediately after repairs

B. Testing should wait until cargo operations begin

C. The area within the grab's swing radius should be cleared of personnel before the lift

D. Only the crane operator needs to be aware the lift is happening

A. Who must remain clear of the exclusion zone while the lift takes place

B. The lunch schedule for the deck team

C. Only the weather forecast for the next watch

D. The cargo manifest for the next port