Question 1

You are OOW on a 300 GT near-coastal cargo vessel. The fire alarm activates from the galley. Smoke is visible. The vessel is at sea. What is your initial sequence of actions?

Accepted Answer

FIRE — initial OOW response (before master arrives): (1) RAISE ALARM: activate general alarm (7 short + 1 long blast on ship's whistle/alarm); call master; this is simultaneous — do not delay the alarm by investigating first; (2) VHF Ch 16: if you are the only officer available and fire is serious, consider transmitting urgency signal (PAN PAN) early to give MRCC awareness; (3) ALTER COURSE: alter course to put the wind behind or on the quarter — this stops the wind from fanning the fire forward and reduces smoke on the bridge; REDUCE SPEED or STOP; (4) SEND FIRE PARTY: deploy fire party with appropriate extinguishers and breathing apparatus (BA); do NOT use water on a galley/cooking oil fire — use CO2 or dry powder or blanket; (5) CLOSE VENTILATION: shut off all ventilation fans supplying air to the galley — stop oxygen supply; close fire dampers; (6) BOUNDARY COOLING: if fire is contained in the galley, cool all surrounding bulkheads with water from adjacent spaces — prevent heat transfer causing fire spread to adjacent spaces; (7) MUSTER: muster all non-essential crew at muster stations — account for all persons; (8) PREPARE LIFESAVING APPLIANCES: ready lifeboats and liferafts for use if fire cannot be controlled; do NOT launch until necessary. Fire response at sea is one of the most time-critical emergencies in maritime operations. The first 2-3 minutes determine whether a fire is extinguished or becomes a casualty. Key principles: (1) Alarm first — always raise the alarm before investigating. The OOW's primary duty is to ensure all persons are alerted and the master is informed. A fire that turns out to be minor is far less dangerous than a fire that was investigated for 5 minutes before the alarm was raised; (2) Wind and fire: altering course to put the wind on the QUARTER (or astern) means the wind is not blowing INTO the fire — the fire's front is not being fed by fresh air. Altering into the wind (option D) would dramatically increase oxygen supply and accelerate the fire; (3) Ventilation: mechanical ventilation fans force air throughout the vessel continuously. In a fire, this rapidly supplies oxygen to the fire space. Shutting all ventilation to a fire space is a priority — SOLAS II-2 requires remote shutdown of ventilation fans from a safe position; (4) Galley fire type: most galley fires are cooking oil (chip pan fires or deep fryer fires). These must NEVER be treated with water — water on hot oil causes explosive steam conversion and sprays burning oil in all directions. CO2, dry chemical, or fire blankets are correct. The wet chemical (K-type) fire extinguisher is specifically designed for Class F fires (cooking oils) and is now SOLAS-required in galleys; (5) Boundary cooling: SOLAS fire fighting principle — even if the fire is contained, surrounding bulkheads absorb heat and may transmit fire. Cooling with water maintains the integrity of the boundary.

Question 2

Your small coastal vessel (45m LOA) is on passage in moderate seas. You notice she is listing to starboard, doesn't return upright, and appears to "hang" at about 8° to starboard. The list was not present on departure. What do you suspect and what are your immediate actions?

Accepted Answer

ANGLE OF LOLL: this is the classic presentation of negative GM (unstable equilibrium). Cause: the vessel's metacentric height (GM) has become negative — the metacentre (M) is now BELOW the centre of gravity (G). At 0° upright, the vessel has no restoring moment — but as she heels, the waterplane area shifts, moving B outward until a point of neutral equilibrium is found: this is the angle of loll (typically 5°-20°). The vessel "rests" here rather than returning upright. Common causes on a small coastal vessel: (1) Free surface effect from flooded compartments, slack tanks, or water in bilges; (2) Topside icing (raised G); (3) Cargo shift or absorption of water by deck cargo (timber); (4) Consumption of fuel and water from the bottom of tanks without compensating. IDENTIFICATION test: if you push the vessel toward the loll (to starboard) she returns to the loll angle; if you force her past the loll, the GZ curve at higher angles may generate restoring force — she "snaps" back to the loll. EMERGENCY ACTIONS: (1) DO NOT immediately ballast the high side (port) — if she rolls through the loll onto the other side, she may capsize; (2) Check and pump out bilges; (3) Fill double bottom ballast tanks SLOWLY starting with those on the LOW side (starboard) to raise M; (4) Reduce topweight; (5) Call master (if OOW); (6) Alert crew and consider reducing speed. Angle of loll is one of the most dangerous and counter-intuitive stability phenomena — and one of the most commonly tested at MCA orals at all levels. The critical danger: the GZ curve for a vessel with negative GM shows negative righting levers at small angles of heel (between 0° and the loll angle) but may show positive GZ at larger angles. This means the vessel is stable at the loll but would capsize if forced past the angle of loll to the opposite side. If you ballast the PORT side first (trying to push her upright), you are making her roll toward upright through the "negative GZ" zone — and she may not stop there, continuing to roll to port and capsizing. The correct corrective procedure: increase the rise of floor and shift the metacentre upward by ballasting low in the vessel (double bottom tanks), starting on the LOLL SIDE, then distributing the ballast. Simultaneously reduce free surface (pump out bilges, fill slack tanks). Free surface: a partially-filled tank creates a free surface effect that reduces the effective GM. The formula: GM_effective = GM_solid − Σ(i/V) where i = second moment of area of the tank's free surface and V = vessel displacement. At small vessel level, free surfaces in bilges and slack fuel tanks are a significant hazard. On a 45m coastal vessel, water accumulating in the bilges after a period at sea is a genuine risk factor for reduced stability.

Question 3

As master of a 300 GT near-coastal cargo vessel you are about to load. Your stability booklet shows the calculated GM at the proposed loading condition is 0.22m. Your examiner asks whether this is acceptable.

Accepted Answer

IS CODE 2008 (International Code on Intact Stability) — criteria for cargo ships: the IS Code provides mandatory stability criteria for vessels under the 2008 International Code on Intact Stability (made mandatory under SOLAS II-1 and Load Lines). Minimum criteria: (1) AREA under GZ curve from 0° to 30° must be not less than 0.055 metre-radians; (2) Area from 0° to 40° (or flooding angle, whichever is less) not less than 0.09 metre-radians; (3) Area between 30° and 40° (or flooding angle) not less than 0.03 metre-radians; (4) GZ at 30° or greater must be not less than 0.20m; (5) Maximum GZ must occur at an angle of heel not less than 25°; (6) Initial GM (GM_0) must not be less than 0.15m. In this scenario: GM of 0.22m exceeds the minimum 0.15m — it satisfies this criterion. HOWEVER: GM alone does not determine acceptability — you must check ALL the criteria listed above (particularly the GZ curve at 30° and the area criteria). A vessel can have a positive GM but still fail the area criteria if the GZ curve drops too early. The stability booklet must be consulted to verify the full GZ curve for the proposed loading condition. IS Code 2008 stability criteria are mandatory for cargo ships under SOLAS. The criteria are multi-parameter — no single value determines acceptability. The initial metacentric height (GM) minimum of 0.15m is the threshold but the GZ curve criteria are equally important. A vessel with GM 0.22m but a rapidly declining GZ curve that drops below 0.20m before 30° would fail criterion 4 even though GM exceeds the minimum. The stability booklet: every vessel must carry an approved stability booklet that contains: lightship stability data (from the inclining experiment or sister ship data); loading condition calculations; stability criteria verification for the standard conditions. The master must use the booklet to calculate stability at each departure condition. The inclining experiment: establishes the vessel's lightship KG and displacement. Class approves the booklet. The master's responsibility: the IS Code and SOLAS II-1 place the obligation on the master to verify stability before departure. Signing the stability calculation and loading condition form is a legal act. A master who departs knowing the vessel fails stability criteria is criminally negligent. The question's intent: GM of 0.22m tests whether candidates know the minimum (0.15m) AND that they must check further — not just the GM alone.