A crew member on MV STARLING reports to the bridge feeling unwell — one side of their face looks slightly drooped, their speech sounds slurred, and they seem confused about simple questions. As OOW, what is your immediate thought process, bearing in mind you are not medically trained?

A. You do not need to diagnose what is wrong — facial drooping, slurred speech, and confusion are recognised warning signs (commonly taught as part of FAST: Face, Arms, Speech, Time) that something serious may be happening, possibly a stroke. Your job is to recognise the pattern, note the time symptoms started, and escalate immediately — not to work out exactly what condition it is

B. Wait and observe for an hour to see whether the symptoms are getting better or worse before telling anyone

C. Assume it is simple tiredness or dehydration and suggest they rest, since you have no medical training to say otherwise

D. Ask the crew member to self-diagnose, since they know their own body better than you do

A. Alert the master immediately — they hold overall responsibility for the medical response and for deciding whether to contact the company's TMAS (Telemedical Maritime Assistance Service) provider. On most ships the master or a designated medical officer/trained crew member makes the TMAS call, but the OOW's job is to raise the alarm without delay

B. Call the crew member's family directly first, since they have a right to know immediately

C. Wait until the end of your watch to report it through the normal handover process

D. Try to treat the condition yourself using the medical chest before telling anyone else

A. MLC 2006 (Maritime Labour Convention) Standard A4.1.4(d) requires ships to have access to free medical advice by radio or satellite communication, available 24 hours a day, including specialist advice where needed — this is what a TMAS contract (such as those provided by recognised telemedical centres) fulfils. It is a legal obligation on the shipowner, not an optional extra

B. TMAS is simply a convenient added service that companies choose to offer with no underlying legal requirement

C. Only passenger vessels are required to have any form of telemedical advice arrangement

D. TMAS exists purely for insurance purposes and has no connection to crew welfare law