Question 1

A pilot boards your vessel for the approach to Rotterdam. The pilot takes the con. What are your ongoing OOW responsibilities?

Accepted Answer

PILOT ON BOARD — OOW RESPONSIBILITIES: COLREG Rule 1(e) and SOLAS V/34: the master retains command and responsibility for the safety of the vessel even when a pilot is on board. The pilot is an "advisor" with specialist local knowledge — NOT a replacement for the bridge team. OOW RESPONSIBILITIES WITH PILOT ON BOARD: (1) MONITOR NAVIGATION: continue to monitor the vessel's position independently — plot on ECDIS and cross-check against pilot's actions. If the vessel is heading toward danger and the pilot is not correcting — YOU MUST ACT; (2) CROSS-CHECK ORDERS: verify helm and engine orders given by pilot are correct and being executed accurately by helmsman and telegraph; (3) DO NOT HAND OVER EVERYTHING: the OOW does not "stand down." You remain responsible for the watch; (4) LANGUAGE: if the pilot gives orders you do not understand or that conflict with the passage plan — request clarification immediately; (5) PASSAGE PLAN: the approved passage plan should have been briefed to the pilot on boarding. If the pilot deviates significantly from the plan without explanation, challenge this; (6) MASTER PRESENT: the master should be on the bridge during pilotage. If not, maintain contact; (7) SPEAK UP: if the pilot makes an error or the vessel approaches danger — the OOW (and master) MUST intervene. The legal basis: "the master's ultimate responsibility for the safety of the vessel is not abrogated by the presence of a pilot" (SOLAS V/34-1). Pilot responsibility and master authority: one of the most important legal distinctions in maritime law. The pilot has local port authority and expertise — but the master retains legal responsibility for the vessel. This is established in SOLAS V/34-1 and in the legal systems of virtually all major maritime nations. "Pilot error" as a defence: if a pilot makes a navigational error causing a collision, the shipowner and master can raise pilot error as a partial defence in some jurisdictions. However, if the officer of the watch (or master) could have identified the error and intervened but did not — the ship's personnel share liability. Costa Concordia (2012): Captain Schettino ultimately bore command responsibility even though the pilots were involved at various stages of the operation. The bridge team monitoring: STCW and the International Safety Management Code (ISM) both require "bridge resource management" — the team approach to navigation, with cross-checking between all officers. Even the pilot is subject to challenge if their actions are unsafe. The challenge: intervening with a confident, experienced pilot who "knows this port" takes professional courage. The OOW (and master) must be prepared to do it.

Question 2

COLREG Rule 5 requires a proper lookout "by sight and hearing as well as by all available means." What does this mean in practice on your watch?

Accepted Answer

PROPER LOOKOUT — RULE 5 PRACTICAL REQUIREMENTS: COLREG Rule 5: every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision. IN PRACTICE: (1) VISUAL: dedicated lookout person on watch — not the helmsman (who must watch the compass and not the horizon). In darkness, allow 20 minutes dark adaptation before lookout duty. Scan systematically — not just dead ahead; (2) HEARING: in restricted visibility — listen for fog signals from other vessels; in any conditions — listen for distress signals (flares, gunshots, horn signals, shouting from water); (3) RADAR: keep radar on and properly tuned — ARPA tracking active. Radar supplements but does not replace visual lookout; (4) AIS: monitor AIS display — be aware of other vessels' identities, courses, speeds. AIS complements radar; (5) VHF: monitor Ch 16 — NAVTEX for warnings; (6) NIGHT ORDERS: follow master's night orders on when to call; (7) NOT ACCEPTABLE: OOW alone on bridge in darkness — STCW Code A-VIII/2 Para 13 and 14 specify that a single OOW may keep watch only if ECDIS/radar is providing collision avoidance assistance AND the OOW can call additional lookout immediately; (8) STCW MINIMUM: many administrations (including UK MCA) require a second person available for lookout in restricted visibility. COLREG Rule 5 is the foundational watchkeeping rule. Courts of law have consistently held that RADAR does not replace visual and aural lookout — it supplements it. Sole OOW on bridge: STCW Code A-VIII/2 Para 13 states that the OOW "shall not be assigned or undertake any duties which would interfere with the keeping of a safe watch." This means the OOW cannot simultaneously act as lookout, radar operator, chart plotter, helmsman, and communications officer. On vessels where one OOW is on watch, a helmsman, cadet, or AB should also be on the bridge to assist. Night adaptation: the rod cells in the human eye that provide night vision take approximately 20-30 minutes to fully dark-adapt. A person who has come from a brightly lit area below decks cannot provide effective night lookout for the first 20 minutes. The red light on bridge: bridge lighting is kept to absolute minimum at night and red lighting is used for chart work — this preserves night vision. The hearing component: the OOW must be able to hear — windows should be open or lookout crew outside in restricted visibility. A person wearing headphones or inside a sealed bridge cannot hear fog signals.

Question 3

Before your 2000-2400 watch, you read the master's night orders. They say "call me if visibility drops below 2nm." Visibility is currently 2.1nm and dropping. What do you do?

Accepted Answer

MASTER'S STANDING ORDERS — INTERPRETATION AND ACTION: SITUATION: visibility 2.1nm and dropping — you are at the threshold. THE CORRECT INTERPRETATION: the spirit of the order is to ensure the master is called before restricted visibility operations become dangerous. A literal reading — "not yet 2nm so don't call" — misses the point. ACTIONS: (1) CALL THE MASTER: call now. The order says "if visibility drops below 2nm" — at 2.1nm dropping, visibility WILL be below 2nm within minutes. The spirit of the order requires calling at the threshold or before it is breached, not after; (2) PHRASE IT CORRECTLY: "Master, OOW. Visibility currently 2.1nm and dropping. Fog appears to be closing in. You asked to be called if visibility drops below 2nm — calling you now as we approach that threshold"; (3) CONCURRENTLY: sound fog signal (one prolonged blast every 2 minutes) — Rule 35 requires this as soon as visibility is restricted. Minimum requirement for sounding fog signals is when "visibility is restricted"; (4) REDUCE SPEED: consider speed reduction — call master and recommend; (5) EXTRA LOOKOUT: post additional lookout; (6) LOG: time, visibility, fog signals commenced, master called, time. STCW Rule: always err on the side of calling the master too early rather than too late. No master has ever disciplined an OOW for calling too early. Many OOWs have been disciplined (or worse) for calling too late. Master's night orders: a critical aspect of OOW professional competence. The orders must be read, understood, and signed before taking the watch. STCW Code A-VIII/2 Para 30-34: the OOW must follow master's written instructions (night orders) as long as they do not compromise safety. Interpreting the spirit vs letter: option B (literal 2.0nm) is the classic error — the order's purpose is to have the master available as conditions deteriorate. Calling at 2.1nm-and-falling is exactly right. "Always call too early" principle: the correct professional approach. Masters universally prefer being called early and going back to sleep, over being called when the situation has become dangerous. An OOW who waits until the exact threshold is a liability. Night orders and fog signals: fog signals under COLREG Rule 35 are required in "restricted visibility" — which is not defined by a specific distance but by the circumstances. When conditions require it (typically below 2nm visibility depending on traffic density), fog signals are mandatory. The OOW should have already started fog signals by the time visibility approaches 2nm in the Dover Strait.