General Revision Guides

34 articles

Three Fatal Cargo Hold Accidents in One Week: What Each One Actually Teaches

Three separate investigation reports released the same week -- a booby hatch mistaken for ventilated space, a solo asphyxiation during cargo discharge,…

5 min read
Ship Dimensions and Tonnage Explained: LOA, GT, DWT and the Rest

LOA, LBP, beam, draught, gross tonnage, net tonnage, deadweight, lightship — the numbers on every ship particulars sheet, what each one actually…

5 min read
Portable Fire Extinguishers: Classes of Fire, Types, Correct Use and Maintenance

Classes of fire (A, B, C, D, F, electrical), which extinguisher type suits each, the PASS technique for correct use, and SOLAS/MSC.1/Circ.1432…

5 min read
New Industry Guidance on Onboard Safety Familiarisation — and Why It's Not the Same Thing as a Handover

Nautilus International, the RMT, and the UK Chamber of Shipping have jointly published new guidance on onboard safety familiarisation. The key distinction…

5 min read
MSC.1/Circ.1578: The Guideline That Separates a Lifeboat Drill From a Lifeboat Test

Guidelines on Safety During Abandon Ship Drills Using Lifeboats (MSC.1/Circ.1578) makes one distinction that prevents real accidents: drills and tests are not…

5 min read
Collision: The Master's First Response — Immediate Priorities, Evidence, Reports, and What Comes After

A working reference for the first hours after a collision: immediate safety priorities, SOLAS V/33 duty to render assistance, evidence preservation, Master's…

5 min read
S-100 ECDIS: What's Actually Changing, the Real Transition Dates, and Where Crews Get Caught Out

S-100 became legal for ECDIS use from 1 January 2026, with a transition period to 2029. What S-101 actually replaces, why dual-format…

5 min read
Master's Checklist: After an Oil Spill — Activating SOPEP For Real

What a Master actually does in the minutes and days after an oil pollution incident: SOPEP activation, the real notification chain, containment…

5 min read
Workboat Code Edition 3: What the New Safety Management System Means for You, Day-to-Day

The Workboat Code's new Safety Management System isn't just an owner's paperwork exercise — it changes what you should expect to be…

5 min read
Workboat Code Edition 3: Planning Your Renewal Survey Around the December 2026 Deadline

For Masters and Skippers responsible for getting a vessel through renewal survey under Workboat Code Edition 3: the real deadline rule, what…

5 min read
New SOLAS Pilot Transfer Arrangement Requirements — What's Changing, and When

IMO's Maritime Safety Committee adopted revised SOLAS V/23 pilot transfer requirements and new performance standards (Res. MSC.576(110)) in June 2025. Entry into…

5 min read
2026 PSC Concentrated Inspection Campaign on Cargo Securing — A Practical Prep Guide

Paris MoU and Tokyo MoU run a joint Concentrated Inspection Campaign on cargo securing from 1 September to 30 November 2026. Real…

5 min read
Workboat Code 3: What Qualification Do You Actually Need for Your Area Category?

Workboat Code Edition 3, Appendix 5 — the real minimum manning and qualification tables by Area Category (0–6), mandatory training courses, and…

5 min read
Rescue Boat Fall Accidents: The Hidden Winch Defect an Annual Inspection Can Miss

Japan P&I Club's guidance on a rescue boat's uncontrolled fall during a tanker drill, caused by internal winch corrosion that passed every…

5 min read
Lithium-Ion Cells in Containers: The New CINS Guidelines, in Plain English

A practical mini-guide to CINS' 2025 Guidelines for Shipping Lithium-ion Cells in Containers: UN 3480/3481 classification, the SP188 exemption, packing, stowage category,…

5 min read
Five Real DP Incidents From 2026, and What Each One Actually Teaches

A mini-guide to IMCA's most recent Dynamic Positioning Event (DPE) bulletins: a drilling-ops incident traced to operational knowledge gaps, a diver-in-water network…

5 min read
Panama MMC-379: The Actual PSC Rulebook Your Panama-Flagged Ship Operates Under

Panama Maritime Authority's Merchant Marine Circular MMC-379 adopts IMO's Procedures for Port State Control, 2021 (Resolution A.1155(32)) for every Panama-flagged vessel. What…

5 min read
The Formal Marine Pilot Apprenticeship Exists — and It's Being Proposed for Retirement

The Marine Pilot Apprenticeship Standard (ST0427) sets out a structured, 30-36 month, competency-gated route into pilotage. It's now under consultation for retirement…

5 min read
Enclosed Space Entry Rules Are Changing: What IMO's New Resolution Actually Adds

IMO Resolution MSC.581(110) replaces the old enclosed space entry guidance with a mandatory Enclosed Space Register, a formal Emergency Response Plan, and…

5 min read
Taking Over a Vessel Without Its History: A Mini-Guide for Every Department

When maintenance records don't follow a vessel through a change of ownership or management, every department inherits risk. A Master, bridge officer,…

5 min read
Gog Ropes: New Joint Industry Advice, Built Directly From a Fatal Capsize

The British Tugowners Association, UK Maritime Pilots' Association and Workboat Association have published joint guidance on gog ropes, incorporating MAIB recommendations from…

5 min read
True, Variation, Magnetic, Deviation, Compass: The TVMDC Conversion, Properly Explained

A worked-example guide to converting between true, magnetic and compass courses and bearings — where variation and deviation actually come from, and…

5 min read
The Grain Code Just Changed: What MSC.552(108) Actually Allows

IMO Resolution MSC.552(108), in force 1 January 2026, adds a new optional grain loading condition that lets bulk carriers skip end-trimming under…

5 min read
D-2 Is No Longer Optional: A Master's Quick-Reference Table for BWM and SIRE

From 8 September 2024, the D-2 standard applies to every BWM Convention vessel capable of fitting a BWTS. Here's what that means…

5 min read
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