Chief Mate

The Shipping Tribune aims to provide a platform for merchant navy officers appearing for oral examinations. Below are few questions listed, which have been asked by the surveyors in the past. We request officers who have appeared for oral examinations to send us the questions asked of them so that we can post these questions here for the benefit of other officers appearing for oral examinations. The Shipping Tribune is only facilitating this platform and does not take responsibility for any inaccuracy. Function 1 1. Identification and description of vessels from ROR. 2. Explain TSS and Rule No 10. 3. Various situations: Crossing, Overtaking, Fog etc 4. Why in Northern Hemisphere LHSC is considered more safer than RHSC? 5. What are different types of errors in GPS 6. What is GDOP 7. GPS Satellites are Geostationary or revolving? 8. Types of Gyro errors and explain the causes for such error? 9. Principle of Gyro error. 10. What is BTM and BRM? 11. What are the duties of OOW while pilot on board? Is pilot a member of bridge team? 12. During pilotage Master and Pilot are engaged in some discussion while you are standing next to helmsmen and he tells you that steering is not responding. What are your actions? 13. Due to traffic density you need to deviate from the passage plan. How will you do it? 14. You see an isolated danger mark right ahead, what action will you take? 15. What is VDR? What data is recorded and for what period? 16. What is AIS? What information you get from AIS? 17. What is ROTI? How do you execute a constant radius and constant ROT turn? 18. In restricted visibility a vessel is overtaking your vessel. Whose responsibility to keep clear? 19. Sailing vessel overtaking a power driven vessel. Whose responsibility to keep clear. 20. Describe the weather associated with frontal trough. 21. Why TRS does not form in 7 Deg Latittude? 22. Vessel is in Singapore Strait, proceeding to Singapore Pilot station. Pilot Station informs the Master that he will board the vsl in 2 hours. Master decides to drift instead of dropping anchor. What lights vessel should exhibit. Function II 1. What are concentrates? 2. What precautions will you take during loading, carrying and discharging of DRI? 3. What is IBC code and Bulk Code and what are the difference between them? 4. Can you load a pallet of 3.25 T using a 3T crane? How can you load the pallet? 5. What is API? How does it differ from density? 6. If you are given a cargo of API 60 and API 32, whose density will be less? 7. How will you carry out draft survey and what precautions will you take? 8. Vsl carrying steel products/coils and during heavy weather ship lists 15 degrees, what will be your action? 9. After coming from long voyage what all checks must be carried out before using lifting gear? 10. In a Gas Carrier cargo leaks in void spaces. Action? 11. If cargo is required to be transferred from void spaces which is caused by leakage, what are the procedures to be followed in a gas carriers. 12. You have to load freshly mined coal, what precautions will you take? 13. What is Dangerous Goods Manifest and who issues this document? 14. What is Note of Protest and when should you issue NOP? 15. If shore figure is higher than ships figure, what will be your action? 16. What is VEF? Why is it required? 17. How will you make a lashing plan on board a container ship? 18. What is UN No and what is its significance? Function III 1. You are at Forward station. How can you determine whether vessel is holding or dragging anchor? 2. Why IMO No. is required when there is already an Official no. of the ship? 3. Bosun complains that 2/O is not allowing 0000-0400 AB on duty to go down for for tea. What will you tell him as Chief Officer? 4. You are taking a round with Suptd on deck. He observes that the wire on the winch is not wounded properly. What will be your reply and which publications will you check? 5. What is break holding capacity and rendering load? 6. What is Critical Moment during drydocking? Why is it called Critical Moment? 7. What are the different types of Dry Dock and what is the critical moment of the floating dry dock? 8. A new large bulk carrier delivered from the yard after 2 days it is listed to 20 deg on port side as a Chief Mate what will be your action? 9. Contents of STCW Code. 10. Contents of Safe Working Code? 11. Different types of Ships Plans? Their Significance. 12. OLB entries. 13. Inspections carried out under PSC? 14. Preparations before entering Piracy Zone. 15. What are the emergencies associated with a collision? 16. What do you mean by piracy and what action will you take while transiting piracy prone areas? 17. As a Chief Officer what preparations will you do when the vsl is inside drydock? 18. Vessel departing from port in flood tide, how will you turn the slip using anchors?

19. What is garboard strake? 20. Explain Synchronous rolling? Action to break out of this?