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Passed my OOW Orals on Wednesday. Here's a report if anyone wants it:
OOW Orals
Glasgow Marine Office
Wednesday 14th January
10:30 hrs
Examiner: Kaiser Ali
Result: Pass
Arrived 30 minutes early. Signed in and waited anxiously reading the newspaper in the waiting room. A candidate came out after being in the exam from 9am and told me he had failed, which didn’t help with the nerves.
Eventually was called in at 10:45. Kaiser Ali introduced himself as the Chief Examiner and asked me to confirm I was sitting OOW Orals and asked me for my Passport and Discharge Book. He joked on about my photo in my Discharge book, think I was about 15 on it. He said ‘’we were all young once’’. This calmed my nerves a bit.
And so the exam started....
Instruments
Read the Sextant (on the arc reading)
What screw corrects for Side Error? (2nd Adjustment- Back of Horizon Glass)
PAB- take the reading. Corrections to be applied?
How does the pressure change with height?
Hygrometer- What’s inside of it?
Can you use this one? (There was no distilled water in the reservoir)
How to predict fog? (Wet and Dry Temps, obtain Dew point. Plot hourly Dew point with Sea Temp)
Why else do we need to know Relative Humidity? - (I presumed he wanted to know about controlling ventilation to reduce cargo sweat when carrying hydroscopic cargoes.)
Then asked me about magnetic compass. Checks to be made? (Just gave him the obvious stuff, Check for bubble, free movement of the card, position of Flinders bar, Compass error, location of corrector magnets)
Where to find location of corrector magnets? (Back of Deviation Card)
He then asked me to take a seat
General
Asked about my last ship which was a Chemical Tanker, crew nationality, trading routes, cargo carried.
He then explained he would be switching around the ship types from time to time. So one question may be about a tanker, but the next one could be based on a container vessel. He said he’d make it clear what type of ship the question would be based on.
Type of LSA onboard?
How many Lifejackets, Lifebuoys, Immersion Suits are required by law?
How many EEBD onboard? Locations? How to check? Will you use to enter enclosed space? NO!
Use of Fire Main isolation valve? How to test it?
Other Fire fighting equipment onboard?
All the above LSA, FFA questions were based on Container ships
He said ‘’ok, now you’re on a Tanker’’.
How to do tank washing after carrying molasses?
Where did you discharge the residues?
Type of Tank washing machines?
Checks to be made before Cargo Ops commence?
What is the Deck Seal?
What information will the C/O leave in his night orders?
If the terminal calls asking to change the rate, does the C/O need to be informed?
How does the ship comply with the ISM Code?
How does the SMS help 3rd mate with his duties?
Validity of Certificates issued under ISM?
Duties of Safety Officer?
Who was Safety Officer on last vessel?
What is DOS? When to exchange it?
How long do we keep security records onboard for? Why 3 years?
What is MLC 2006? What does it deal with?
What is a Permit to Work? How to do one?
Do you need to do a Risk Assessment with a Permit to Work?
Hazards of Enclosed Space Entry?
What is an Enclosed Space?
Equipment on Bridge?
Limitations of GPS?
How to do a passage plan on an ECDIS?
How to test steering before departure? How long hard over to hard over? Where to get info on this?
OOW Actions- Heavy weather
You see a Rocket in the horizon and then a distress message but no acknowledgement. Actions? (Just told him I would do a Distress Relay, he seemed satisfied with that).
He then stood up and walked towards the window where the buoys were
ROR
Individual buoys
East Cardinal- how to pass it if North is straight ahead
Emergency Wreck Buoy- Light and Topmark
Isolated Danger- Light and Topmark
Starboard hand Region B- How to pass it if inbound and also outbound
Situations
PDV vs Tug and Tow port side- shapes if over 200m
PDV vs Tug and Tow port side exhibiting RAM shapes
CBD vs Ram port side
CBD vs Fishing vessel port side
PDV vs SV port side.
If a Sailing vessel is showing a cone apex downwards what does it mean?
Lights
Smarty board, wanted Type, size, Fog signal, day signal
NUC underway and stopped. If underway and making way, what lights will they switch on?
Pilot vessel underway and stopped.
Vessel Aground over 50m
Define the term Restricted Visibility?
If you hear the fog signal apparently forward of your beam but no target on radar- actions? (Last part of Rule 19)
What is a Safe Speed (stopped me after first 3 parts of Rule 6)
What rules apply in Restricted Visibility? This examiner wants to hear ‘’Rules 1-10, 19 and 35’’.
What circumstances allow you to alter to port for a vessel forward of your beam?
He then walked towards me, shook my hand and told me ‘’ok, we’ll call it a pass, you’ve done it’’
The relief was overwhelming. All the long hours spent in the library until 8pm had paid off. We chatted for about 15 minutes after the exam and he asked me about my future plans.
All in all, the orals are not a pleasant experience but also not a bad one. As long as you don’t make any mistakes in Rules, buoyage etc, he will not fail you. If in the general stuff, you don’t know something just admit it. Kaiser Ali was pleasant throughout the whole exam process and gave me a lot of time to think before answering my questions.
Things I found useful when studying were:
Seamanship Notes by Angus Ferguson.
Cosoft CD which can be purchased from www.Colreg.net
Manila2010.co.uk
OOW Orals
Glasgow Marine Office
Wednesday 14th January
10:30 hrs
Examiner: Kaiser Ali
Result: Pass
Arrived 30 minutes early. Signed in and waited anxiously reading the newspaper in the waiting room. A candidate came out after being in the exam from 9am and told me he had failed, which didn’t help with the nerves.
Eventually was called in at 10:45. Kaiser Ali introduced himself as the Chief Examiner and asked me to confirm I was sitting OOW Orals and asked me for my Passport and Discharge Book. He joked on about my photo in my Discharge book, think I was about 15 on it. He said ‘’we were all young once’’. This calmed my nerves a bit.
And so the exam started....
Instruments
Read the Sextant (on the arc reading)
What screw corrects for Side Error? (2nd Adjustment- Back of Horizon Glass)
PAB- take the reading. Corrections to be applied?
How does the pressure change with height?
Hygrometer- What’s inside of it?
Can you use this one? (There was no distilled water in the reservoir)
How to predict fog? (Wet and Dry Temps, obtain Dew point. Plot hourly Dew point with Sea Temp)
Why else do we need to know Relative Humidity? - (I presumed he wanted to know about controlling ventilation to reduce cargo sweat when carrying hydroscopic cargoes.)
Then asked me about magnetic compass. Checks to be made? (Just gave him the obvious stuff, Check for bubble, free movement of the card, position of Flinders bar, Compass error, location of corrector magnets)
Where to find location of corrector magnets? (Back of Deviation Card)
He then asked me to take a seat
General
Asked about my last ship which was a Chemical Tanker, crew nationality, trading routes, cargo carried.
He then explained he would be switching around the ship types from time to time. So one question may be about a tanker, but the next one could be based on a container vessel. He said he’d make it clear what type of ship the question would be based on.
Type of LSA onboard?
How many Lifejackets, Lifebuoys, Immersion Suits are required by law?
How many EEBD onboard? Locations? How to check? Will you use to enter enclosed space? NO!
Use of Fire Main isolation valve? How to test it?
Other Fire fighting equipment onboard?
All the above LSA, FFA questions were based on Container ships
He said ‘’ok, now you’re on a Tanker’’.
How to do tank washing after carrying molasses?
Where did you discharge the residues?
Type of Tank washing machines?
Checks to be made before Cargo Ops commence?
What is the Deck Seal?
What information will the C/O leave in his night orders?
If the terminal calls asking to change the rate, does the C/O need to be informed?
How does the ship comply with the ISM Code?
How does the SMS help 3rd mate with his duties?
Validity of Certificates issued under ISM?
Duties of Safety Officer?
Who was Safety Officer on last vessel?
What is DOS? When to exchange it?
How long do we keep security records onboard for? Why 3 years?
What is MLC 2006? What does it deal with?
What is a Permit to Work? How to do one?
Do you need to do a Risk Assessment with a Permit to Work?
Hazards of Enclosed Space Entry?
What is an Enclosed Space?
Equipment on Bridge?
Limitations of GPS?
How to do a passage plan on an ECDIS?
How to test steering before departure? How long hard over to hard over? Where to get info on this?
OOW Actions- Heavy weather
You see a Rocket in the horizon and then a distress message but no acknowledgement. Actions? (Just told him I would do a Distress Relay, he seemed satisfied with that).
He then stood up and walked towards the window where the buoys were
ROR
Individual buoys
East Cardinal- how to pass it if North is straight ahead
Emergency Wreck Buoy- Light and Topmark
Isolated Danger- Light and Topmark
Starboard hand Region B- How to pass it if inbound and also outbound
Situations
PDV vs Tug and Tow port side- shapes if over 200m
PDV vs Tug and Tow port side exhibiting RAM shapes
CBD vs Ram port side
CBD vs Fishing vessel port side
PDV vs SV port side.
If a Sailing vessel is showing a cone apex downwards what does it mean?
Lights
Smarty board, wanted Type, size, Fog signal, day signal
NUC underway and stopped. If underway and making way, what lights will they switch on?
Pilot vessel underway and stopped.
Vessel Aground over 50m
Define the term Restricted Visibility?
If you hear the fog signal apparently forward of your beam but no target on radar- actions? (Last part of Rule 19)
What is a Safe Speed (stopped me after first 3 parts of Rule 6)
What rules apply in Restricted Visibility? This examiner wants to hear ‘’Rules 1-10, 19 and 35’’.
What circumstances allow you to alter to port for a vessel forward of your beam?
He then walked towards me, shook my hand and told me ‘’ok, we’ll call it a pass, you’ve done it’’
The relief was overwhelming. All the long hours spent in the library until 8pm had paid off. We chatted for about 15 minutes after the exam and he asked me about my future plans.
All in all, the orals are not a pleasant experience but also not a bad one. As long as you don’t make any mistakes in Rules, buoyage etc, he will not fail you. If in the general stuff, you don’t know something just admit it. Kaiser Ali was pleasant throughout the whole exam process and gave me a lot of time to think before answering my questions.
Things I found useful when studying were:
Seamanship Notes by Angus Ferguson.
Cosoft CD which can be purchased from www.Colreg.net
Manila2010.co.uk
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