Emergency oral questions
Example questions on emergencies, fire, abandoning ship, search and rescue and distress communications, set against the syllabus items they come from. They are our wording, not the MCA's — answer them out loud, in the order you would act.
No — they are our examples. The MCA publishes the syllabus each oral is examined against, and every set below is our own wording of how one of its emergency items can be asked. The syllabuses on GOV.UK are the authority; check yours for the full list.
OOW (Yachts <3000 GT), section 2: navigational emergencies and IAMSAR (2.1), other emergencies such as fire, life-saving appliances and survival craft (2.2), and communications (2.3).
Master (Code vessels <200 GT) / OOW (Yachts <500 GT): distress signals and communications (2.1), including Mayday, PanPan and Securité messages, and responses to emergencies (2.3).
Master (Yachts <500 GT) and Master (Yachts <3000 GT), each at sections 2.1 and 2.2: navigational emergencies, towing, search and rescue, IAMSAR Volume III, fire and survival craft, and organising people for them — fire-fighting and liferaft drills and training at <500 GT, fire-fighting and abandon ship parties at <3000 GT.
Chief Mate and Master (Yachts Unlimited): the competences 'Coordinate search and rescue operations', 'Respond to navigational emergencies', 'Develop emergency and damage control plans and handle emergency situations', and 'Organise and manage the provision of medical care on board'.
Out loud and in sequence: raise the alarm, who you tell, what you do first, what next. For the distress-signal questions, check your answer against our pages for COLREGs Rule 37 and Annex IV, which list the signals and what the annex prohibits.
“A guest falls from the bathing platform while you're at anchor. What happens in the first minute?”
“Man overboard at night, underway. Talk me through the recovery.”
“You've collided with another vessel. What are your initial actions, and how do you assess the damage?”
“Grounding is imminent. What do you do — and after she touches?”
“When would you consider beaching the vessel?”
“Your steering fails approaching a harbour entrance. What do you do, and how do you change to emergency steering?”
“How do you prepare to tow another vessel, or to be towed?”
“What are the classes of fire, and what would you use on each?”
“Fire is reported in the galley during guest service. Talk me through your response.”
“There's a fire in the engine room. What do you shut down and isolate, and why?”
“How do you stop a fire spreading through the vessel?”
“How do you use and look after breathing apparatus? What checks go with it?”
“How do you organise your fire party, and how do you run a fire drill?”
“Where are your fire and safety plans, and what do they show?”
“How does a liferaft hydrostatic release unit work, and how should it be rigged?”
“What markings would you find on a survival craft and its equipment, and what do they tell you?”
“Talk me through launching a liferaft and getting everyone into it.”
“How do you recover a rescue boat at sea?”
“What are the basic principles of survival once you're in the liferaft?”
“How do you look after immersion suits and thermal protective aids?”
“What would you do to protect the guests in an emergency?”
“When may a distress signal be used? What does Annex IV prohibit?”
“By day you see orange smoke from a boat close inshore. What does it mean, and what do you do?”
“The crew of a small boat are standing with their arms outstretched to each side, raising and lowering them slowly. What does it mean?”
“Which of the distress signals are radio or electronic?”
“What signals could you use just to attract another vessel's attention — and which must you never use for that?”
The signals themselves are on our pages for COLREGs Rule 37 (distress signals), Annex IV (the list of signals) and Rule 36 (signals to attract attention).
“What is the difference between a Mayday, a Pan-Pan and a Securité message? When would you send each?”
“A DSC distress alert comes in on your watch. What do you do, step by step?”
“How do an EPIRB and a SART each work? How would a SART show on your radar?”
“Give me a distress message for your own vessel, sinking, as you would say it on VHF.”
“You're the first vessel on scene at a search. Which search pattern would you use, and why?”
“Which volume of the IAMSAR Manual do you carry, and what is in it?”
“How is search and rescue organised around the UK?”
“A helicopter is coming to lift a casualty from your deck. How do you prepare the vessel?”
“How would you take survivors on board from a liferaft in a seaway?”
“Where would you get medical advice at sea?”
The notices change. Always check the current version on GOV.UK before you apply or book.
Study and Logbook are both live on the App Store. Open either to get started.
