Water Taxi Over Capacity Plate
A 8.2 m aluminum water taxi is scheduled to leave a small Vancouver Island terminal at 08:00 with 12 people aboard: the operator, one deckhand, and 10 passengers. The vessel's capacity plate states a maximum of 10 persons and 900 kg, including crew and gear. Passenger baggage and freight in the aft cockpit weigh about 280 kg. With everyone aboard, the boarding point of the hull side is only about 180 mm above the water, compared with 350 mm when the vessel is loaded to the plate limit. The morning forecast is light winds, but a westerly 20-knot wind and 0.8 m chop are expected by 13:00 on the 12-nautical-mile exposed crossing. One passenger uses a walker and cannot easily step over the high bulwark. Lifejackets are stored in a locked forward locker; the key is in the wheelhouse. The owner says the group has prepaid and must not be split. The operator holds an SVOP certificate and MED A3.
1. What is your decision on departure and loading, and which facts drive it?
Read the worked answer
The departure as loaded should not proceed. The vessel is already at its person limit before the 10 passengers and 280 kg of gear are counted: 12 people against a 10-person plate. With two crew, the passenger limit is eight, not ten. The 180 mm side immersion versus 350 mm at the plate limit is a visible loss of freeboard and reserve buoyancy, not a cosmetic difference. The afternoon wind and chop would increase deck wetness, make the impaired passenger's movement hazardous, and reduce the operator's ability to handle a boarding emergency. Locked lifejackets are a separate defect: they must be immediately accessible. My decision would be to split the group into two trips, reduce gear, and ensure each trip is within the plate and has a safe load distribution. If the operator cannot do that, the trip waits or is cancelled. The master's authority and the duty to passengers override the prepaid booking. I would not treat the calm morning as decisive because the return leg is forecast to be worse.
2. If any part of the group is carried, what conditions and arrangements would you require?
Read the worked answer
Each trip must be within the plate: with two crew, no more than eight passengers. The 280 kg of baggage and freight must be reduced, weighed or estimated, and stowed low and spread fore-and-aft so the vessel does not squat by the stern. Lifejackets must be unlocked, checked for fit, and demonstrated to passengers before departure; the impaired passenger needs a fitted PFD, assistance, a seat near a usable exit, and a assigned buddy. I would require a written float plan, a VHF check, and a weather update before the return leg. The second trip should be timed to avoid the afternoon wind, or a sheltered route chosen. The operator should brief the deckhand on boarding assistance and emergency duties. If the impaired passenger cannot be evacuated safely without a second person dedicated to them, the load must be reduced further. Any change from the plan gets recorded.
3. How would you handle the owner's pressure, and what would you document?
Read the worked answer
I would state the decision plainly: the vessel is over the plate and the lifejackets are inaccessible, so the trip cannot run as booked. I would offer the safe alternative, two trips or a later departure, rather than debate the prepayment. Commercial pressure does not transfer the master's responsibility. I would record the time, the observed freeboard, the capacity-plate limit, the actual persons and gear weight, the forecast, the action taken, and who was informed. I would also record the corrective actions: lifejackets unlocked, load reduced, passenger count corrected, and impaired passenger arrangements. If the owner insists on the unsafe loading, I would escalate through the company's safety procedure and not sail. Documentation matters because it shows the decision was based on observed facts, not preference, and it supports follow-up if the same practice recurs.