ENSH Access Contest common mistakes
ENSH Access Contest · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Writing the answer to a COLREG or right-of-way question from the standpoint of the vessel the candidate would rather be, rather than first naming the two vessel types, the crossing/overtaking/head-on geometry and who is the give-way vessel, then applying the rule.
Candidates learn rules in isolation and recognise a situation by feel; under time pressure they jump straight to 'I would alter to starboard' without establishing the vessel categories that decide which rule applies at all.
What to do instead
Force a three-line scratch routine on every collision-regulation item: (1) identify each vessel by category (power-driven, sailing, fishing, NUC, RAM, constrained by draught), (2) state the geometry (head-on, crossing, overtaking), (3) name the give-way and stand-on vessel and the required action. Only then read the options. Practise on 30 mixed scenarios until the routine is automatic.
Quoting a regulation or certificate requirement from memory with the wrong threshold - e.g. confusing the length bands for which a certificate of competency, a radio licence or specific safety equipment is required - instead of checking the band in the question against the applicable rule.
The ENSH framework uses several different length and power thresholds for different obligations, and candidates memorise one number and apply it everywhere. The legal-framework questions are deliberately built around these boundaries.
What to do instead
Build a one-page threshold table (length bands, engine power, passenger numbers, distance from shore) with the obligation that attaches to each, and re-derive the answer from that table for every legal question. Mark any threshold you cannot reproduce from the table as a guess and review it the same day.
Using loose or non-standard phraseology on radio items - inventing wording such as 'I am the fishing boat near the buoy, do you hear me' instead of MAYDAY, PAN PAN, SÉCURITÉ, the vessel's name spoken three times, position and nature of distress in the prescribed order.
Candidates know the distress words but not the message structure, so they improvise under exam pressure and lose marks on ordering and on the distinction between distress, urgency and safety priority.
What to do instead
Memorise the four message skeletons (distress, urgency, safety, routine) as fixed slot sequences and rehearse them aloud with a timer, including the spoken repetition of digits and the correct use of 'over', 'out' and 'received'. Write each skeleton from memory daily until the order is exact.
Answering a chart-work question by reading the latitude/longitude of the plotted position off the nearest grid line rather than measuring from the graduated scale on the chart edge, and stating a position with the wrong number of minutes or the wrong hemisphere letter.
Candidates rush the plotting and trust the printed graticule labels; they also drop the N/S and E/W designators or write minutes as decimals of a degree, which is a different notation.
What to do instead
Adopt a fixed plotting drill: mark the position, draw the light pencil lines from both the latitude and longitude scales, read each to the nearest minute, and write the full position including hemisphere letters and the degree/minute symbols. Do ten positions per session and check each against the scale, not the grid labels.
Treating a weather question as a vocabulary test - naming a cloud or a front when the question asks what wind shift, visibility change or sea state to expect, and when it will arrive.
Revision concentrates on definitions and symbols, so candidates recognise 'warm front' but cannot translate it into the practical sequence of falling pressure, backing or veering wind, and deteriorating visibility that the question is really testing.
What to do instead
For each pressure system and front, write a short timeline: pressure trend, wind direction change, cloud sequence, precipitation, visibility and timing. Answer weather items by reciting the relevant timeline and matching it to the options rather than picking the term that looks familiar.
Answering manoeuvring and anchoring questions with the textbook stopping distance or turning circle without accounting for the stated conditions - load, shallow water, current, wind, or a single screw with transverse thrust - and ignoring the effect of the propeller's rotation on the bow.
Candidates learn one idealised figure and apply it universally; exam items deliberately add a crosswind or a following current to test whether the candidate adjusts the answer.
What to do instead
For every vessel-handling item, first list the forces acting (thrust, transverse thrust, windage, current, bank effect, squat) and their direction, then predict the vessel's behaviour. Practise by predicting the bow's swing for ahead and astern on a right-handed propeller until it is second nature.
Confusing the equipment and procedures of the different emergency situations - applying fire-fighting sequence to a man-overboard, or forgetting to close hatches and stop ventilation before using fixed CO2, or omitting the mayday/DSC alert and the log entry.
Emergency procedures are studied as separate lists that blur together, and candidates answer with the first action that comes to mind instead of following the full drill from alarm to stand-down.
What to do instead
Learn each drill as an ordered checklist with a trigger word (fire, MOB, abandon, flooding, collision) and rehearse it as a sequence: raise alarm, inform master, muster and account for persons, isolate or control, communicate, record. Write each checklist from memory and check against your notes.
Answering Maritime English items in everyday conversational English - writing 'we will go to the port side quickly' instead of 'I will alter course to port' - or misreading SMCP terms such as 'alter course', 'stand by', 'make fast' and 'keep clear' as ordinary verbs.
Candidates translate meaning rather than using the standard marine vocabulary, and the exam tests precise operational phrasing where a vague verb changes the order given.
What to do instead
Keep a personal SMCP glossary of at least 60 operational terms with the exact action each commands, and practise rewriting plain-language sentences into SMCP and back. In the exam, check whether the option uses a defined SMCP term correctly before choosing it.
Giving a pollution-prevention answer that names the correct principle but omits the mandatory operational step - e.g. saying 'do not discharge oil' without the requirement to retain oily waste, use the oily water separator within its limits, and record the operation in the oil record book.
Candidates learn the headline prohibition (MARPOL annex names, 'no discharge') and stop there, missing that the exam asks about the procedure and the documentation that make compliance verifiable.
What to do instead
For each waste stream (oily water, garbage, sewage, noxious liquids, air emissions) write the discharge rule, the equipment or holding requirement, and the record book entry as a three-part answer. Answer pollution items by supplying all three parts.
Leaving multiple-choice items blank or changing correct first answers on a hunch, and managing time so poorly that the last chart-work or calculation questions are answered in the final minutes without plotting.
Candidates fear negative marking where none exists, or second-guess themselves after a difficult item; chart work and calculations are time-hungry and get squeezed at the end.
What to do instead
Confirm the marking rule before the exam and never leave an item blank - eliminate options and choose. Do a timed mock with a strict per-section budget, flag and skip long plotting items, and return to them with the remaining time rather than letting them consume the paper.