Chief Mate CoC study plan

Reconstruct the full passage-planning sequence from berth to berth and state, for each stage, which publication or data source feeds it (sailing directions, charts, tide tables, notices to mariners, routing charts).

Work through at least 12 great-circle and Mercator sailing problems plus 8 composite sailings by hand, then verify each answer with a plotting sheet or calculator and log the error for every miss.

Interpret a synoptic chart from memory: identify pressure systems, fronts, isobar spacing, and the expected wind shift and visibility change for a vessel on a stated heading.

Explain the formation and seasonal migration of the main climatic belts and how each drives prevailing winds, fog frequency, and swell direction on a chosen trade route.

Solve a full set of terrestrial and coastal position-fixing problems: running fix, doubling the angle on the bow, four-point bearing, and transferred position lines, showing the cocked hat and the most probable position.

Compute set, drift, and course-to-steer and speed-to-make-good from current and tidal stream data, including a two-course tidal correction problem.

Recite and apply every Rule of the Collision Regulations by number, and explain for at least 15 rules how a court or administration has interpreted the wording.

Analyse 10 collision scenarios (crossing, overtaking, head-on, narrow channel, traffic separation scheme, restricted visibility) and state the give-way/stand-on obligations, sound signals, and safe action.

Calculate initial stability quantities from first principles: KM from hydrostatic tables, GM, righting lever, and the effect of free surface on effective GM.

Construct a curve of statics from a KN or cross-curve table for a stated displacement and assess whether the vessel meets the relevant intact stability criteria, naming each criterion checked.

Quantify the effect of adding, removing, and shifting weights on draft, trim, list, and LCG, and work 10 trim problems using the change-of-trim formula.

Explain hull structural members and their load paths from keel to deck, and describe how a damaged compartment affects stability, freeboard, and stress concentration.

Plan a full cargo stowage for a general and container cargo, covering segregation under the IMDG Code, lashing calculations, stack weight limits, and dangerous-goods documentation.

Explain the operation, failure modes, and emergency response for the main engine-room systems: fuel oil, lube oil, cooling water, bilge, ballast, and steering gear.

Describe loading and discharging sequences for bulk carriers and tankers, including stress, sloshing, and hull-girder limits, and state the checks made before each step.

Diagnose five machinery-casualty scenarios (blackout, steering failure, main engine stoppage, contaminated fuel, flooding in the engine room) and state the immediate bridge and engine-room actions.

Map the principal IMO conventions (SOLAS, MARPOL, COLREG, STCW, Load Line, MLC, ISM, ISPS) onto the duties they impose on the master and chief mate, citing the specific chapter or regulation for at least 20 duties.

Work through certificate, survey, and port-state-control scenarios: identify which certificate is invalid, which survey is overdue, and what the master's reporting obligations are.

Build the emergency response for fire, abandon ship, man overboard, collision, grounding, and pollution, naming the muster signals, the on-scene command structure, and the records generated.

Apply the safety management system cycle (policy, risk assessment, procedures, audit, corrective action) to a real near-miss and write the corrective action.

Lead a tabletop drill for a fire in the accommodation and a man-overboard recovery, assigning roles, communications, and decision points, and debrief the outcome against a written standard.

Explain the human-element factors that drive casualties (fatigue, complacency, authority gradient, cultural and language barriers) and state the countermeasures a chief mate can enforce on watch.

Apply STCW rest-hour requirements to a sample port rotation and identify where the schedule breaches the rules and what to do about it.

Describe the chief mate's role in training, appraisal, and disciplinary process, and in maintaining a just culture after an error is reported.

Apply MARPOL Annexes I to VI to specific shipboard operations: oil record book entries, garbage record book and placards, sewage and air-pollution limits, and the special-area rules for a named region.

Explain ballast water management and the BWM Convention obligations, including the D-1/D-2 standard, record keeping, and the treatment-system failure procedure.

Describe the master's and chief mate's duties during a pollution incident, including notification, sampling, evidence preservation, and the shipboard oil pollution emergency plan.

Interpret oceanographic data (wave height and period, swell, sea-surface temperature, currents) to adjust speed and route for fuel and safety, and state the limits of the vessel in heavy weather.

Sit a full-length timed mock examination across all ten domains under exam conditions, then score it against the marking key and rank the domains by lost marks.

Re-work every question missed in weeks 1 to 7 from the corrections log, without notes, until each is answered correctly twice.

Deliver a 10-minute oral defence of a passage plan and a loading condition, answering challenge questions on stability criteria, Colregs interpretation, and regulatory duties.

Build a final one-page revision sheet of formulas, criteria, rule numbers, and convention references to carry into the last 48 hours.