Safety, Pollution Prevention and Emergency Procedures
This domain tests the actions that protect people, the vessel and Hong Kong waters. It is where a wrong first action can turn a small incident into a casualty or a prosecution, so answers usually turn on stopping the source, isolating energy and notifying the right authority.
Fire response
Fire needs heat, fuel and oxygen. Engine-room fires are commonly class B fuel or class C electrical. Use dry powder or CO2 for small electrical and fuel fires, and foam for fuel spills where available. A fixed CO2 system requires machinery shutdown, closing openings and ventilation, accounting for all persons, then release. Do not re-enter until the space is safe and the system has been isolated. Boundary cooling and calling for help on VHF Channel 16 follow.
Pollution prevention
For a fuel or oil spill: stop the transfer, close the valve, contain with absorbent, do not hose overboard, notify the Marine Department or VTS, record the quantity and arrange oily-waste disposal ashore. Hong Kong gives effect to MARPOL through Cap. 413 and local vessel rules; in practice, no oily bilge, garbage or sewage may be discharged into Hong Kong waters. Use reception facilities.
Other emergencies
For flooding, find the leak, close sea valves, use bilge or emergency suction and avoid energising electrical equipment in water. For electrical fire or shock, isolate the supply first. For injury or man overboard, stop or manoeuvre safely, call VHF 16 and give first aid without unnecessary movement of a seriously injured person. Enclosed-space entry requires a permit, gas testing, an attendant and rescue equipment.
Worked example
During a fuel transfer the deck fills with diesel and some reaches the water. Reasoning: stop the pump, close the valve, contain the deck spill with absorbent, do not wash it down, notify VTS or the Marine Department, deploy a boom if carried, record the quantity and arrange disposal as oily waste. The trap is hosing the spill into the sea to disperse it, which is an offence and spreads the harm.
Traps that cost marks
Using water on a fuel fire; re-entering an engine room after CO2 release; directing CO2 at a person; hiding a spill; pumping bilge overboard; failing to notify; entering an enclosed space without gas testing.
Key points
- Stop the source and isolate energy before anything else.
- Fixed CO2 requires shutdown, closure, headcount and no re-entry.
- Never hose fuel or oil overboard; contain, notify and dispose ashore.
- Isolate electricity before using water near electrical equipment.
- VHF 16 is for distress, urgency and safety, not routine chat.