Hong Kong Part A Written Test: Safety of Life at Sea

Safety of Life at Sea questions test what equipment must be on board, how it works, and what you personally do in the first sixty seconds of an emergency.

Carriage and use

A lifejacket for every person on board, plus child sizes, stowed where they can be reached - not locked in a locker. Fit it before abandoning; a lifejacket will not reliably turn an unconscious person face up.
Liferaft with a hydrostatic release, EPIRB on 406 MHz registered to the vessel, SART operating on 9 GHz, and pyrotechnics within date.
Fire extinguishers matched to the risk: dry powder or carbon dioxide for fuel and electrical fires, water for solid materials. The fire triangle is fuel, heat and oxygen; remove one.
VHF radio, first-aid kit, torch, bailer, anchor and warp.

Immediate actions

Fire: raise the alarm, stop the engine, shut off fuel, fight from the windward side with an exit behind you, boundary-cool, and prepare to abandon.
Man overboard: shout, throw a lifebuoy with light and smoke, put the helm hard over toward the casualty's side to swing the stern clear, press MOB on the GPS, post a dedicated lookout.
Abandon ship: distress alert first, then the raft, then the people; take water, radio and flares.

Worked example

A crew member falls overboard at night in a fresh wind and is lost from sight within seconds.

Reasoning: helm hard over to the casualty's side, lifebuoy with light, MOB waypoint, lookout. Because she is out of sight at night, carry out a Williamson turn: alter about 60 degrees, then reverse the helm to bring the vessel back down the reciprocal track. That returns you to the datum without guessing the drift. A distress or urgency call and a search pattern follow.

Traps

Believing an unregistered EPIRB will be actioned quickly.
Firing a parachute flare downwind or at a low angle.
Leaving lifejackets stowed below decks.
Turning the wrong way and putting the propeller into the casualty.

Emergency Procedures and Communications

Emergency communication questions are marked on procedure: the right priority, the right channel, the right content, in the right order.

Priorities

MAYDAY: grave and imminent danger requiring immediate assistance.
PAN PAN: urgency, no immediate danger - engine failure with no risk, or medical advice.
SÉCURITÉ: safety of navigation - a drifting container, a light out of action.

MAYDAY content

MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY; THIS IS name, callsign and MMSI, three times; MAYDAY and the vessel's name; position in latitude and longitude, or a precise bearing and distance from a charted object; nature of distress; assistance required; persons on board; any other useful information; OVER.

Equipment and channels

VHF channel 16 for distress, urgency and calling. Channel 70 is digital selective calling only - never speak on it.
Radio silence periods on channel 16 are 00 to 03 and 30 to 33 minutes past each hour.
MRCC Hong Kong, operated by the Marine Department, coordinates search and rescue, with the Marine Police and the Government Flying Service.

Worked example

You strike a submerged object south of Waglan Island. Water is rising in the engine space and the pump cannot keep up.

Reasoning: this is grave and imminent danger, so it is MAYDAY, not PAN PAN. Transmit on channel 16, sending a DSC alert on channel 70 first if time allows. Give the GPS position, the nature of the flooding, the number of persons on board and the intention to prepare to abandon. Keep the radio watch and have the EPIRB ready. A PAN PAN would understate the risk and could cost you a priority response.

Traps

Giving the position as 'off Waglan' instead of latitude and longitude.
Omitting persons on board, which drives the rescue response.
Failing to cancel a false DSC alert with MRCC immediately.
Abandoning the radio watch once the call is made.

Hong Kong Local Waters

Local waters questions reward precise geography: which channel, which side of which island, which shelter, where the ferry lanes cross. Learn the chart rather than the coastline.

The shape of the water

Victoria Harbour runs east to west between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Lei Yue Mun is the eastern gate; the western approach runs through the Sulphur Channel past Green Island.
East of the harbour lie the Tathong Channel, Junk Bay and the Ninepin Islands, with Waglan Island marking the southeastern approach.
South: the East Lamma Channel between Hong Kong Island and Lamma, with Po Toi further south.
West: Kap Shui Mun and Ma Wan between Lantau and Ma Wan; the Rambler Channel off Tsing Yi and Kwai Chung; Urmston Road north of Lantau; Deep Bay to the northwest.
Northeast: Mirs Bay, the Tolo Channel into Tolo Harbour, and Port Shelter off Sai Kung.

Rules of passage

Keep to the starboard side of navigable channels and clear of the ferry routes that crisscross the harbour.
Designated anchorages and typhoon shelters are frequently examined: Aberdeen, Causeway Bay, Chai Wan, Shau Kei Wan, Yau Ma Tei, Rambler Channel, Tuen Mun, Sai Kung, Cheung Chau and Tai O.
Marine parks such as Hoi Ha Wan and Yan Chau Tong restrict anchoring, fishing and speed; never anchor on coral.
Airport, military and explosives areas are prohibited; avoid submarine cables and fish farms.

Worked example

You plan a daylight passage from Sai Kung to Aberdeen.

Reasoning: leave Port Shelter, run south through the Tathong Channel keeping to starboard, then round Cape Collinson. In clear weather, pass through Lei Yue Mun into Victoria Harbour and out through the East Lamma Channel; in poor visibility, keep south around Cape d'Aguilar and use the East Lamma Channel directly. Allow for the ferry routes crossing the harbour, the fish farms in Port Shelter, and the speed limit on arrival at Aberdeen.

Traps

Cutting through a marine park or typhoon shelter to save distance.
Misidentifying Waglan or the Ninepins at night.
Anchoring in a fairway or over a cable.

Port Regulations and Ordinance Requirements

Port regulation questions are the ones candidates lose by assuming: that a small boat needs no paperwork, that a foreign certificate is enough, or that a bump with no injury need not be reported.

The framework

The Shipping and Port Control Ordinance (Cap 313) and its regulations govern vessel registration and licensing, speed, port traffic, dangerous goods and pollution.
The Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Cap 281) covers seaworthiness, crew and safety obligations.
The Director of Marine administers the port; the Marine Department's Vessel Traffic Centre issues directions; the Marine Police enforce.

What a pleasure craft needs

A certificate of ownership and a valid licence, plus a certificate of survey where the vessel type requires one.
Third-party insurance as a condition of the licence.
An operator holding a Pleasure Craft Operator's Certificate or an appropriate Certificate of Competency.

Duties on the water

Report collisions, groundings, flooding, pollution and deaths to the Marine Department without delay.
Obey speed limits, no-wake zones and restricted areas; give way to ferries and to vessels constrained by their draught.
No discharge of oil, oily water or garbage; MARPOL obligations are enforced locally.
Follow typhoon procedures: secure the vessel, monitor Hong Kong Observatory signals, and move as directed.

Worked example

In Aberdeen you touch a moored sampan, crack its transom and continue to your berth. Nobody is hurt.

Reasoning: damage to another vessel is a reportable accident. You must stop, give your particulars, render assistance if needed, and report the incident to the Marine Department. Leaving the scene and saying nothing turns a minor insurance matter into an offence, and weakens your position in any civil claim.

Traps

Assuming a foreign licence or certificate of competency covers a Hong Kong pleasure craft.
Not reporting a pollution incident because it seemed small.
Disregarding a Vessel Traffic Centre direction.
Letting a licence lapse and sailing anyway.