Ship Operations and Shipboard Management
Ship Operations and Shipboard Management tests the master's ability to run the ship as a managed system: ISM Code compliance, watchkeeping, rest hours, drills, risk assessment, maintenance and port operations. The exam expects practical decisions that can be traced to the safety management system (SMS).
Core rules
- The ISM Code requires a SMS, a designated person ashore, master's overriding authority and documented procedures for key operations.
- STCW rest hours: at least 10 hours rest in any 24 and 77 hours in any 7 days; rest may be split into no more than two periods, one at least 6 hours, with intervals not exceeding 14 hours.
- Use permit-to-work, toolbox talks and risk assessments for hot work, enclosed spaces, working aloft and bunkering.
- Record drills, familiarisation, near misses and maintenance in the ship's records.
Worked example
A proposed rest pattern is 5 hours plus 5 hours in 24. Total is 10 hours, but neither period reaches the required 6-hour minimum, so it is non-compliant. A compliant split is 6 hours plus 4 hours, provided the interval between rests does not exceed 14 hours and the 77-hour weekly total is met. The reasoning: the rule limits fragmentation as well as total rest.
Traps
Confusing work hours with rest hours; treating the master's overriding authority as delegable; accepting a permit as a substitute for atmosphere testing; and recording a drill as done when only a briefing took place. Bunkering checklists and oil record book entries are frequently examined as management records, not paperwork.