Iran Deck Officer (STCW II/2) Certificate of Competency Examination common mistakes
Iran Deck Officer (STCW II/2) Certificate of Competency Examination · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When a collision-regulation question describes two vessels in sight of one another, the candidate answers from the single rule that names the vessel type (for example 'power-driven vessel gives way to sailing vessel') without first classifying the situation as meeting, crossing or overtaking and without checking the hierarchy in Part B. The answer names the wrong vessel as give-way or omits the stand-on vessel's duty to act once risk of collision is judged to exist.
Rule learning is often done by memorising isolated headings rather than as a decision sequence. Candidates do not practise the ordering: narrow channels and traffic separation schemes first, then the steering rules by relative geometry, then conduct of vessels in restricted visibility. Under time pressure they grab the first rule whose wording seems to match a keyword in the stem.
What to do instead
Before answering, write three things on the scratch paper: (1) are the vessels in sight of one another or in restricted visibility; (2) what is the relative bearing and is it a crossing, meeting or overtaking geometry; (3) which rule in the Part B sequence governs. Then state the give-way action, the stand-on duty, and the sound or light signal. Drill 30 mixed scenarios where each stem must be classified before the rule is chosen, and mark yourself wrong whenever the classification step is skipped even if the final answer happened to be right.
In stability calculations the candidate substitutes deadweight or displacement for the correct quantity, or mixes GM, KG and KM without tracking the sign convention. A typical wrong answer computes a new KG by simple averaging of weights and then reports positive stability when the true result is a negative or very small GM, or ignores the free surface correction to GM.
Formulas are memorised as strings of letters without a physical picture of the ship's centre of gravity and centre of buoyancy. The free surface effect is treated as a small correction to be added at the end rather than as a loss of metacentric height that must be applied before judging stability. Unit confusion between tonnes, cubic metres and metres compounds the error.
What to do instead
Work every stability problem through a fixed template: list displacement and KG, tabulate each weight with its vertical moment, sum moments, divide to get final KG, look up KM for the final displacement from the hydrostatic table, compute GM = KM - KG, then subtract the free surface correction. Write the sign and units beside each line. Practise at least ten problems where the answer is a small or negative GM so that the arithmetic is not tuned to 'comfortable' results.
The candidate treats the terrestrial position fix as a plotting exercise only: sights, bearings or GPS positions are transferred to the chart without applying the correct time, without checking the fix against the dead reckoning position, and without questioning a position that plots on land or in an impossible location. Course and speed made good are then calculated from the wrong starting point.
Training emphasis falls on obtaining the raw observation rather than on the monitoring loop around it. Candidates do not habitually compare the fix with the DR, so a gross error such as a reciprocal bearing, a one-hour time error, or a chart datum mismatch passes unnoticed.
What to do instead
Adopt a mandatory four-step routine for every fix: record the time to the minute, plot the position, compare it with the DR and estimate the difference, and only then advance the DR and calculate set, drift, course and speed made good. If the fix differs from DR by more than expected for the conditions, stop and re-check the observation, the time, and the chart. In the exam, state the comparison explicitly in the answer, because marks are awarded for the monitoring step, not only for the plotted position.
For cargo questions, the candidate answers from general principle ('keep the centre of gravity low', 'stow heavy cargo at the bottom') without applying the specific requirement: the cargo's stowage factor is not converted to volume, the load density is not checked against the tank top or deck strength, and the segregation requirement between incompatible dangerous goods is not stated.
Cargo work is studied as vocabulary rather than as a chain of calculations. Candidates do not connect mass, volume, stowage factor, broken stowage and permissible load per square metre, so they cannot show whether a proposed stowage is feasible. IMDG segregation is remembered as a vague idea that 'some goods must be separated' rather than as a table lookup.
What to do instead
For every cargo problem, build the calculation chain explicitly: mass divided by stowage factor gives volume, volume plus broken stowage allowance gives space required, mass divided by footprint gives load per square metre, compare with the permitted value. For dangerous goods, always state the IMDG class, the segregation table result and the stowage position with the reason. Work through past paper style problems where the answer is a number, not a description.
In watchkeeping and bridge equipment questions the candidate describes what a piece of equipment does but cannot state the watchkeeper's action when it fails or gives a warning. For example, the answer explains what an ECDIS is but does not say what to do when the position input fails, when the safety contour alarm sounds, or when the gyrocompass error exceeds the permitted limit.
Equipment is learned from manuals and brochures, which describe features and menus rather than the bridge procedure that surrounds the equipment. Candidates do not practise the failure scenarios, so they cannot produce the sequence of fallback to paper charts, manual steering, magnetic compass and reduced speed.
What to do instead
For each major item on the bridge - ECDIS, radar and ARPA, gyrocompass, magnetic compass, autopilot, echo sounder, AIS, GNSS - memorise a three-line card: normal use, warning signs of degraded performance, and the immediate action plus who is informed. Answer equipment questions in that three-part structure. Rehearse the ECDIS failure drill and the steering failure drill aloud until the sequence is automatic.
The candidate confuses flag State obligations with port State control and with classification society functions. Answers state that the flag State 'inspects foreign ships in its ports' or that the classification society 'issues the statutory certificates on behalf of the flag State' without distinguishing delegated survey work from the flag State's ultimate responsibility. The role of the recognised organisation, the ISM Code and the ISPS Code is mixed together.
The regulatory framework is a set of overlapping actors, and candidates learn the names of conventions without mapping which body does what. Because surveys and certification are often delegated, the delegation is mistaken for transfer of responsibility.
What to do instead
Draw a one-page map with three columns: flag State (registration, jurisdiction, ultimate responsibility for compliance, delegation to recognised organisations), port State (control of foreign ships in its ports, detention powers), and classification society (technical rules, class surveys, delegated statutory surveys). Under each, list the conventions involved: SOLAS, MARPOL, LL, MLC, ISM, ISPS, STCW. Answer legal questions by naming the actor, the instrument and the obligation in that order.
In meteorology questions the candidate names a weather system but cannot relate it to the observed or forecast wind, sea state and pressure tendency. For example, the answer identifies a tropical revolving storm but does not state the dangerous semicircle, the expected track relative to the observer, or the recommended evasive action. Synoptic chart questions are answered by reading the isobars without converting them to wind direction and strength.
Weather is studied as descriptive geography rather than as applied forecasting for the navigator. Buys Ballot's law, the relation between pressure gradient and wind, and the asymmetry of a tropical storm are not practised as working tools.
What to do instead
For every weather question, force the chain: pressure pattern, wind direction and strength by Buys Ballot and the geostrophic relation, sea and swell, visibility, then the navigational consequence. For tropical revolving storms, always state hemisphere, the bearing of the centre, which semicircle the vessel is in, the likely track, and the recommended course and speed to increase distance from the centre. Practise with synoptic charts and with storm-approach diagrams until the evasive manoeuvre is stated without hesitation.
In emergency response questions the candidate lists equipment or a general intention ('call the master', 'fight the fire') instead of a timed, ordered drill with the correct signals, the muster sequence, boundary cooling, and the decision points for abandoning ship or for requesting outside assistance. Pollution answers omit the immediate notification and the record-keeping that MARPOL and the SOPEP require.
Emergency procedures are read as checklists rather than rehearsed as sequences, so the candidate cannot order the actions or state who does what. The distinction between containing an incident and reporting it is blurred, and reporting is treated as an afterthought.
What to do instead
Learn each drill as a numbered timeline: detection and alarm signal, muster and headcount, initial action by the emergency team, boundary cooling or containment, communication to the master and to outside parties, decision point, and post-incident reporting and records. For pollution, memorise the order: stop the discharge, contain, notify the master and the company, notify the coastal State and the flag State as required, and complete the oil record book or garbage record book entries. Answer with the numbered sequence, not with a list of equipment.
In maritime English and communications questions the candidate writes a distress, urgency or safety message that mixes the three priorities, omits the required elements, or uses plain narrative instead of the standard structure. For example, a PAN PAN call is phrased as a MAYDAY, the position is given without a reference datum, or the message omits the number of persons on board and the nature of assistance required.
Standard phrases are memorised as isolated vocabulary rather than as message formats. Candidates do not practise transmitting a complete message under time pressure, so the priority, the addressee, the identification and the content are assembled in the wrong order.
What to do instead
Memorise the three message structures verbatim, including the priority signal, the station addressed, the identification, the position with latitude and longitude or a bearing and distance from a named point, the nature of the distress or urgency, the assistance required, the number of persons on board, and any other useful information. Practise writing one MAYDAY, one PAN PAN and one SECURITE message per study session, then check them against the required element list. Use the IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases for the routine parts.
In ship construction and marine engineering systems questions the candidate answers with a definition of a component but cannot explain its function in the system, the consequence of its failure, or the operational limit. For example, the answer defines a purifier but does not state what happens if the bowl is incorrectly assembled, or defines a watertight bulkhead without stating the subdivision and damage stability purpose or the position of the collision bulkhead.
Systems are learned as labelled diagrams, with each component memorised in isolation. Because the candidate never traces flow or failure paths, the interaction between components and the safety consequence of a failure is missing.
What to do instead
For each system - bilge and ballast, fuel oil, lubricating oil, cooling water, compressed air, steering gear, fire main - draw the flow from source to destination and annotate each component with its function, its failure mode and the immediate operator action. For construction, link each structural element to its purpose: collision bulkhead and subdivision to damage stability, double bottom to grounding protection, cofferdam to separation of incompatible fluids. Answer by function and consequence, not by definition alone.