NIMASA STCW PSSR common mistakes
NIMASA STCW PSSR · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When asked to describe the hydrostatic interlock on a lifeboat on-load release gear, the candidate says it 'stops the boat falling' or that it 'locks the hook', without explaining that it prevents release until the boat is waterborne and the hook load is off, and cannot state the test/inspection requirement for the interlock.
Candidates learn the release handle drill by rote and treat the interlock as a vague safety add-on; the mechanism is rarely demonstrated on board, so the load-sensing function and its defeat/testing are never internalised.
What to do instead
Learn the sequence as a chain: boat waterborne → hydrostatic unit senses immersion/removes the blocking force → operator can move the release handle → hook opens under no load. Be able to state that the interlock must be checked for correct operation (including simulated waterborne condition) at the intervals in the planned maintenance system and before each drill, and that a defective interlock means the boat is out of service.
The candidate describes abandoning ship as 'jump into the water and swim away', omitting the ordered steps: muster with warm clothing and lifejacket, master's decision and distress alert, launch and clear the ship's side, then stay with the craft and organise survival actions.
Abandon ship is studied as a single dramatic moment rather than a command-led procedure with a decision point, so candidates skip the pre-launch and post-launch phases under exam pressure.
What to do instead
Structure every abandon-ship answer in four phases: (1) muster and account for all persons, extra clothing, lifejackets, immersion suits; (2) master's order, distress alert and communications; (3) launch and clear the side, recover anyone in the water; (4) in the craft - stream sea anchor, close canopy, post lookout, treat injured, ration, maintain morale. State that the master orders abandonment and that no one abandons into the water unless the craft cannot be launched.
When asked about launching in heavy weather, the candidate gives a generic 'launch on the lee side' answer but cannot explain how to use the ship's manoeuvring, oil, or the painter and frapping lines to control the boat alongside, nor what to do if the boat cannot be launched.
Heavy-weather launching is taught as a slogan; candidates never work through the interaction between ship motion, wind, and the boat's painter, so they cannot describe control of the boat once it is in the water.
What to do instead
Prepare a sequence: manoeuvre to create a lee, keep way off or minimal, use oil if carried to smooth the water, tend the painter to hold the boat at the embarkation point, use frapping lines to control the boat against the ship's side, embark, release on order, then clear immediately using the engine or oars. If launching is impossible, state the alternatives - liferafts, helicopter evacuation, staying with the ship as long as it is safe.
The candidate confuses the survival craft VHF (portable two-way radiotelephone) with the EPIRB and SART, misstating which frequencies the portable VHF uses and what the SART actually displays on a ship's radar.
All three are 'radio gear in the boat' and get lumped together; candidates memorise names without function, frequency, or activation method.
What to do instead
Build a table in memory: portable VHF - aviation and marine distress frequencies (121.5 MHz and the marine distress/safety channels), used for on-scene communication with rescue units; EPIRB - 406 MHz to the satellite system with 121.5 MHz homing, identifies the vessel and alerts SAR; SART - radar transponder answering 9 GHz, shown as a line of 12 dots on a rescuing vessel's radar, range dependent on height. Attach each to a distinct job: talk, alert, be found.
Asked to manage a hypothermic survivor, the candidate says 'warm them up quickly' and describes vigorous rubbing, hot drinks, or rapid rewarming, and does not mention gentle handling or the risk of cardiac arrest in severe hypothermia.
Everyday first-aid instincts ('rub to warm, give a hot drink') conflict with the correct pre-hospital management of hypothermia, and candidates answer from instinct rather than training.
What to do instead
State the rules: handle gently, keep horizontal, remove wet clothing with minimal disturbance, insulate and shield from wind, apply heat to the trunk (not limbs) using body heat or warm packs, no rubbing of limbs, no alcohol or caffeine, no hot drinks to a drowsy or confused casualty. Explain the reason: cold myocardium is irritable, and rough handling or peripheral rewarming can precipitate ventricular fibrillation. Evacuate all but mild cases.
During a drill question, the candidate lists actions but cannot state the required frequency of abandon-ship and fire drills, who must participate, and what must be recorded, or claims drills are only for new joiners.
Drills are treated as administrative box-ticking rather than a regulated requirement with content, interval, and record-keeping, so the specific figures and the debrief/record element are missing.
What to do instead
Learn the framework: abandon-ship and fire drills at the intervals set by SOLAS (monthly for ships on international voyages, within 24 hours of leaving port if more than 25% of the crew has not participated in the previous month's drill), everyone on board to participate, each craft launched and manoeuvred in the water at least once every three months, and every drill recorded with date, time, craft used, and remarks on deficiencies. Add that the drill must include a debrief and that faults found are logged and rectified.
The candidate cannot describe the difference between the on-load and off-load release gear, or between a davit-launched liferaft's automatic release and a lifeboat's release, and describes releasing the falls without mentioning the boat being waterborne and hooks clear.
Release gear is studied as one generic 'hook' and candidates never separate the mechanisms by load condition and craft type, so the critical safety conditions are lost.
What to do instead
Learn each as a distinct device: off-load release - hook opens only when the boat is fully waterborne and the falls are slack; on-load release - designed to release under load but protected by the hydrostatic interlock; liferaft automatic release - painter and hydrostatic release unit operate without manual action as the ship sinks. For each, state the condition required, the failure consequence, and the pre-drill check.
When asked to recover a person from the water or handle a casualty in the boat, the candidate jumps straight to first aid and omits the approach and recovery technique - slow approach, engine out of gear, lifting with the boat's equipment or a strop, and the risk of injuring the casualty against the boat's side.
Candidates separate 'boat handling' and 'first aid' into different subjects and never practise the combined sequence, so the recovery phase disappears from the answer.
What to do instead
Answer in order: locate and maintain visual contact, approach from downwind/downcurrent and stop the engine before contact, bring the casualty to the lowest freeboard point, use a recovery strop, ladder, or the boat's lifting arrangement, get them horizontal and out of the wind, then begin casualty care and hypothermia management. Note the risk of capsize and of the propeller if the engine is left engaged.
The candidate describes the lifejacket and immersion suit as 'the same thing' or claims an immersion suit removes the need for a lifejacket, and cannot state the performance features - buoyancy, self-righting, freeboard, thermal protection, and the donning and in-water checks.
Both are personal buoyancy equipment and are memorised as a single item; the thermal versus buoyancy functions and the in-water checks are never separated.
What to do instead
Distinguish: lifejacket - buoyancy, turns an unconscious wearer face up, keeps the mouth clear of the water, must be checked for fit and secured crotch strap, tested for automatic inflation if inflatable; immersion suit - thermal protection against cold water, may or may not have inherent buoyancy, so a lifejacket may still be required, and must be donned quickly with a check of seals, gloves, and hood. State the in-water checks: inflation, buoyancy, mouth clear, buddy check, and the HELP/huddle positions.
The candidate describes lifeboat and rescue boat construction and equipment in general terms ('it has water, food, and a first aid kit') and cannot state the key outfit items, their stowage, or the difference between a totally enclosed lifeboat and a rescue boat outfit.
Equipment lists are long and candidates skim them, so they cannot recall specific items, quantities, or which craft carries what, and lose marks on the detail questions.
What to do instead
Learn the outfit by function groups: buoyancy and flotation (built-in, plus bailer), propulsion (engine, fuel, oars, painter), survival (water, food rations, thermal protective aids, first aid kit, seasickness tablets), signalling (portable VHF, SART, EPIRB, flares, torch, whistle), and seamanship (sea anchor, compass, bucket, fire extinguisher, hatchet, jack-knife). Anchor each item to its craft: rescue boats emphasise recovery and towing gear and are faster and more manoeuvrable; totally enclosed lifeboats emphasise self-righting, fire protection, and internal seating with harnesses.