Marine Engineering and Engine Room Watchkeeping (STCW Chapter III)
What the exam tests
Engine-room watchkeeping under STCW Chapter III tests safe operation of propulsion and auxiliary machinery, watch handover, pollution prevention and response to alarms, including unmanned machinery space discipline where fitted.
Core rules
- III/1 covers the officer in charge of an engineering watch; III/4 covers ratings forming part of a watch.
- The watchkeeper monitors pressures, temperatures, levels, fuel and lubricating oil, bilges, steering gear and electrical load, and records parameters and defects.
- Before fuel transfer or ballast operations, notify the bridge, check scuppers and save-alls, agree quantity and timing, and monitor tank levels.
- Isolation for maintenance uses permit-to-work, lockout and tagout, proving dead and warning notices; safety alarms must not be bypassed.
- SOLAS requires steering gear drills and emergency generator testing; emergency power and fire pumps must be demonstrably ready.
Worked example
The high-level bilge alarm sounds in the engine room. Treat it as a possible flooding or leakage source, not a nuisance. Inform the bridge, send a second person, check the bilge level and pump, identify whether the source is sea water, fresh water, fuel or oil, and start the appropriate pump. If oil is present, do not pump overboard; use the oily-water separator within MARPOL limits and record the operation. Escalate to the chief engineer if the level continues to rise.
Traps
Silencing alarms without investigating; transferring fuel without bridge notification; using a general service pump for oily bilges; assuming UMS means no rounds; failing to record defects or temporary repairs.