Safety, Emergency Response and Pollution Prevention
What the exam tests
Safety, Emergency Response and Pollution Prevention tests SOLAS/LSA/FSS, drills, musters, firefighting, abandon ship, pollution response and ISM. The exam expects sequence and command.
Core rules and concepts
- Emergency organisation: muster list, bridge control, fire teams, damage control, medical and abandonment.
- Muster list covers survival craft, fire, damage control, emergency steering and radio.
- SOLAS lifeboat capacity: cargo ships need 100% capacity each side; totally enclosed lifeboats and a rescue boat are separate requirements.
- Fire: detect, alarm, contain, cool, and use a fixed system only after boundary checks and personnel are accounted for.
- Drills: fire and abandon-ship drills monthly; record date, participants and deficiencies.
- Pollution: SOPEP/SMPEP, notify authorities, stop source, contain and record; MARPOL Annexes I–VI apply.
- VDR and checklists support investigation and training; never falsify records.
Worked example
A cargo ship has 40 persons. Each side has one lifeboat rated 25 persons. That gives 25 per side, less than 40, so the arrangement fails the 100% each-side requirement. The ship needs additional capacity or a different LSA arrangement. A rescue boat is separate and does not count as a lifeboat.
Traps
Counting total lifeboat capacity instead of per side; running a drill without debrief; using fixed CO2 before accounting for personnel; delaying pollution notification; and treating SOPEP as paperwork only.
Key points: 100% each side; drill records; fire sequence; SOPEP notification; MARPOL annexes; VDR.