MARINA Chief Mate / Master Theoretical Exam study guide
MARINA Chief Mate / Master Theoretical Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The MARINA Chief Mate and Master Theoretical Examinations are the written knowledge assessments that a Philippine officer must pass as part of the certification path toward an STCW II/2 management-level certificate. They are intended for deck officers who have completed the required seagoing service and are moving from operational-level watchkeeping into the roles of chief mate or master. The MARINA Chief Mate / Master Theoretical Exam study guide has 9 sections and about 3,505 words.
01Navigation
The Navigation paper checks whether you can fix and monitor a ship's position, plan a passage to a documented standard, and correct course and speed for set and drift. Expect chartwork questions on running fixes and tidal work, great-circle and rhumb-line sailing, and ECDIS safety settings.
413 words, about 2 min02Cargo Handling and Stowage
This domain tests whether you can load a ship safely and prove it on paper: bulk cargo hazards, grain stability, IMDG segregation and stowage, hold cleanliness, deck cargo securing under the CSS Code, and draft surveys. Group A: cargoes that may liquefy, such as iron ore fines, nickel ore and mineral concentrates.
411 words, about 2 min03Response to Emergency Situations
This domain tests the decisions taken in the first few minutes: fire, flooding, collision, man overboard, abandon ship, and the drill and contingency-plan framework behind them. Break the fire triangle: remove fuel, oxygen or heat.
380 words, about 2 min04Ship Construction and Stability
The paper tests transverse and longitudinal strength and stability: GM and free surface, the GZ curve against the IMO intact stability criteria, angle of loll versus list, damage stability, load line and shear force and bending moment. GM (fluid) = KM − KG − free surface correction, where FSC = free surface moment ÷ displacement.
392 words, about 2 min05Meteorology and Oceanography
This domain tests weather interpretation and ship handling in weather: pressure systems and isobars, Buys Ballot, tropical revolving storms and avoidance, fronts and fog, sea state, currents and swell, and weather routeing. Isobars show the pressure gradient: the closer they are, the stronger the wind.
412 words, about 2 min06Ship Operations and Personnel Management
This domain tests the management side of command: STCW rest hours, safe watchkeeping, ISM and ISPS implementation, enclosed space entry, risk assessment, drill planning and port state control readiness. At least 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period.
353 words, about 2 min07Maritime Law and International Conventions
This paper tests the legal framework in which the master operates: UNCLOS maritime zones, SOLAS and MARPOL obligations, STCW and MLC 2006, certificates and surveys, salvage and pollution liability, and port state control. Internal waters: full sovereignty.
379 words, about 2 min08Marine Engineering and Ship Power Plants
This domain tests the deck officer's working knowledge of propulsion and auxiliary machinery: the slow-speed two-stroke diesel, turbocharging and scavenging, fuel treatment and sulphur limits, boilers, steering gear, inert gas and pollution equipment. Large ships use crosshead two-stroke diesels, with uniflow scavenging, exhaust-valve timing and constant-pressure turbocharging.
395 words, about 2 min09Communications and Electronic Navigation Systems
This paper tests GMDSS carriage and distress procedures plus the electronic aids used for navigation and collision avoidance: ECDIS, radar and ARPA, AIS, GNSS, VDR and LRIT. A1: within VHF coast-station coverage, usually with DSC on VHF channel 70.
370 words, about 2 min