Maritime Knowledge Base
Browse questions and answers across marine machinery, merchant navy careers, shipboard operations and maritime glossary terms.
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Marine Machinery
Troubleshooting guides for pumps, boilers, purifiers, compressors and auxiliary systems.
Merchant Navy Careers
Questions about joining the merchant navy, exams, cadetships, ranks and sea-time.
Maritime Glossary
Plain-English definitions of shipping, engine-room, navigation and regulatory terms.
Shipboard Operations
Practical Q&A for watchkeeping, safety, maintenance routines and onboard documentation.
Results for "IMO"
What is SOLAS?
SOLAS explained — the IMO's most important safety convention and the areas of ship safety it governs.
Maritime GlossaryWhat does STCW mean?
STCW explained — the international convention that sets minimum training, certification and watchkeeping standards for seafarers worldwide.
Merchant Navy CareersWhat is a Certificate of Competency (CoC) and how do I get one?
What a CoC is, the STCW rank levels it comes in, and the sea time, courses and exams needed to earn and raise one.
Maritime GlossaryWhat is ballast water and why is it managed?
What ballast water is, why ships carry it, and why it is now exchanged or treated under the Ballast Water Management Convention.
Shipboard OperationsWhat is a Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP)?
SOPEP is the Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan, a MARPOL-required plan that tells the crew how to report and respond to an oil spill from the ship.
Shipboard OperationsWhy are enclosed spaces on ships so dangerous?
Enclosed spaces kill because their atmosphere can be oxygen-deficient, toxic or flammable with no outward sign — and rescuers who rush in become the next victims.
Merchant Navy CareersHow long does it take to become a ship captain in the merchant navy?
Becoming a Master typically takes somewhere around eight to twelve years from cadet, depending on the individual, the flag and how quickly sea time and certificate examinations are completed.
Shipboard OperationsHow is cargo secured and lashed on a ship?
Cargo is secured against the forces of the ship's motion using lashings, twistlocks and dunnage, in accordance with the ship's approved Cargo Securing Manual.
Merchant Navy CareersWhat is sea time and why is it required for certificates of competency?
Sea time is the period of approved service at sea a seafarer must complete to qualify for each certificate of competency — proof of real experience, recorded and verified.
Shipboard OperationsHow is ballast water managed and treated on board a ship?
Under the Ballast Water Management Convention, ships manage ballast water either by mid-ocean exchange or, increasingly, by treating it through an approved system before discharge.
Shipboard OperationsWhat precautions does a ship take in heavy weather?
In heavy weather a ship reduces speed and adjusts course to ease its motion, secures everything for sea, manages ballast and stability, and guards against dangerous rolling.
Shipboard OperationsWhat are safe pilot boarding arrangements and pilot ladder requirements?
Pilot boarding arrangements must let a pilot get on and off a moving ship safely, chiefly by a correctly rigged pilot ladder meeting SOLAS requirements, attended by an officer.
