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 "Life-saving appliances"
What is SOLAS?
SOLAS explained — the IMO's most important safety convention and the areas of ship safety it governs.
Shipboard OperationsWhat are the SOLAS lifeboat and abandon ship drill requirements?
SOLAS requires regular abandon-ship and fire drills, with musters, equipment checks and the lowering and manoeuvring of lifeboats at defined intervals.
Merchant Navy CareersWhat are the four STCW basic safety training courses?
Before joining a ship, every seafarer must complete STCW basic safety training — four short courses covering survival, firefighting, first aid and personal safety.
Shipboard OperationsWhat is the abandon ship procedure and when is it ordered?
Abandoning ship is the last resort when a vessel can no longer be saved — it follows a drilled sequence of muster, boarding survival craft and summoning rescue.
Shipboard OperationsWhat is a muster list on a ship?
A muster list is the SOLAS-required document that assigns every crew member their duties and muster station for each emergency, and sets out the alarm signals.
