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 "MARPOL"
What is a garbage management plan and what does MARPOL require?
A garbage management plan sets out how a ship collects, separates, stores and disposes of its garbage in line with MARPOL Annex V, which bans plastics disposal at sea.
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.
Marine MachineryHow does a marine incinerator work and what can it burn?
A marine incinerator burns the ship's waste oils, sludge and solid garbage in a combustion chamber, subject to MARPOL rules on what may be incinerated and where.
Marine MachineryHow does a ship's sewage treatment plant work?
A marine sewage treatment plant breaks down the ship's sewage — usually biologically — and disinfects it so that the treated effluent meets MARPOL Annex IV discharge standards.
Maritime GlossaryWhat does STCW mean?
STCW explained — the international convention that sets minimum training, certification and watchkeeping standards for seafarers worldwide.
Shipboard OperationsWhat are the key steps in a safe bunkering operation?
The essentials of safe bunkering — the agreed plan and checklist, scuppers and SOPEP readiness, communication, monitoring and verifying the figures.
Maritime GlossaryWhat is SOLAS?
SOLAS explained — the IMO's most important safety convention and the areas of ship safety it governs.
Shipboard OperationsHow do I prepare for a Port State Control inspection?
How to be ready for Port State Control — certificates, drills, maintenance evidence and housekeeping — so a routine inspection does not become a detention.
Marine MachineryWhy does the oily water separator 15 ppm bilge alarm keep activating?
The 15 ppm alarm on the oily water separator stops overboard discharge when the oil content is too high — the causes lie in the separator, the monitor or the feed.
Marine MachineryHow does a ship's refrigeration plant work?
A marine refrigeration plant uses the vapour-compression cycle to move heat out of provision rooms or cargo spaces, keeping food and cargo cold at sea.
Shipboard OperationsWhat is crude oil washing (COW) on a tanker?
Crude oil washing cleans a tanker's cargo tanks during discharge by spraying them with the crude cargo itself, which dissolves clingage and reduces residue, sludge and pollution.
Shipboard OperationsHow is a cargo tank cleaned on a tanker?
Cargo tanks are cleaned with fixed or portable washing machines using water or crude oil, followed by draining, gas-freeing and ventilation, before a change of cargo, entry or repair.
