Subject : ASM Orals

Venue : Old MMD, Mumbai

Date : 08.May.2014
Internal : Capt L K Panda (Principal Officer)
External : Capt. J B Singh ( Scheduled but didnt come )
Candidate: Krishna K Dwivedi

1) What is OCIMF? What inspections are conducted by them? Is it mandatory? If not mandatory then why
these inspections are carried out?
(Need brief description about OCIMF and its objectives; SIRE & OVID; not mandatory, explain objectives
of OCIMF).

2) What is BIMCO?
(Details about BIMCO, non-governmental organization)

3) What is LRIT? If u are an Indian vessel in South American waters, how does the LRIT information reach to
DGS?
( LRIT as per SOLAS Reg. V/19.1; Ship sends Automatic Position Report to Inmarsat or private satellite,
satellite to Communication Service Provider, CSP to Application Service Provider, ASP adds few info to
the message like IMO no, MMSI no, time stamps and ship identity, then sends to Indian National Data
Centre, DC stores that msg and is connected to International Data Exchange IDE via a Data Distribution
Plan server; any flag or port state or coastal state for any ship within 1000 NM of its territory can
request data through this IDE which uses some security protocols and then transfers the data to the
requested NDC for a nominal charge, every NDC has a numerical code for identification purpose; IMSO
has been designated as the LRIT co-ordinator by IMO, I told him in Indian context the private satellite is
provided by ISRO, corporate office Antariksh, managed by TATA, CSP named CMC- Computer Mgmt
Company and ASP provided by TATA, Indian NDC located at Mumbai MMD 3
rd
floor).

4) If u activate the SSAS button, how will the info reach to your flag state DGS?
( SOLAS Reg XI-2/6, press SSAS button, inbuilt covert signal goes to Inmarsat C or private satellite, then
via CSP/ASP goes to Company CSO who further sends it to DGS, here Nautical Advisor is the incharge to
rcv it, after confirmation that it is not a false alert the DGS sends it to Ministry of Surface Transport
where Chief Security Officer receives this info, he further informs the same to the Indian Coastguard,
then Indian Coastguard requests the coastguard of that country which is nearest to your ship location to
proceed for help.)

5) You are near to Mauritius, you send a distress alert via Sat-c, how will the alert transfer and to whom?
(The alert goes to Inmarsat-C, then to LES Aravi in Pune, then to MRCC Mauritius).

6) What is Certificate of Class? Is it mandatory? Which regulation?
( Yes, mandatory; SOLAS Reg. II-2/3.1 & Reg.XI-2/1).

7) What all certificates issued by Class? Under which regulation?
( SOLAS Reg. II-1/12; Safety Construction certificate under Ch. II-1&2, Safety Equipment cert under Ch. II-
1&2, Ch.III & V, Safety Radio Cert under Ch.IV).

8) U go onboard, how do u check whether Certificate of Class is in Compliance?
( By checking Quaterly List of Class survey reports and also Annual Class survey report).

9) What was the Fixed fire fighting arrangement on your last ship (VLCC)? Required under which
regulation?
( Low expansion foam for deck, High expansion foam for Engine room & Pumproom and Water Mist
spray system for Engine room; SOLAS Reg. II-2/10).

10) What is PSC inspection? Who gives authority to them for inspection, under what regulation?
( Purpose of PSC, eliminate substandard ships, back up for flag state implementation; national
legislations gives authority after ratifying applicable conventions; SOLAS Reg.I/19, IX/6, XI-1/4, XI-2/9;
MARPOL Annex-I/11, II/16.9, III/8, IV/13, V/8, VI/10; Loadlines Article 21, Tonnage- Article 12, AFS
Article 11, STCW Article 10, Reg I-4, UNCLOS Article 25, 73, 216, 218, 219, 226, MSA 1958 Sec 336,
342).

11) What report given by PSC?
( Form A & B, Detention report and Release Report, notification to Flag state and Class).

12) What is IOMOU? Procedure for PSC inspection of foreign vessels in Indian ports?
( MS notice no.9 of 2013).

13) What is MLC? Certificates under MLC 2006?
( Maritime Labour Certificate, Appendix A5-II & Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance -Part I&II ).

14) What is DMLC Part I&II?
( Part I is declaration by Class for the 14 listed items in Appendix A5-I, national requirements contained
in national legislation, details of any substantial equivalencies and any exemptions granted).
( Part II is declaration by ship owner for measures adopted to ensure ongoing compliance between
inspections for all the listed 14 items).

15) Gave data as: Low water 0700, High Water 1330, Tide range 7.0m, what time u would prefer to do
anchoring and why?
( During Slack water occurring before High water; to avoid excessive strain on the chain cable due to the
rising tide from low water to high water).

16) Draw a diagram showing the connection between anchor shank and the cable.
( The D-shackle, the End link, the Swivel arrangement and the common link).

17) What contract of carriage is used on oil tanker?
( As per Clause Paramount in B/L).

18) What is Clause Paramount?
19) Can Hague Rules be applied in a tanker contract of carriage?
( Yes, if it is accepted in the national legislation and/or if mutually agreed by both parties).

20) What is the limitation of liability as per Hague-Visby rules?
( Max 666.67 SDR per package).

21) That is per package, then how can it be applied to oil tanker where oil is not in package form?
( Then as per 2 SDR per unit weight/Kg, calculated for B/L quantity in MT after converting into Kg).


NOTE: Capt. L K Panda wants answers straight forward, to point blank. Do not give vague answers if you
are not sure. If you dont know then just say Sorry Sir, I dont know. He is very particular about LRIT,
SSAS, Distress via Sat-c and EPIRB. Be thorough with all important regulations and conventions.
Whatever you know, be 100% confident on that but at the same time dont be arrogant. He will try to
confuse you a lot to check your confidence. But in the end, he is a gentleman and very practical. He will
ask you about your company and ships u sailed on before starting the orals.
Above mentioned are the prominent questions which I could remember. There were few other
questions too but general in nature.

My personal advice: please prepare for the surveyor-specific question sets on priority basis.

Thanks to God, my family and my colleagues of MASSA ASM batch.
Special thanks to MASSA faculty.
And tons of thanks to Kedar Thakre.

Wish you all good luck for your orals, as I had.