ONDECK
Academy
OOW Oral Prep
Module 16 — OOW 3000 GT Oral Preparation
COSWP · Publications · Salvage · MLC
Code of Safe Working Practices · MSNs, MGNs, MINs · Salvage law · MLC 2006 · Crew agreements
COSWP — Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen
COSWP is the principal UK reference for health and safety at sea. It is not a set of regulations — it is statutory guidance. Failure to follow it does not automatically constitute an offence, but it is evidence of unsafe working practice.
| Topic | Key COSWP requirement |
|---|---|
| Risk assessments | Required before any non-routine task. Identify hazards, assess likelihood and severity, apply controls, record and review. Work must not proceed until residual risk is acceptable |
| Permit to Work | Required for high-risk operations — enclosed space entry, working aloft, hot work, work over the side. Formal record that controls are in place |
| PPE | Employer must provide suitable PPE at no cost to the seafarer. Seafarer must use it correctly |
| Working aloft | Permit to work required. Risk assessment. Harness and lifeline. No work during heavy weather or at sea in adverse conditions without specific risk assessment |
| Enclosed space entry | Never enter an enclosed space without a permit to work. Test atmosphere (O₂, flammable gases, toxic gases) before entry. Standby person at entry point. Rescue equipment ready. Continuous ventilation |
| Mooring operations | Snap-back zones must be known to all. Never stand in the bight of a line. Never put body parts through a closed fairlead. Hard hats and gloves to be worn |
ENCLOSED SPACE ENTRY: More seafarers die attempting to rescue people from enclosed spaces than die from the original incident. The standby person must not enter without full PPE and rescue equipment ready. Call the Master before entry.
MCA Publications — MSNs, MGNs, MINs
| Publication | Full name | Purpose & status |
|---|---|---|
| MSN | Merchant Shipping Notice | Sets out mandatory requirements under Merchant Shipping legislation. Legal force — non-compliance is an offence. Example: MSN 1851 (LY3 Code), MSN 1858 (Manning scales) |
| MGN | Marine Guidance Note | Guidance and best practice — not mandatory but expected to be followed. Example: MGN 280 (Small Vessels Code), MGN 315 (OOW watchkeeping) |
| MIN | Marine Information Note | Short-term information notices — updates, reminders, policy clarifications. No legal force. Published for limited period then withdrawn |
| Annual Summary of NtMs | Admiralty Notices to Mariners — Annual Summary | Cumulative corrections to charts and publications. Section VI contains temporary and preliminary notices still in force. Available free from UKHO |
All are published on the MCA website (gov.uk/mca). The OOW should be familiar with the key MSNs and MGNs applicable to their vessel type and trading area.
Salvage Law — Basics
Salvage: Voluntary service rendered to a vessel or its cargo in distress at sea, which succeeds in saving the property. A successful salvor is entitled to a reward from the property owner.
| Principle | Detail |
|---|---|
| No cure no pay | Traditional principle — salvage reward is only payable if the salvage operation is successful. If property is not saved, no award is made |
| LOF — Lloyd's Open Form | The standard salvage contract used internationally. Agreement to salve on "Lloyd's Open Form" terms — dispute resolved by Lloyd's arbitration. The most common contract used in casualty situations |
| Special Compensation | Under the 1989 Salvage Convention, a salvor who prevents or limits environmental damage may claim special compensation even if the vessel is not saved — avoids the "no cure no pay" limitation in environmental cases |
| SCOPIC | Special Compensation P&I Club clause — alternative to the 1989 Convention special compensation. Invoked where there is a threat of oil pollution |
| Master's authority | The Master has authority to enter into a salvage agreement on behalf of the shipowner and cargo interests in an emergency — but should consult the owner whenever possible |
| Crew cannot claim salvage | Crew members cannot claim salvage for saving their own vessel — they are paid to do so. They can claim for saving another vessel |
MLC 2006 — Maritime Labour Convention
MLC 2006 is the "seafarers' bill of rights" — sets global minimum standards for seafarers' working and living conditions. In force since 2013. Applies to all commercial vessels of 500 GT and over on international voyages.
Five Titles
- Title 1: Minimum requirements to work — age, medical fitness, training, qualifications
- Title 2: Conditions of employment — contracts, wages, leave, repatriation
- Title 3: Accommodation, recreational facilities, food and catering
- Title 4: Health protection, medical care, welfare, social security
- Title 5: Compliance and enforcement — flag state, port state, labour inspections
Key requirements
- Minimum age 16 — minimum age 18 for night work and hazardous work
- Medical certificate — ENG1 or equivalent, valid for 2 years
- SEA (Seafarer Employment Agreement) — written contract for all seafarers
- Minimum wage — set by ILO Joint Maritime Commission
- Annual leave — minimum 2.5 days per month
- Hours: maximum 14 hours work in any 24 hours, maximum 72 hours in any 7 days
- Repatriation at owner's expense on termination of employment
Crew Agreements
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| When required | All UK-registered vessels going to sea — and foreign vessels when required by the flag state. Under MLC, all seafarers must have a written SEA (Seafarer Employment Agreement) |
| Content | Name and date of birth, capacity, wages, leave entitlement, working hours, termination terms, repatriation arrangements, reference to applicable CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) if any |
| Duration | Maximum 12 months — must be renewed on expiry |
| Inspection | PSC inspectors will check that all crew have valid SEAs and that conditions meet MLC minimum standards. Vessels can be detained for MLC deficiencies |
COSWP in Practice — Permits, Risk Assessment, Enclosed Spaces
The Code of Safe Working Practices is the seafarer's HSE bible, and three of its systems are daily yacht reality:
| System | Content | The yacht application |
|---|---|---|
| Risk assessment | Hazards identified, risks evaluated, controls applied and recorded — reviewed when the job or conditions change | Working aloft on the mast, over-side work, rigging the passerelle in surge — assessed and written, not assumed |
| Permit to work | A formal check that isolations, atmosphere, equipment and rescue arrangements exist BEFORE high-risk work starts — signed, time-limited, closed out | Hot work near tanks, enclosed space entry, work on pressurised or live systems |
| Enclosed space regime | Spaces identified and listed; entry only under permit — atmosphere tested, ventilated, comms, lifeline, a tended backup, drills held as required | Chain locker, fuel and water tanks, the void under the tender garage — and the iron rule when a man is down: NOBODY follows without BA, because rescuers are a horrifying share of enclosed-space deaths |
The Publications Rack — What You Reach For, and For What
| Publication | You open it for |
|---|---|
| Sailing Directions (Pilots) | Approach guidance, local regulations, port detail, dangers in words the chart can't carry |
| Admiralty List of Lights | Full light characters and detail beyond the chart abbreviation |
| List of Radio Signals | VTS procedures, port radio, pilot services, GMDSS shore infrastructure — opened BEFORE the reporting point |
| Tide Tables & Tidal Stream Atlases | The height and set arithmetic under every UKC and CTS decision |
| Notices to Mariners (weekly, cumulative) | The correction chain that keeps everything above true |
| NP100 Mariner's Handbook | The meta-knowledge: chart reliability, buoyage, ice, conventions |
| Ocean Passages / Routeing Charts | Strategic legs: seasonal winds, currents, TRS statistics by month |
| IAMSAR Vol III | The on-board SAR volume: patterns, OSC duties, pro-forma SITREPs |
The examiner's real question is currency and use: every volume corrected to date, and consulted at the PLANNING stage — the List of Radio Signals discovered mid-channel is a plan that was never appraised.
Salvage — What You Agree Before You Take the Line
Salvage law rewards the voluntary saving of property at sea: no cure, no pay under the classic Lloyd's Open Form — the salvor earns an award only if property is saved, assessed later by arbitration. The modern layer: SCOPIC and the 1989 Salvage Convention's environmental provisions can compensate a salvor who protects the environment even without saving the ship. The OOW-level facts: LOF is agreed FAST, often by VHF ("Lloyd's Open Form, no cure no pay — agreed") precisely so nobody negotiates while the ship drifts down on the rocks; accepting a tow from a passing vessel CAN constitute salvage — which is why a simple agreed towage contract or an agreed fee beats silence when the situation is urgent but not desperate; and pure LIFE salvage carries no award from the persons saved — assisting life is the SOLAS duty, unpaid, always. The master decides, the office and insurers are informed immediately, and everything is logged.
MLC 2006 — The Four Pillars on a Working Yacht
| Pillar | What an inspector checks |
|---|---|
| Employment | Every crew member's SEA (Seafarer Employment Agreement) aboard, signed, matching the crew list; wages paid as agreed |
| Conditions | Hours of REST records — 10 h in any 24 (max two periods, one ≥6 h), 77 h in 7 days — kept truthfully and cross-checked against the deck log's movements |
| Accommodation & food | Standards per the flag's DMLC; the cook's certification; food and water quality |
| Health & welfare | ENG1/medical certificates in date, medical care arrangements, the on-board complaint procedure posted and genuinely usable |
MLC deficiencies are detainable, and the classic finding is the reconciliation: a rest log claiming eight unbroken hours against a deck log showing a 0230 arrival and 0600 departure. The record must be TRUE — a falsified rest log also hands away your own defence after any incident. Certification bites at 500 GT (Maritime Labour Certificate + DMLC), but the substance applies below it.
Additional Question
A crew member comes to you with a wages dispute the heads of department haven't resolved. What does MLC give them — and you?
The on-board complaint procedure — posted, with named steps: typically HOD, then master, with timescales, and the seafarer's right to be accompanied and protected from victimisation. Beyond the ship: the DPA route for safety-flavoured issues, the flag state, and in port the Port State Control officer or the ITF — and MLC requires the contact details to be available to them. My part as OOW is procedural honesty: take it seriously, record it, escalate it within the steps, and never sit on it — an unresolved complaint that surfaces at a PSC inspection as 'the ship ignored me' is a finding against the vessel, where the same complaint handled through the procedure is evidence the system works.
Oral Exam Practice Questions
Question 1
What is the difference between an MSN, an MGN, and a MIN?
A Merchant Shipping Notice (MSN) has the force of law — it sets out mandatory requirements under Merchant Shipping legislation and non-compliance is an offence. A Marine Guidance Note (MGN) is guidance and best practice — not legally mandatory but the MCA expects compliance and PSC inspectors use it as a benchmark. A Marine Information Note (MIN) is a short-term informational notice with no legal force — it is published for a limited period and then withdrawn. All three are published on the MCA website.
Question 2
What is the "no cure no pay" principle in salvage?
No cure no pay is the traditional basis of salvage law — a salvor is only entitled to a reward if the salvage operation is successful and the property is saved. If the vessel or cargo is not saved, no reward is payable regardless of the effort expended. The 1989 Salvage Convention modified this for environmental cases — a salvor who prevents or minimises environmental damage may receive special compensation even if the vessel is not saved. The standard salvage contract is Lloyd's Open Form, which uses no cure no pay as its basis with the environmental compensation provisions of the 1989 Convention.
Question 3
What is a Permit to Work and when is it required?
A Permit to Work is a formal documented control measure under COSWP — a written record confirming that all necessary safety precautions are in place before a high-risk operation begins. It is required for enclosed space entry, working aloft, hot work (welding, cutting), work over the side, and other high-risk tasks as defined in the vessel's SMS. The permit identifies the hazards, the persons involved, the control measures, and the responsible officer. Work must not begin until the permit is signed off. The permit is cancelled when the work is complete and the area is confirmed safe.
Question 4
What are the MLC maximum hours of work?
Under MLC 2006, the maximum hours of work are 14 hours in any 24-hour period and 72 hours in any 7-day period. The alternative regime is minimum rest: 10 hours in any 24-hour period and 77 hours in any 7-day period — the formulation that matches STCW Chapter VIII. MLC lets the flag state apply either the maximum-work or the minimum-rest regime (they are alternatives, not arithmetic equivalents); UK and REG practice follows the minimum-rest figures. Rest periods may be divided into no more than two periods, one of which must be at least 6 hours. Hours of work and rest records must be maintained and available for inspection by PSC.