Navigation
Passage planning, position fixing, charts and electronic navigation.
Topics in study order
- 1.IALA Buoyage System and Light Characters
How the IALA Maritime Buoyage System works worldwide: Regions A and B, the direction of buoyage, and how to read the light character of every mark. It is the base for identifying any buoy by day or night, on a paper chart or ECDIS, and a standard MCA oral question.
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1 Nov 2026 - 2.OOW Duties and the Safe Navigational Watch
What the officer of the watch must do under STCW A-VIII/2 and MGN 315: the OOW as the Master's representative, the job description of the navigational watch, when the OOW may be the sole look-out, and the classic oral scenario of a vessel seen aground. It is the base of almost every MCA bridge question.
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1 Nov 2026 - 3.Handing Over the Watch and Calling the Master
How the outgoing officer hands over and the relieving officer takes over a navigational watch under STCW A-VIII/2 and MGN 315 (M), how standing and night orders fit in, and exactly when the OOW must call the Master. A favourite MCA oral question: examiners expect the lists in a clear order and no hesitation to call.
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1 Nov 2026 - 4.Lateral Marks and Preferred Channel
Port and starboard lateral marks in IALA Regions A and B, and the preferred channel marks used where a channel splits: colour, shape, topmark and light. Reading them right keeps the ship inside the buoyed channel, and they are a standard MCA oral question.
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1 Nov 2026 - 5.Cardinal Marks
The four IALA cardinal marks — North, East, South and West: what they tell you, their topmarks, colours and white lights, and how to pass them. Reading them fast keeps the ship on the safe side of a danger, and they are a standard MCA oral question.
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1 Nov 2026 - 6.Hours of Rest, Fatigue and Safe Manning
How a ship's minimum safe manning is set and documented (MSN 1868, the Safe Manning Document, yacht scales in MSN 1858), the hours-of-rest rules of STCW A-VIII/1 and MLC 2006 (10 h / 77 h / 14 h, exceptions, young seafarers, records) and how fatigue is managed. Tired, under-manned bridges cause accidents, and MCA examiners expect these numbers without hesitation.
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1 Nov 2026 - 7.Bridge Equipment: SOLAS V/19 Carriage Requirements
What SOLAS V/19 makes a ship carry on the bridge, step by step from all ships up to 50,000 GT, and how the OOW checks and uses each item: compasses, GNSS, logs, echo sounder, ECDIS, AIS, BNWAS and steering gear. "What must a 500 GT yacht carry?" is a classic MCA oral question.
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1 Nov 2026 - 8.Isolated Danger, Safe Water and Special Marks
The isolated danger, safe water and special marks of the IALA system: what each one tells you, and its colour, shape, topmark and light. They are the same in Regions A and B, show you hazards, open water and special areas, and come up regularly in the MCA oral.
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1 Nov 2026 - 9.Compulsory Nautical Publications
Which nautical publications a ship must carry on the bridge (SOLAS V/27, MGN 610 Annex B, the MCA list), how to remember them, what each one is for and how to keep them and the charts up to date with Notices to Mariners. "What publications must you carry?" is a classic MCA oral question.
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1 Nov 2026 - 10.Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy
The IALA emergency wreck mark: the blue-and-yellow buoy laid quickly over a new wreck or other new danger, with its stripes, upright yellow cross, alternating blue/yellow light, racon and AIS. Recognising it at once keeps you off an uncharted wreck, and it is a classic MCA oral question.
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1 Nov 2026 - 11.Chart Projections, Scales and Datums
How Mercator and gnomonic charts work, how to read chart scales, and which horizontal and vertical datums sit behind every position and depth, plus survey quality (CATZOC) and raster vs vector charts. It is the base of safe chartwork and a regular MCA oral question.
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1 Nov 2026 - 12.Light Descriptions and Light Ranges
How to read a light description on the chart or in the List of Lights, and how luminous, nominal and geographical range decide when a light is first seen. It is the base for night landfalls, identifying lights and the bearing-and-dipping-distance fix, and a standard MCA oral question.
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1 Nov 2026 - 13.Chart Correction and Notices to Mariners
How to keep paper charts, ENCs and nautical publications up to date with ADMIRALTY Notices to Mariners: the Weekly, Cumulative and Annual products, T&Ps and the step-by-step correction routine. An uncorrected chart is not legal, and examiners expect you to prove a chart is up to date and correct it in front of them.
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1 Nov 2026 - 14.Compass Errors: Variation, Deviation and Gyro Error
How to find and apply compass error: variation from the chart, deviation from the ship's own magnetism, and gyro error. Covers correctors, swinging the compass, conversions, transits and Sun amplitudes, and the checks the OOW makes every watch — a favourite MCA oral subject.
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1 Nov 2026 - 15.Position Fixing and Position Lines
How bearings, transits, sextant angles and soundings become position lines and a fix, and how DR, EP, the running fix, set, drift and leeway carry the position between fixes. It is the core of coastal chartwork and a standard MCA oral question on navigating safely without trusting GPS alone.
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1 Nov 2026 - 16.Tides and Tidal Calculations
How the Moon and Sun raise the tide, springs and neaps, tidal levels and chart datum, and how to work heights, times and tidal streams with the Admiralty Tide Tables, tidal diamonds and tidal stream atlases. It is the base of under-keel clearance and passage planning, and a fixed part of the MCA chartwork exam.
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1 Nov 2026 - 17.GNSS: Errors, DGPS and DOP
How GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou) fixes a ship's position, the errors that degrade it, what DOP values mean, how DGPS and SBAS correct it, and what backs it up. GNSS feeds ECDIS, radar and AIS, so knowing its limits and cross-checking it is a core OOW oral subject.
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1 Nov 2026 - 18.Echo Sounders and Speed Logs
How the echo sounder and the speed logs (impeller, electromagnetic, Doppler) work, how to set them up, what makes them lie, and why the speed fed to radar and ARPA matters. Frequencies, multiple echoes and Doppler SOG vs STW are classic MCA questions.
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1 Nov 2026 - 19.ECDIS: Safety Settings, Alarms and Back-up
What makes an ECDIS different from an ECS, how ENC and raster charts differ, how to set the safety contour and safety depth, which alarms and indications IMO requires, and what back-up must be on board. Wrong settings or no working back-up can put a ship aground, and examiners ask about the five alarms and safety contour settings in almost every oral.
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1 Nov 2026 - 20.AIS and VHF in Collision Avoidance
What AIS is, its Class A and Class B units, the data it sends and how often, how to keep your own AIS data right, and why AIS and VHF must never replace the COLREG (MGN 324). Examiners often ask whether you would trust AIS, or call a ship on VHF, to avoid a collision.
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1 Nov 2026 - 21.Passage Planning: Appraisal, Planning, Execution, Monitoring
The four stages of passage planning required by SOLAS V/34 and IMO A.893(21): what to gather, what to put on the chart or ECDIS, how to brief and run the plan, and how to monitor it until the next berth. A core MCA oral subject: examiners want the stages in order, with real examples.
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1 Nov 2026 - 22.Departure, Arrival and Anchor Watch Procedures
The OOW's checklists for getting a ship ready for sea, preparing for arrival and the pilot, anchoring, keeping the anchor watch and keeping the port watch alongside. A core MCA oral subject: examiners expect ordered lists, the right flags and signals, and a clear plan for a dragging anchor.
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1 Nov 2026 - 23.Watchkeeping in Coastal Waters and Restricted Visibility
The OOW's bridge procedure in coastal waters and in restricted visibility: charts and fixes, hand steering, look-outs, engines on standby, fog signals and calling the Master (MGN 315 (M), STCW A-VIII/2). A core MCA oral question: examiners want the checklist in order, COLREG duties first.
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1 Nov 2026 - 24.Squat and Interaction
How a ship sinks and trims when moving through shallow water (squat), and how the pressure around a moving hull pushes and pulls ships near banks, other ships and tugs (interaction). It decides your under-keel clearance and safe speed in channels, and MGN 199 and the squat rule of thumb are classic MCA oral questions.
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1 Nov 2026 - 25.Mooring Methods: Med, Baltic, Running and Standing Moor
How a ship moors stern-to a quay on her anchors (Med moor), lies off an exposed quay with her offshore anchor and a stern wire (Baltic moor), and moors between two anchors in a tidal river (running and standing moor). These manoeuvres test pivot point, transverse thrust and anchor work, and are regular MCA oral questions.
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1 Nov 2026