Chief Mate Unlimited
Chief Mate Unlimited oral exam: the themes behind the questions
By Navisailor Learning Centre · Published 7 October 2026 · Updated 7 October 2026
On most ships the chief mate is second-in-command, head of the deck department and the officer who turns the Master’s intentions into daily practice. Cargo operations, the ship’s condition, maintenance, safety routines and the watch roster all pass through the chief mate. The oral examination reflects that breadth.
This guide groups the chief mate’s responsibilities into themes so that you can see how checklist headings connect and plan your revision. It is not a substitute for AMSA’s examiner checklist and syllabus for the Chief Mate certificate. Those documents define what is examined, and you should read them before anything else.
The chief mate’s place in the command structure
The chief mate’s competence is set out at management level in the STCW Convention, under the same three functions as the Master: navigation, cargo handling and stowage, and controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board. In practice the emphasis differs. The Master carries final responsibility, while the chief mate carries day-to-day responsibility for how the deck department delivers.
Be ready to explain how you would take over command in an emergency, how you would support the Master’s decisions, and when you would raise a concern. Examiners tend to be interested in how you work with the Master and the rest of the crew, so prepare examples of both supporting a decision and respectfully questioning one.
Theme 1: cargo planning and operations
Cargo is usually the chief mate’s central task. You should be able to describe how you plan a loading or discharge, how you check the plan against the ship’s stability and strength limits, and how you communicate with the terminal, the cargo owner’s representatives and the engine room. Cover ship–shore safety checks, the safe handling of the cargo types the checklist names, securing arrangements, ballasting and de-ballasting, and what you would do if something deviated from the plan.
Draw on real operations. Describe a cargo plan you prepared, a problem that arose during the operation and how you resolved it.
Theme 2: stability, trim and stress
Stability knowledge is essential at this level. You should be comfortable with the relationship between the centre of gravity, the metacentre and the righting lever, with free surface effects, with how weight changes alter the ship’s condition, and with how loading software and the stability booklet are used and cross-checked. Our guide to ship stability fundamentals sets out the core concepts.
Be prepared to talk about what you would do if the ship developed an unexpected list, and how you would distinguish a list from a loll.
Theme 3: managing the deck department
Leading a deck crew involves planning work, allocating tasks, supervising safe working practices, planning maintenance and ensuring that rest hours are respected. Think about how you would organise a typical day in port and at sea, how you manage permits to work for enclosed space entry or hot work, and how you would handle a crew member who was unwell, fatigued or underperforming.
Training is part of the role, including familiarisation of new crew, drills and on-the-job coaching. Prepare an example of how you have trained or mentored someone.
Theme 4: safety, drills and the safety management system
The chief mate often has direct responsibility for safety equipment, drills and many of the records the safety management system requires. Know how you would plan and run drills, how you would inspect and maintain life-saving and fire-fighting appliances, and how you would report and investigate an incident or near miss. Our guide to safety management systems explains the framework you are working within.
Theme 5: watchkeeping and navigation
Chief mates keep a navigational watch on many ships and supervise the bridge team on all of them. Revise the principles of keeping a safe watch, the handover process, the use of radar and electronic charts and the collision regulations. A reliable way to rehearse the collision regulations is the method in our guide on reasoning through COLREGs situations.
Theme 6: law and compliance
Know the main ship certificates and documents, how inspections by flag and port state authorities work, and the main Australian and international requirements that touch deck operations. Our guide to Australian maritime law and marine orders explains how the Navigation Act 2012, marine orders and conventions fit together.
A revision routine
- Read AMSA’s Chief Mate checklist and syllabus and sort every heading into the themes above.
- For each theme, write down two experiences from your own service that you could talk about.
- Practise explaining each theme aloud, including why you would act as you describe.
- Ask a colleague to change a condition in each scenario and explain how your answer changes.
Official sources
This guide was written from the following sources. Requirements change, so confirm the current position with the source before relying on it.
Related certificate guides
Keep reading
- Ship stability fundamentals: GM, GZ and what the numbers mean
- Safety management systems explained: the ISM Code and domestic vessels
- COLREGs: a method for reasoning through any situation
- How to prepare for an AMSA oral exam: a study method
- Maritime glossary for plain-language definitions of the terms used here.
- More in Chief Mate Unlimited, or browse the knowledge centre.
Independence note
Independent AMSA exam preparation platform by Navisailor Learning Centre. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. This guide is general study material. It is not legal advice, it is not official AMSA exam content, and it does not replace AMSA’s checklists, syllabi or the current legislation.