Watchkeeper Deck and OOW
OOW and Watchkeeper Deck oral exam: the themes behind the questions
By Navisailor Learning Centre · Published 7 October 2026 · Updated 7 October 2026
The Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch, often called the OOW, is the person on the bridge making decisions while the Master is elsewhere. That is a serious responsibility, and the oral examination for the Watchkeeper Deck certificate is built to find out whether you are ready to carry it.
This guide groups the OOW’s responsibilities into themes so that you can connect checklist headings and plan your revision. It does not replace AMSA’s examiner checklist and syllabus for the Watchkeeper Deck certificate, which define what is examined and should be your first reading.
What operational level means
The STCW Convention distinguishes the operational level, where an officer carries out defined duties under the Master’s direction, from the management level. For a Watchkeeper Deck certificate the competence is grouped under navigation, cargo handling and stowage, and controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board. Keeping a safe navigational watch is the heart of it.
An examiner will usually want to hear you explain what you would do, what you would look for and when you would call the Master. Knowing when to ask for help is a competence in itself, so practise explaining the triggers that would make you call the Master, such as restricted visibility, a developing close-quarters situation or any doubt about the ship’s position.
Theme 1: keeping a safe navigational watch
Revise the principles of keeping a safe watch: the handover and the information that must be exchanged, maintaining a proper lookout, using all available means to monitor the situation, and writing up the log. Know what standing orders and the Master’s night orders contain and how you would act on them.
Prepare to describe a normal watch from handover to relief, then to explain how it changes in coastal waters, in heavy traffic, at night and in poor visibility.
Theme 2: collision regulations
The COLREGs are a large part of the OOW’s daily work and a reliable source of oral examination questions. You should know the steering and sailing rules, the responsibilities between different types of vessel, the rules for restricted visibility and the lights, shapes and sound signals. Two of our guides are written for this: one on a method for reasoning through COLREGs situations and one on recognising vessels from their lights.
Theme 3: monitoring the passage
The OOW does not plan the voyage alone, but must understand the plan, keep the ship on it and spot when it is going wrong. Revise position fixing by several methods, cross-checking electronic systems against visual and radar information, compass errors and how you would check them, tides and currents, and the use of radar and electronic charts. Understand what an alarm or a discrepancy between systems is telling you.
Our guide to the four stages of passage planning explains the plan you are monitoring and where the responsibility of the officer of the watch fits.
Theme 4: cargo, ballast and the ship’s condition
Even at operational level you need a working understanding of cargo operations, securing, ballast handling and the basic concepts of stability. Be prepared to explain the principle of a stable ship, the effect of free surface and of weight changes, and what a stability booklet is for. Our guide to ship stability fundamentals covers the vocabulary.
Theme 5: emergencies and safety equipment
You should know the ship’s emergency procedures and your own role in them. Prepare to explain your first actions as OOW in a fire, man overboard, collision, grounding or distress situation, how you would raise the alarm and communicate, and how the life-saving and fire-fighting equipment is used and maintained. Think about how the ship’s muster list and emergency plans are laid out.
Theme 6: rules, rest and the safety management system
Know the basic structure of the legal and safety framework you work within: the conventions, Australian legislation and marine orders that apply and the shipboard safety management system. Our guide to Australian maritime law and marine orders and our guide to safety management systems provide an outline. Know your rest hour requirements and how fatigue affects the quality of a watch.
Practising scenarios
A reliable way to prepare is to talk through bridge scenarios, one at a time, using the same sequence of steps each time.
- Describe the situation and what information you have about it.
- Say which rule, procedure or principle governs it.
- Explain the first action you would take, then the next, and when you would call the Master.
- Explain how you would check that your action had worked, and what you would do if it had not.
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
- COLREGs: a method for reasoning through any situation
- COLREGs lights: a method for recognising vessels at night
- Passage planning in four stages: appraisal, planning, execution and monitoring
- How to prepare for an AMSA oral exam: a study method
- Maritime glossary for plain-language definitions of the terms used here.
- More in Watchkeeper Deck and OOW, 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.