M.E.T. Marine Education Textbooks 124 North Van Avenue Houma, Louisiana 70363-5895 Phone: (985) 879-3866 Fax: (985) 879-3911 Website: www.ourMET.com DSR Email: [email protected] DECK STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS [All previous deck study recommendations are cancelled.] TABLE OF CONTENTS by reporting any discrepancies. We understand that many of our recommendations in- Our Study Material Recommendations.............................1 volve considerable expense. We encourage you to ask your The New Terminology ....................................................2 public library to acquire the basic books required by all Select the Credential You Want.......................................2 persons in the commercial marine industry. Learn how to Types of Officer Endorsements .......................................2 use all the reference books that are used on your vessel. The Difference Between Exam “Topics” & “Modules”....3 Share your information with other mariners, but beware of Applying for a Credential or an Endorsement...................4 outdated information while preparing for an exam! Is This Your First Coast Guard Credential? ….................5 Obsolete material can mislead you in a number of ways. Coast Guard Credentialing Regulations ...........................5 How Do I find the Study Material I Need?.......................6 Individual Chapters Fill Knowledge Gaps List of Exam Topics (Figure 1)........................................6 Marine Education Textbooks (MET) has been in Special Order of Individual “Deck” Chapters.................10 business for over 40 years catering to the needs of “limited Special Order of Individual “Engine” Chapters..............13 tonnage” merchant mariners. We developed textbooks made Special Order of “Other” Chapters.................................14 up of many “stand alone” chapters. Many “limited- Information on Exam Topics Listed in Figure 1 .............15 tonnage” mariners who decide to take an exam-prep course “Oceans” Endorsements ................................................24 (regardless of whether it was Coast Guard-approved or not) Seafarers Training, Certification & Watchkeeping Code...........24 may come out of that course with a sketchy or incomplete NMC & REC Contact Information ................................26 knowledge of the subject matter. If there is a subject area you are weak in, we believe that our chapter dealing with that exam topic would be useful to you in either passing an exam or in your career afloat. Individual chapters can fill in OUR STUDY MATERIAL RECOMMENDATIONS gaps in your knowledge that you may need to function properly even if you already possess the credential that allows you to serve aboard a vessel. Some mariners Our recommendations are based upon: discover too late that many “exam modules” are composed ● A knowledge of what is (and is not) contained in the of a number of topics they neglected to study in depth. chapters we assembled in our textbooks. ● Locating information in other books that we distribute. Disclaimer ● Questions and answers from the Coast Guard question Marine Education Textbooks (MET) publishes and bank first made public under the Freedom of Information distributes study material to assist qualified candidates Act (FOIA) at our request beginning in 1988. These obtain certain Coast Guard merchant mariner credentials questions outline the depth of knowledge that the Coast (MMC). MET acknowledges the use of information derived Guard uses in their examinations. Unfortunately, the from various government publications. However, we Coast Guard removed all 25,000+ questions and answers specifically refuse to accept responsibility for errors, (Q&A) from their database on July 12, 2010 – an action omissions, or actions resulting from the use of our that we formally appealed because it violates the appeal publications beyond our obligation to make necessary granted us in 1988. The Q&A were restored to the editorial corrections. internet in 2013 although the status of many illustrations We cover many exam topics in the individual chapters of used in testing remains in limbo. our Limited Master, Mate and Operator, the Towing Vessel ● Reports from instructors and other credential applicants Officers Guide, Workboat Engineer, Able Seaman and candidates. Lifeboatman and other textbooks. Individual chapters are ● Discussions with Coast Guard Regional Exam Centers available on request to fit your individual needs as (REC) and information derived from Federal Advisory outlined below. Committee meetings. We present material that pertains to questions that can be These recommendations and guidance represent our expected to appear on Coast Guard credentialing exams and opinion and are subject to change based on new information. accomplish this by presenting complete, timely, adequate, We appreciate any help our readers can provide based on and accurate background information. their experience to improve the quality of this information 1 Page revised December 2014. abbreviations [ ] and symbols we use in this report: THE NEW TERMINOLOGY — ê The information in this chapter appears in Master, The old Merchant Mariner's Document (MMD) or z-card Mate and Operator and Able Seaman courses. served two purposes. With its picture identification, it ● [LL] refers to a lower-level (i.e., limited-tonnage) officer served as proof of identification and provided evidence of a endorsement. [Our Limited Master, Mate & Operator mariner's qualifications to serve in various (unlicensed) course prepares limited tonnage deck officers for various shipboard positions. These unlicensed positions are now endorsements.] known as “ratings.” ● [UL] refers to upper-level officer endorsements. [Note: Each mariner serving on a vessel of at least 100 gross Certain chapters may be helpful in preparing for those tons, except those vessels specifically exempted by statute endorsements.] such as many vessels on rivers and inland waters, has to hold ● [AB] refers to the deck ratings endorsements covered in a Merchant Marine Credential (MMC) endorsed for service our Able Seaman and Lifeboatman textbooks. [Many in the position for which he or she has been hired. To obtain Able Seaman chapters also appear in the Limited any Able Seaman “rating” endorsement, use our Able Master, Mate & Operator textbooks!] Seaman and Lifeboatman textbooks or comparable ● [T] refers to Towing. [Our Towing Vessel Officers’ chapters(1) from our Limited Master, Mate and Operator Guide used with chapters from Limited Master, Mate & course to prepare for the endorsement. [(1)When buying Operator are directed at towing endorsements]. individual chapters, read this paper carefully to avoid ● [QMED] stands for Qualified Member of the Engine buying the same chapter twice] Department ratings. [These engineering subjects are The Coast Guard often makes changes that affect covered by one or more of our QMED textbooks.] mariners. They advertise every change as an improvement ● [WE] stands for Workboat Engineer. [These textbooks so that after controlling merchant mariner credentials for prepare mariners for a number of limited engineer almost 70 years you might expect them to have devised a officer endorsements and are useful to all QMED perfect system. Think again! applicants.] On April 15, 2009, the old terms “license” and ● [TMAN] stands for Tankerman ratings. [While these “Merchant Mariner Document” (MMD or “Z-card”)(1) were endorsements are covered in our Tankerman textbook, replaced by the new term Merchant Mariner Credential tankerman candidates must attend school to obtain their (MMC). This credential looks like a passport booklet and endorsements.]. contains one or more “endorsements” that detail your ● [STCW] indicates that demonstrations of proficiency are personal qualifications and explains your operational required. limitations. ● [TOAR] indicates that demonstrations of proficiency by Over the next five years the old engraved paper licenses completing a Towing Officer Assessment Record are and the plastic credit-card size merchant mariner documents required. (MMD) gave way to the new booklet-style credential. ● [Entry]. An entry-level mariner has very limited basic Endorsements on credentials may sound like double-talk, requirements.] but every mariner had to adjust to these and other changes as ● [COR] = Certificate of Registry “endorsements.” presented in the Coast Guard’s rulemaking docket #USCG- 2006-24371. Groups of Deck Officer Endorsements In Title 46 Part 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations Obtaining a TWIC Card Comes First (CFR), the Coast Guard lists 24 different groups of deck In addition, starting on April 15, 2009, the Coast Guard endorsements. This grouping is necessary to understand no longer issued any credential unless a mariner applied for which topics to study to prepare for your “professional and received a Transportation Workers Identity Credential exam.” In this paper, we limit our recommendations to the commonly known as a TWIC – a biometric identity card. If material you will need to study to meet the Coast Guard the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) denied you a requirements in the List of Exam Topics in 46 CFR Table TWIC, you could appeal their decision but the Coast Guard 11.910-2 as published in the Code of Federal Regulations. would not review the TSA decision or process your The principal “officer” endorsements appear in the 24 application until the TSA was satisfied. Consequently, numbered columns in this table that appears below. every mariner must deal with two