Ship's Business
Certificates, records and the paperwork every officer handles.
Topics in study order
- 1.Legal Systems and Maritime Law: Civil Law, Common Law, Tort and the Maltese Courts
How civil law, common law and the law of tort work, and how Malta's mixed legal system, its three branches of state, its courts and the Merchant Shipping Act 1973 fit together. Core background for the Malta oral exam and for any master who deals with claims, the flag and the courts.
10 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 2.The IMO and How a Convention Becomes Law
How the International Maritime Organization is organised (Assembly, Council, Secretariat, five committees, seven sub-committees) and how a convention moves from adoption to ratification and entry into force. Examiners expect you to explain why a new IMO rule may not yet be law on your ship.
10 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 3.Flag State, Port State, Coastal State and Classification Societies
Who controls a ship and where: the flag State that registers and certifies her, the class society that sets and surveys technical standards, the port State that inspects foreign ships, and the coastal State that polices its waters. A core oral-exam subject: examiners expect you to say who does what, and who can detain you.
10 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 4.UNCLOS Maritime Zones, Innocent Passage and Hot Pursuit
The sea zones of UNCLOS measured from the baseline (internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, EEZ, continental shelf, high seas, archipelagic waters), with the rules of innocent passage and hot pursuit. It tells the bridge whose law applies where, and examiners expect the distances and the passage rules without hesitation.
12 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 5.MCA Notices: MSN, MGN, MIN and the MSN 1858 Syllabus
The three kinds of MCA notice (mandatory MSNs, guidance MGNs and short-lived MINs), how to read their numbers and suffixes, and MSN 1858 with the yacht oral syllabuses the MCA now publishes online. Examiners ask the difference between the three and which notices and codes apply to your yacht.
9 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 6.SOLAS: Chapters, Scope and the Alarms It Requires
The 1974 SOLAS Convention chapter by chapter, from general provisions to the 2024 chapter on industrial personnel, which ships it applies to, and the three alarms it calls for: fire, general emergency and abandon ship. Examiners expect you to name the chapters and the general alarm signal without hesitation.
11 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 7.STCW Convention, Manila Amendments and Certificates of Competence
What the STCW Convention is, how its eight chapters and the STCW Code (Part A mandatory, Part B guidance) fit together, what the 2010 Manila Amendments changed, and how certificates of competence are graded, revalidated and recognised by another flag. Every MCA and Malta oral expects you to explain where your own certificate comes from.
11 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 8.MLC 2006: Seafarers' Rights, SEA and Maritime Labour Certificate
The ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006: its five Titles, minimum age and young seafarers, the Seafarer Employment Agreement, on-board complaints, working arrangements and the Maritime Labour Certificate with its DMLC. A favourite oral subject for MCA and Malta candidates, and the rulebook for how every crew lives and works on board.
11 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 9.Crew Agreements, Crew Lists and the Master's Contract
The UK crew agreement and who still needs one after the MLC, what it must contain, how long it lasts, the lists of crew (ALC 1(a) and 1(b)), why the master signs differently, and the crew list the master gives the owner every voyage. Classic MCA oral paperwork for yachts and merchant ships.
9 cards
1 Nov 2026