Independent practice · STCW certificates of competency
STCW practice test for deck and engine officers
10,318 practice questions for the six STCW officer certificates — from Officer in Charge of a Navigational or Engineering Watch to Master and Chief Engineer — organised by the competences of the STCW Code, with 24 mock exams built function by function.
The IMO International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, adopted in 1978 and in force since 1984. Its Code sets the minimum standard of competence for each certificate.
Is there one STCW exam?
No. STCW sets the standard; the maritime administration that issues your certificate decides how to test it — written papers, orals, simulator assessments, sea-service records.
Deck certificates
Chapter II: Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (II/1), Chief Mate and Master (II/2).
Engine certificates
Chapter III: Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch (III/1), Second Engineer Officer and Chief Engineer Officer (III/2).
What this page offers
10,318 multiple-choice questions in English, 123 chapters and 24 mock exams across the six certificates, plus 8 free sample questions below with the answer explained.
What it is not
It is not the question pool of any administration, and it is not aligned with the syllabus of MARINA (Philippines), DG Shipping (India) or any other national exam.
STCW is the international convention that says what a seafarer must know and be able to do before a country gives them a certificate of competency. It was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1978 and entered into force in 1984. Since then it has been amended many times; the biggest change was the Manila amendments of 2010, which added, among other things, ECDIS training, new rules on hours of rest and stronger measures against fraudulent certificates.
The Convention has two layers. The regulations say who needs which certificate — for example, regulation II/1 covers the officer in charge of a navigational watch. The STCW Code gives the detail. Its Part A is mandatory and sets the minimum standard of competence, mostly in tables; Part B is guidance that helps each country apply the Convention, and is not mandatory. Chapter II of the Code is for the master and the deck department, Chapter III for the engine department.
"STCW test" is used for two different things, so it helps to separate them. Some people mean the short tests at the end of the basic safety training courses every seafarer takes (survival, fire fighting, first aid, personal safety). Others mean the certificate of competency exams for officers. This page is about the second — but the safety topics are part of every certificate here too, and section 05 shows where.
The Code describes competence at three levels. The support level is for ratings. The operational level is for the officer who keeps a watch and does the work under the direction of a senior officer. The management level is for the officer who is responsible for a whole department: the master and chief mate on deck, the chief and second engineer below. The higher the level, the more the questions ask you to plan, decide and check, not only to know.
Certificate
STCW
Level
Who it is for
Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch
STCW Reg. II/1 · Table A-II/1
Operational
Officer keeping the bridge watch on ships of 500 GT or more.
Chief Mate
STCW Reg. II/2 · Table A-II/2
Management
Second in command on deck; full certificate for ships of 3,000 GT or more.
Master
STCW Reg. II/2 · Table A-II/2
Management
Master of the ship; full certificate for ships of 3,000 GT or more.
Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch
STCW Reg. III/1 · Table A-III/1
Operational
Officer keeping the engine-room watch, or duty engineer in a periodically unattended engine room.
Second Engineer Officer
STCW Reg. III/2 · Table A-III/2
Management
Second engineer on ships with main propulsion of 3,000 kW or more.
Chief Engineer Officer
STCW Reg. III/2 · Table A-III/2
Management
Chief engineer on ships with main propulsion of 3,000 kW or more.
Two pairs share one standard. The Chief Mate and the Master are both assessed against Table A-II/2, and the Second Engineer and the Chief Engineer against Table A-III/2. What separates them is mainly sea service and the exam each administration sets. Ships below the full limits have their own certificates: for masters and chief mates on ships between 500 and 3,000 GT, and for chief and second engineers on ships between 750 and 3,000 kW (regulation III/3). Those are not covered as separate certificates here.
Thresholds and scope as set by STCW regulations II/2, III/2 and III/3 — IMO, the STCW Convention. Your own administration may add national limits (near-coastal, tonnage or power bands); check the certificate you are applying for.
03How STCW competence is assessed
Each table of Part A lists, for every competence (for example "plan and conduct a passage and determine position"), the knowledge, understanding and proficiency it needs, the methods for demonstrating it and the criteria for evaluating it. The methods are varied on purpose: approved training, an approved training record book on board, simulator exercises, laboratory work and examinations. A good part of the competence is shown with your hands, not on paper.
The tables also group the competences into functions. On deck: Navigation; Cargo handling and stowage; Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board. In the engine room: Marine engineering; Electrical, electronic and control engineering; Maintenance and repair; and the same Controlling the operation of the ship. Our mock exams follow these functions, so a weak function shows up as a weak mock.
What a question bank can train is the knowledge column: the rules, the numbers, the procedures and the reasons behind them. That is also what most written exams test. It cannot replace your simulator hours or your sea service, and it cannot tell you how your own administration's oral exam is run. Use it to arrive at the exam knowing the theory well enough that the practical part is about judgement, not memory.
Each certificate has its own bank: chapters you can practise one at a time and four mock exams, one or two per STCW function. Every chapter test or mock costs one token. The chapters below are the ones you will see in the app.
Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch
STCW Reg. II/1 · Operational level
The first deck officer certificate. You keep the navigational watch: position fixing, passage planning, collision regulations, buoyage, meteorology, compasses, stability basics, cargo care and emergency response.
Functions: Navigation · Cargo handling and stowage · Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board
1,562 questions
19 chapters
4 mock exams
Pollution Prevention Requirements22
Maintain Seaworthiness — Stability82
Maintain Seaworthiness — Ship Construction45
ISM Code135
Plan and conduct a passage — Celestial Navigation92
Plan and conduct a passage — Compasses: Magnetic and Gyro and Steering Control Systems78
Management level on deck. On top of the watchkeeping subjects come trim, stability and stress, risk assessment, compliance with legislation, cargo work and manoeuvring the ship.
Functions: Navigation · Cargo handling and stowage · Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board
1,737 questions
23 chapters
4 mock exams
Control Trim Stability and Stress22
Marine Risk Assessment11
Pollution Prevention Requirements22
Maintain Seaworthiness — Stability82
Maintain Seaworthiness — Ship Construction45
Monitor Compliance With Legislative Requirements32
ISM Code135
Manoeuvre and Handle a Ship56
Plan and Conduct a Passage — Terrestrial and Coastal Navigation170
Plan and conduct a passage — Compasses: Magnetic and Gyro and Steering Control Systems78
Same STCW table as the Chief Mate. Our Master bank adds the shipmaster's business — documents, legal duties, dealing with authorities — and manoeuvring and emergency action.
Functions: Navigation · Cargo handling and stowage · Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board
1,710 questions
22 chapters
4 mock exams
Control Trim Stability and Stress22
Marine Risk Assessment11
Pollution Prevention Requirements22
Maintain Seaworthiness — Ship Construction45
Monitor Compliance With Legislative Requirements32
ISM Code135
Manoeuvre and Handle a Ship56
Shipmaster's Business104
Manoeuvring and Emergency Action87
Plan and Conduct a Passage — Terrestrial and Coastal Navigation170
Plan and conduct a passage — Compasses: Magnetic and Gyro and Steering Control Systems78
The first engineer officer certificate. Auxiliary machinery, pumping systems, hand and power tools, electrical installations, maintenance and repair, pollution prevention and the safety subjects.
Functions: Marine engineering · Electrical, electronic and control engineering · Maintenance and repair · Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board
Management level in the engine room: planning and scheduling operations, starting and stopping plant, engine performance, fuel and ballast, main machinery and control systems, alternators and generators.
Functions: Marine engineering · Electrical, electronic and control engineering · Maintenance and repair · Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board
Same STCW table as the Second Engineer. The Chief Engineer bank adds compliance with legislation, operating electrical and electronic equipment, and organising safe maintenance and repair.
Functions: Marine engineering · Electrical, electronic and control engineering · Maintenance and repair · Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board
1,669 questions
22 chapters
4 mock exams
Control Trim Stability and Stress22
Marine Risk Assessment11
Pollution Prevention Requirements22
Monitor Compliance With Legislative Requirements32
Chapter VI of the Code covers the safety training every seafarer needs — basic training in survival, fire fighting, first aid and personal safety — and the higher courses officers add on top: survival craft and rescue boats, advanced fire fighting and medical first aid — plus the security training linked to the ISPS Code. Officer exams come back to these subjects, so every bank here has its own chapters on them.
Medical First Aidup to 65 questions
Personal Survival Techniquesup to 61 questions
Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boatsup to 148 questions
Fire Preventionup to 86 questions
Personal Safety and Social Responsibilitiesup to 117 questions
Personal Safety On Vesselsup to 41 questions
ISPS Codeup to 20 questions
Advanced Fire Fightingup to 64 questions
The count is the largest chapter of that name across the six banks. If what you need is the end-of-course test of a basic training course, your training centre sets it; these chapters are good revision for it, but they are not that test.
06Try 8 STCW questions
Four deck and four engine questions, written by us in the style of the bank. Tap an option to check it; the reason appears under the question. The answer key is at the end.
Deck · Rules of the road
1. Two power-driven vessels are crossing so as to involve risk of collision. Which one must keep out of the way?
Deck · Stability
2. A ship with a very large metacentric height (GM) is described as:
Deck · Meteorology
3. In the Northern Hemisphere, an observer stands with their back to the true wind. Where is the centre of low pressure?
Engine · Diesel engines
4. How many crankshaft revolutions does a four-stroke diesel engine need to complete one working cycle?
Engine · Fuel treatment
5. In a centrifugal fuel-oil purifier, the size of the gravity disc is chosen mainly according to:
Deck and engine · ISM Code
6. Under the ISM Code, the designated person ashore (DPA) must have direct access to:
Deck and engine · Fire fighting
7. Cooking oil is burning in a deep-fat fryer in the galley. What is the best extinguishing agent?
Engine · Electrical
8. Before an incoming AC generator is connected in parallel with the switchboard, which must match?
Answer key with explanations
B · The vessel which has the other on her own starboard side. COLREG Rule 15: in a crossing situation, the vessel which has the other on her starboard side keeps out of the way and, if the circumstances allow, avoids crossing ahead of her. Size and speed do not change the rule.
C · stiff. A large GM gives a large righting lever at small angles, so the ship returns quickly: a short, jerky roll that is hard on cargo, lashings and crew. That is a "stiff" ship. A small GM gives a slow, easy roll — a "tender" ship.
A · On the observer's left hand. Buys Ballot's law. In the Northern Hemisphere the wind blows anticlockwise round a low, so with your back to the wind the low is on your left (slightly forward of the beam). In the Southern Hemisphere it is on your right.
D · Two revolutions. Each stroke is half a revolution, and the four strokes — induction, compression, power and exhaust — take two full revolutions. A two-stroke engine completes its cycle in one revolution, which is why the camshaft of a four-stroke turns at half crankshaft speed.
B · the oil's density. The gravity disc sets where the oil–water interface sits in the bowl, and that position depends on the density of the oil at separating temperature. With the wrong disc the water seal breaks and oil leaves through the water outlet, or water is carried over with the clean oil.
A · the highest level of management. The DPA is the link between the ship and the company. The ISM Code requires that this person has direct access to the highest level of management, so that a safety or pollution problem reported from the ship cannot be stopped at a middle level.
C · A wet chemical extinguisher. Water on burning oil turns to steam instantly and throws the oil out as a ball of fire. CO₂ can knock the flames down, but the oil stays above its ignition temperature and re-ignites. A wet chemical agent forms a soap-like layer on the surface and cools it; a fire blanket is the alternative for a small pan.
D · Voltage, frequency and phase. The incoming machine must have the same voltage, the same frequency and the same phase sequence, and the breaker is closed when the synchroscope shows it in phase. Load and power factor are shared after the machines are in parallel, through the governors and the AVRs.
Start with the function you fear most. Take the mock exam for that function first. It mixes chapters the way an exam paper does and tells you quickly where you stand.
Go back to the chapters behind your mistakes. A mock that goes badly in navigation usually comes down to one or two chapters — passage planning, compasses, meteorology or the rules of the road.
Use the review of wrong answers. The app collects the questions you missed so you can sit them again until they stop coming back.
Learn the reason, not the letter. The answer order can be shuffled, so a remembered letter does not help. Ask yourself why each wrong option is wrong.
Check the rules your administration adds. National regulations, local exam topics and the oral exam are outside any international bank — ask your training institution what is tested.
After each question the app shows the right answer. Written explanations like the ones in the samples above are, for now, part of our Marlins English bank only; in the STCW banks the explanation is the right answer and your own notes. Many companies also ask officers for an English test — the Marlins test page explains how that one works.
08An honest note: what this bank is aligned with
This is practice by STCW competence. The questions follow the competences and functions of the STCW Code tables for each certificate. The bank started as a study tool for the merchant-marine promotion exams in Mexico, and it was later opened, in English and under the STCW titles, to seafarers in other countries.
It is not aligned with the syllabus or the question pool of any national administration — not MARINA in the Philippines, not the Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) in India, and not any other. Each administration writes its own syllabus, chooses its own format (written papers, orals, assessments on a simulator) and keeps its own questions. Some topics that weigh a lot in a national exam — national law, local documents, the way an oral examiner asks — are not here.
So use it for what it is good at: covering the international theory of your certificate, chapter by chapter, with enough volume to find your gaps. For the national part, use the material your administration or your training institution gives you. Nauti Test Pro is an independent practice tool, not connected to the IMO or to any maritime administration, and no result here is a certificate or an exam result.
09Questions about STCW practice
Is there one official STCW exam?
No. The STCW Convention sets the minimum standard of competence for each certificate, but there is no single international exam. The maritime administration that issues your certificate of competency decides how you show that competence: written papers, orals, simulator assessments and a record of sea service, in the combination it chooses.
Which certificate should I practise for?
The one you are applying for next. On deck: Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (STCW II/1), then Chief Mate and Master (II/2). In the engine room: Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch (III/1), then Second Engineer Officer and Chief Engineer Officer (III/2). The management-level banks also repeat the safety and watchkeeping subjects, so they work as revision of the level below.
Are these the questions of the MARINA or DG Shipping exam?
No. This is practice by STCW competence and it is not aligned with the syllabus or the question pool of MARINA in the Philippines, DG Shipping in India or any other administration. Use it for the international theory of your certificate, and use your administration's own material for the national part of the exam.
Do the Chief Mate and the Master study the same thing?
They are assessed against the same STCW table, A-II/2, and the Second and Chief Engineer share Table A-III/2. In this app each has its own bank: the Master bank adds the shipmaster's business and emergency manoeuvring, and the Chief Engineer bank adds legislation, electrical equipment and the organisation of maintenance.
How many questions are there?
10,318 questions in English across the six certificates, in 123 chapters, with 24 mock exams organised by STCW function. For example, the Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch bank has 1,562 questions and the Chief Engineer Officer bank 1,669.
Do the questions come with explanations?
After each question the app shows the right answer. Written explanations are, for now, part of the Marlins English bank only; the sample questions on this page are explained because we wrote them for it.
Is this the same as STCW basic training?
Not exactly. Basic training (survival, fire fighting, first aid, personal safety) is a set of short courses every seafarer takes, each with its own assessment at the training centre. Those subjects appear here as chapters inside every officer bank — good revision, but not the course assessment itself.
How much does it cost?
The account is free. International accounts start with 10 free tokens and get 5 more when the email and the phone are verified. One token opens a chapter test or a mock exam; after that you buy small packs by card, with no subscription.
Practise the certificate you are going for
Create a free account and pick your certificate. International accounts start with 10 free tokens and get 5 more when the email and the phone are verified; one token opens a chapter test or a mock exam. After that, tokens come in small packs — no subscription.
