PSCRB exit exam questions and answers — Set 10 — Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats
Set 10 of the Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats (PSCRB) exit exam bank — 30 of 389 questions, with the correct option marked and a one-line explanation for every one. Read it end to end, jump to a single set, or search it — then sit the same bank as a timed paper. The real DG Shipping exit exam is 30 marks with 15 to pass.
These are the bank's original groupings. Practising deals the whole bank out again every time you reshuffle, so a practice “Set 3” is a different 30 questions each time — the set numbers below are the source file's, and are only used here so the key stays navigable. Options are listed in their original order with fixed letters; when you practise, those move too.
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Set 10 — 30 PSCRB exit exam questions with answers
1. What does 'GMDSS' stand for in maritime communication?
- A. Global Maritime Disaster Safety System
- B. General Maritime Directional Signalling
- C. Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
- D. General Maritime Data Security System
2. What does the term 'PFD' stand for in the context of maritime safety?
- A. Personal Flotation Device
- B. Positive Flotation Device
- C. Professional Flotation Device
- D. Primary Floating Device
3. What is the primary function of an immersion (survival) suit for crew members in cold water?
- A. To provide comfort during emergencies
- B. To enhance visibility on the water
- C. To minimise heat loss and provide buoyancy
- D. To protect the wearer from chemical splashes on deck
4. Before the winch brake is lifted to lower a lifeboat stowed on gravity davits, which of the following must first be done?
- A. Open the hydrostatic interlock cover
- B. Start the lifeboat engine and engage ahead gear
- C. Remove the harbour safety pins and release the gripes
- D. Release the painter from the ship
5. Where a choice exists, from which side of the ship should survival craft preferably be launched in bad weather?
- A. The weather side
- B. Whichever side is nearer the bow
- C. The side away from the muster station
- D. The lee side
6. Survival craft and their launching arrangements must be capable of launching when the ship is making headway in calm water of up to
- A. 2 knots
- B. 5 knots
- C. 12 knots
- D. 8 knots
7. On a cargo ship, all survival craft required for the total number of persons on board must be capable of being launched with their full complement within what time of the abandon-ship signal?
- A. 45 minutes
- B. 30 minutes
- C. 10 minutes
- D. 3 minutes
8. On a passenger ship, survival craft must be capable of being launched with their full complement within what period after the abandon-ship signal?
- A. 15 minutes
- B. 30 minutes
- C. 10 minutes
- D. 60 minutes
9. Within what time must a cargo ship lifeboat be capable of being boarded by its full complement from the moment the instruction to board is given?
- A. 10 minutes
- B. 30 minutes
- C. 3 minutes
- D. 1 minute
10. Survival craft must be stowed in a state of continuous readiness so that preparations for embarkation and launching can be completed by two crew members in less than
- A. 1 minute
- B. 20 minutes
- C. 15 minutes
- D. 5 minutes
11. According to SOLAS, survival craft should as far as practicable be stowed and launched clear of which hazards?
- A. The cargo hatch coamings
- B. The propeller and steeply overhanging portions of the hull
- C. The accommodation ladder and pilot ladder
- D. The bridge wings and funnel
12. How many embarkation ladders must be provided as a minimum for embarking into survival craft?
- A. One on the side of the ship with the largest lifeboat
- B. Only one, stowed amidships
- C. At least one on each side of the ship
- D. One for every survival craft carried
13. How must the muster and embarkation stations, and the area of water into which davit-launched survival craft are launched, be illuminated?
- A. By portable torches issued to each crew member
- B. By navigation lights only
- C. By the lifeboat's own searchlight only
- D. Adequately, by lighting supplied from the emergency source of electrical power
14. Lifeboat falls on davit launching appliances must be made of
- A. Stud-link chain
- B. Rotation-resistant and corrosion-resistant steel wire rope
- C. Polypropylene rope of at least 24 mm
- D. Manila rope treated with preservative
15. Where one winch drum serves two lifeboat falls, the falls must
- A. Have the after fall slightly longer than the forward fall
- B. Be lowered one after the other to keep the boat trimmed by the head
- C. Be fitted with separate brakes operated by two persons
- D. Pay out at the same rate when lowering and wind on evenly at the same rate when hoisting
16. Lowering of a davit-launched lifeboat to the water must NOT depend on
- A. The release of the brake lever by the operator
- B. The centrifugal governor brake
- C. Any means other than gravity or stored mechanical power independent of the ship's power supply
- D. The weight of the lifeboat itself
17. The launching mechanism of a davit-launched survival craft must be arranged so that it can be actuated by
- A. Two persons, both stationed at the winch
- B. The coxswain only, from inside the craft
- C. One person, from the ship's deck and from inside the survival craft
- D. The Master only, from the bridge
18. Regarding the hand gear provided for recovering a lifeboat, which requirement applies?
- A. The hand gear may be used only when the boat is fully loaded
- B. Hand gear is only required on free-fall launching appliances
- C. The hand-gear handles must remain fitted to the winch at all times while lowering
- D. The hand-gear handles must not be rotated by moving parts of the winch when the boat is lowered or hoisted by power
19. During the weekly inspection required by SOLAS, lifeboats other than free-fall lifeboats should, if weather and sea conditions allow,
- A. Be moved from their stowed position, without persons on board, to demonstrate satisfactory operation of the launching appliances
- B. Be lowered into the water with the full crew and manoeuvred
- C. Have their falls renewed
- D. Be landed ashore for annual servicing
20. How often must life-saving appliances, including lifeboat equipment, be inspected using the checklist required by SOLAS, with a report entered in the log-book?
- A. Monthly
- B. Annually
- C. Weekly
- D. Every three months
21. During each abandon-ship drill, what must be done with the ship's lifeboats as a minimum?
- A. Swing out the lifeboats but never lower them
- B. Lower at least one lifeboat after any necessary preparation for launching
- C. Lower every lifeboat into the water and release it
- D. Launch only the rescue boat
22. SOLAS requires that, as far as practicable, the lifeboat lowered at each abandon-ship drill should be
- A. Only the lifeboat on the lee side
- B. A different lifeboat at successive drills
- C. The lifeboat nearest the bridge
- D. Always the same lifeboat so the crew become familiar with it
23. To minimise risk to crew, how should a lifeboat normally be hoisted from embarkation deck level into the fully stowed position after a drill?
- A. With all hatches open and the engine running
- B. With the full crew seated and belted in
- C. With only the coxswain at the release handle
- D. Without persons on board, the crew having disembarked at the embarkation deck
24. What is the primary reason for starting the lifeboat engine before the boat becomes waterborne during launching?
- A. So the boat can be manoeuvred clear of the ship's side immediately after release
- B. To warm the cabin for the occupants
- C. To charge the battery before the boat is lowered
- D. To test the water spray system
25. After a lifeboat has been released from its falls alongside a ship making headway, when should the painter be released?
- A. Before the boat is lowered from the embarkation deck
- B. When the engine is running and the boat is ready to steer away from the ship's side
- C. Only after the ship has sunk
- D. As soon as the boat starts to be lowered
26. Which precaution reduces the danger of a lifeboat being swamped during lowering and launching?
- A. Keeping the drain plug removed during lowering
- B. Lowering with all hatches open
- C. Lowering with the engine stopped
- D. Ensuring that discharges of water from the ship cannot fall onto the craft
27. When lowering an enclosed lifeboat with persons on board, the occupants should
- A. Gather at the forward end to trim the boat by the head
- B. Be seated with seat belts fastened and hands and limbs kept inside the boat
- C. Sit on the canopy roof to keep a lookout
- D. Stand at the hatches to fend off the ship's side
28. When recovering a lifeboat in a swell, the hooks should be connected
- A. Only after the engine has been stopped and the boat allowed to drift
- B. When the boat is on the crest of a swell, and the boat hoisted clear promptly to avoid snatch loads
- C. When the boat is in the trough, with the falls kept tight
- D. At any time, as wave motion does not affect the falls
29. Before a lifeboat that has been recovered is hoisted from the water, the coxswain must confirm that
- A. The bilge has been filled for stability
- B. The engine has been shut down and the fuel drained
- C. The painter has been cast off
- D. The on-load release hooks are correctly reset and locked, with indicators showing reset
30. When marshalling liferafts after abandonment, a lifeboat or rescue boat should
- A. Gather the liferafts and connect them so they can be towed and kept together
- B. Leave the liferafts to drift independently to cover a wider area
- C. Cut the liferafts' sea anchors free and puncture spare liferafts
- D. Tow the liferafts at maximum engine speed away from the position
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