AMSA Chief Mate Unlimited oral exam preparation

The Chief Mate (unlimited) (STCW II/2) certificate is an STCW officer-level certificate for experienced deck officers progressing to command roles. AMSA says it allows you to work as Chief Mate on vessels of any size, in any operating area, and to perform officer in charge of navigational watch duties. You must pass an AMSA oral exam before you can apply for it.

This page covers how the oral exam works for Chief Mate, where AMSA publishes the checklist and syllabus, how AMSA organises the topics, and a practical way to prepare.

AMSA certificate name

Chief Mate (unlimited) (STCW II/2)

Type

International (STCW) certificate

Oral examination

Required before AMSA issues the certificate; scheduled for 2 hours

AMSA examiner checklist

AMSA 273

Also called

the Chief Mate orals, the Chief Mate Unlimited oral exam, or the Chief Mate CoC oral

About the AMSA oral examination for this certificate

AMSA schedules oral exams for two hours. Most are held online using Microsoft Teams, and you can request a face-to-face exam when you book, subject to examiner availability. The examiner gives you the result at the exam. AMSA says the exam assesses how you apply your knowledge safely in real situations and explain what you would do and why.

AMSA publishes the Chief Mate oral examination checklist, printed as AMSA 273, and the Appendix 1 syllabus on its Prepare for your oral exam page. AMSA lists the same checklist for Chief Mate (unlimited) and Chief Mate <3000 GT. Direct links are listed under Official AMSA sources below. For a full explanation of how AMSA oral exams are booked, run and assessed, read the AMSA oral exam preparation guide.

Who this certificate is for

• Deck officers who hold, or have held, one of the AMSA-issued certificates AMSA lists as a prerequisite, such as Watchkeeper Deck (II/1), and who are completing the approved Chief Mate training and sea service.
• Officers who have been away from study and want to rebuild their knowledge against AMSA’s own checklist before booking the orals.

Official AMSA requirements

AMSA sets the requirements for the Chief Mate Unlimited certificate. In summary, as AMSA listed them on 3 October 2026:

• Hold, or have held, one of these AMSA-issued certificates: Watchkeeper Deck (II/1), Chief Mate <3000 GT (II/1 and parts of II/2), Master <3000 GT (II/2) or Master <500 GT (II/1 and parts of II/2).
• Complete AMSA-approved Chief Mate training (STCW A-II/2), typically delivered as part of an Advanced Diploma of Maritime Operations (Master Unlimited), plus the STCW short courses AMSA lists: advanced fire fighting (A-VI/3), medical care on board ship (A-VI/4 (4-6)), proficiency in survival craft and rescue boats other than fast rescue boats (A-VI/2), basic safety training (Reg VI/1) and security awareness training (VI/6(4)).
• Complete at least 360 days (12 months) of sea service on vessels of 500 GT or more, on voyages of 24 hours or more, as a deck officer, while holding one of the certificates listed above.
• Hold a valid AMSA Certificate of Medical Fitness (303) and a valid GMDSS radio operator certificate (or GMDSS certificate of recognition).
• Get your sea service assessed and pass the AMSA oral exam, which AMSA says not to book until you have received your sea service assessment letter. After you pass, you apply using Seafarer form 419.

This is a summary only, and requirements change. Check AMSA’s certificate page, linked under Official AMSA sources below, for the current requirements before you plan your pathway or book.

What to prepare for: AMSA’s own syllabus and checklist

AMSA publishes a syllabus and an examiner checklist for this certificate. This section follows the headings AMSA itself uses, and summarises them only to show how AMSA organises the material. Download AMSA’s documents, linked under Official AMSA sources, for the full topic lists.

AMSA’s syllabus

Appendix 1 – Syllabus for the AMSA oral exam: Master and Chief Mate (Unlimited), Master and Chief Mate <3000 GT

AMSA’s syllabus is organised into these 13 sections:

1. Management of regulatory and ship’s administration
2. STCW standards of watchkeeping
3. Bridge equipment
4. Navigation, charts and publications
5. Stress and stability
6. Cargo work
7. Ship handling
8. Prevention of pollution
9. Emergency situations / response and equipment
10. Dry docking
11. Search and rescue
12. Essential shipboard equipment and machinery
13. Collision avoidance and buoyage

AMSA’s examiner checklist

AMSA 273 – Chief Mate oral examination checklist (aide memoire). AMSA groups the checklist topics under these 14 headings: Management and shipmaster’s business; Standards of watchkeeping; Bridge equipment; Stress and stability; Navigation – charts and publications; Cargo work; Ship handling; Prevention of pollution; Emergency situations / response and equipment; Dry docking; Search and rescue; Essential shipboard equipment and machinery; Rules of the road; English language.

Under some of those headings, AMSA’s checklist lists topics such as the following (a summary, not the full list):

• Management and shipmaster’s business: taking over or joining a ship as Chief Mate, handover, responsibilities and duties; statutory certificates, surveys and conditions of class; classification societies; the ISM and ISPS codes; MARPOL, SOLAS, ballast water and the MLC and DMLC; OH&S legislation; official logbook entries; P&I and the certificate of entry; types of charters including on hire and off hire.
• Cargo work: ship–shore checklist and bulk cargo publications; cargo securing and the cargo securing manual; loading bulk cargoes including high-density cargoes; the IMDG Code; confined space entry; heavy-lift precautions and cargo-gear failure; tanker operations and inert gas; bulk grain precautions including fumigation; disposal of cargo residues.
• Ship handling: effect of under-keel clearance and squat; mooring and unmooring; anchoring in adverse weather; embarking and disembarking a pilot; ship and tug interaction; preparations for heavy weather; turning a ship short round.
• Emergency situations / response and equipment: grounding and collision; loss of cargo or a lifeboat overside; being taken in tow; distress, urgency and safety messages; helicopter procedures; man overboard; controlling fire and flooding; heavy weather and tropical revolving storms; damage control; emergencies in port.
• Essential shipboard equipment and machinery: lifeboat release and retrieval systems, launching procedures and organising musters and drills; practical operation of firefighting and lifesaving equipment; fire detection systems; SCBA, emergency fire pumps and shut-offs; watertight integrity including hatch covers, ship side openings and bow and stern doors.

What AMSA tells candidates

• AMSA says the syllabus is not a fully detailed list of orals questions but a list of topics candidates are expected to know, for guidance only.
• Master and Chief Mate candidates can be asked from all sections, but the focus is on the management responsibilities and shipboard duties of the certificate applied for.
• The examiner may ask for diagrams or simple calculations, may ask you to show radar plotting and chart-work, and will expect an adequate command of English.

Suggested study structure

This is our own suggested study structure. It is not an AMSA syllabus and it is not a list of actual exam questions.

• Group the checklist into study blocks. One practical way to use AMSA’s 14 checklist headings is to study the administrative headings together, the navigation headings together, and the cargo, ship handling and emergency headings together.
• Mark each checklist topic honestly. Print the checklist and mark each topic as confident, partly confident or unsure. Start with the unsure ones that carry an A rating, where the checklist shows ratings.
• Link each block to your own service. For each block, note one real situation from your sea service you could use as an example.

How AMSA Examiner helps you prepare

AMSA Examiner is a study platform. After you register and enrol for a rank, it gives you these tools:

• Learning topics that you work through in order.
• A Quiz Bank for practice questions.
• Mind maps for revision.
• A study plan built around your exam date.
• Weak-area identification and a revision book.
• Exam readiness reports.

The content you see depends on the rank you enrol for and on what has been published for that rank. AMSA Examiner’s practice material is study material. It is not official AMSA examination content, and it cannot predict the questions you will be asked.

Preparation strategy

AMSA’s own advice is to use the checklist as your study plan, prepare examples from your sea service, practise answering aloud and check your readiness before you book. For this certificate, that advice looks like this:

Related certificates

• AMSA OOW (Watchkeeper Deck) oral exam preparation. Watchkeeper Deck (OOW) is one of the AMSA certificates AMSA lists as a prerequisite for Chief Mate (unlimited).
• Chief Mate <3000 GT oral exam preparation. Chief Mate <3000 GT is also a listed prerequisite and uses the same AMSA Chief Mate checklist and syllabus.
• Master Unlimited oral exam preparation. Master (unlimited) is the command-level certificate for which Chief Mate is an AMSA-listed prerequisite.
• All AMSA oral exam preparation guides, including the other certificates this site covers.