Shipboard Training Enhancement (BSMT)

Assessment No. 3

Week 4 – Aids to Navigation and Positions

Control No. W4A3-001A

INSTRUCTION: DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING ON THIS QUESTIONNAIRE. On your Answer Sheet, write the
LETTER of your choice in BLOCK LETTERS. TIME LIMIT: 45 minutes

1. What is the following is TRUE for cardinal marks for their purpose in transiting channels and harbors?

A. They indicate that the deepest water occurs at the side of the mark’s name.
B. They are placed at the north, south, east or west from a point of interest, like a wreck.
C. They are painted in vertical yellow and black stripes.
D. All of the above

2. Which shape of buoy does not indicate the side to which the buoy has to be passed?

A. Can
B. Pillar
C. Conical
D. Spherical

3. Region A is also called ____________ because red buoys are on the port side of the channel and
__________ are on the starboard side when entering a harbor (reverse when departing).

A. red to port, green buoys

B. green to port, red buoys
C. red to starboard, green buoys
D. green to starboard, red buoys

4. What type of mark indicates that the deepest water in the area lies to the named side of the mark?

A. Lateral mark
B. Cardinal mark
C. Safe water mark
D. Isolated danger mark

5. The maximum distance at which a light can be seen under atmospheric condition of the existing visibility is
referred to as _____________.

A. Geographic range
B. Luminous range
C. Nominal range
D. Optical Range

6. What is the light phase characteristic of a lighted isolated-danger mark?

A. Interrupted quick flashing

B. Very quick flashing
C. Group flashing
D. Long flashing

7. Which type of cardinal mark has 2 black cones, one above the other, bases to base and the shape of the buoy
either a pillar or a spar?

A. East cardinal mark

B. West cardinal mark
C. North cardinal mark
D. South cardinal mark

 2022 ConnectEd Educational Consultancy and Support Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Shipboard Training Enhancement (BSMT)
Assessment No. 3

Week 4 – Aids to Navigation and Positions

8. Which of the following statements is NOT correct for a sector light?

A. It indicates a turning point.

B. It provides a leading light in a fairway.
C. It uses a single directional in some cases.
D. It provides information on hazard areas that should be avoided.

9. Which type of buoy has a vertical or perpendicular yellow cross on top?

A. Special mark buoy

B. Ship wrecked buoy
C. Isolated Danger buoy
D. Emergency wreck buoy

10. The position determined by crossing lines of position obtained at different times and advanced or retard to a
common time is called __________.

A. DR fix
B. GPS fix
C. Running fix
D. Bow and beam bearing

11. A group of two or more marks or lights, in the same vertical plane such that the navigator can follow the
leading line on the same bearing is called ___________.

A. Safe water marks

B. Leading marks
C. Danger marks
D. Special marks

12. What do red sectors of navigational lights warn mariners of?

A. Floating debris
B. Shoals or nearby land
C. Heavily trafficked areas
D. Recently sunken vessels

13. Which is TRUE concerning daymarks marking the starboard side of the channel when going towards the sea?

A. They will be red triangles.

B. They will be red squares.
C. They will be green squares.
D. They will be green triangles.

14. Under the IALA Buoyage Systems, which is TRUE of the topmark of a red and white vertically stripped buoy?

A. It shall be X-shaped.
B. It shall be a single red cone.
C. It shall be two black spheres.
D. It shall be a single red sphere.

15. Which is TRUE of a lateral system buoy displaying a quick flashing light?

A. The buoy shall be passed close aboard on either side.

B. The buoy is used at a channel bifurcation or junction.
C. The buoy indicates that special caution is required.
D. The buoy is painted red and white vertical stripes.

 2022 ConnectEd Educational Consultancy and Support Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Shipboard Training Enhancement (BSMT)
Assessment No. 3

Week 4 – Aids to Navigation and Positions

16. A cardinal mark showing an uninterrupted quick-flashing white light indicates the deepest water is located in
which quadrant?

A. The west quadrant of the mark

B. The east quadrant of the mark
C. The north quadrant of the mark
D. The south quadrant of the mark

17. Under the IALA-A Buoyage System, a buoy marking the port hand of the channel when approaching from
seaward may NOT have which feature?

A. A red light
B. A conical shape
C. A square topmark
D. A group-flashing light

18. A white buoy with an open-faced orange diamond on it indicates ____________.

A. danger
B. the buoy is a mooring buoy
C. operating restrictions are in effect
D. vessels are excluded from the area

19. A white buoy with an orange rectangle on it is used to indicate ____________.

A. danger
B. a controlled area
C. an exclusion area
D. general information

20. In which country would you expect the channels to be marked with the IALA-B Buoyage System?

A. Peru
B. Poland
C. Morocco
D. Saudi Arabia

21. The IALA Buoyage Systems do NOT apply to _________.

A. natural dangers and other obstructions, such as wrecks

B. areas in which navigation may be subject to regulation
C. the sides and centerlines of navigable channels
D. lighthouses and lightships

22. You should plot a dead reckoning position every __________.

A. fix or running fix

B. course change
C. speed change
D. all of the above

23. You should plot a dead reckoning position every __________.

A. fix or running fix

B. course change
C. speed change
D. all of the above

 2022 ConnectEd Educational Consultancy and Support Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Shipboard Training Enhancement (BSMT)
Assessment No. 3

Week 4 – Aids to Navigation and Positions

24. A dead reckoning (DR) plot _________.

A. should be started each time the vessel’s position is fixed

B. must take set and drift into account
C. must utilize magnetic courses
D. should be replotted hourly

25. At 0000 you fix your position and plot a new DR track line. At 0200 you again fix your position and it is 0.5 mile
east of your DR. Which statement is TRUE?

A. You must increase speed to compensate for the current.

B. The current cannot be determined.
C. The current is westerly at 0.5 knot.
D. The drift is 0.25 knot.

26. Which error is NOT included in the term “current” when used in relation to a fix?

A. Leeway
B. Poor steering
C. Ocean currents
D. Known compass error

27. You plot a fix using three lines of position and find they intersect in a triangle. You should plot the position of
the vessel ______________.

A. outside of the triangle

B. anywhere in the triangle
C. in the geometric center of the triangle
D. on the line of position from the nearest object, between the other two lines of position

28. You are navigating in pilotage waters using running fixes. The maximum time between fixes should be about
_____________.

A. 5 minutes
B. 30 minutes
C. 1 hour
D. 4 hours

29. You are taking bearing on two known objects ashore. The best fix is obtained when the angle between the line
of position is ______________.

A. 30
B. 45
C. 60
D. 90

30. You are running parallel to the coast and take a running fix using bearings of the same object. If you are
making less speed than used for the running fix, in relation to the position indicated by the fix, you will be
_________.

A. closer to the coast

B. farther from the coast
C. on the track line behind the fix
D. on the track line ahead of the fix

 2022 ConnectEd Educational Consultancy and Support Services, Inc. All rights reserved.