AMSA Master Unlimited oral exam preparation

The Master (unlimited) (STCW II/2) certificate of competency is an STCW officer-level certificate. AMSA says it allows you to work as Master, Chief Mate or officer in charge of a navigational watch on vessels of any size, in any operating area, and to perform Able Seafarer (Deck) duties. Before you can apply for it, you must pass an AMSA oral exam.

This page explains how that oral examination fits into the certification process, where AMSA publishes the official checklist and syllabus, how AMSA organises the material you are examined on, and how AMSA Examiner can support your preparation.

AMSA certificate name

Master (unlimited) (STCW II/2)

Type

International (STCW) certificate

Oral examination

Required before AMSA issues the certificate; scheduled for 2 hours

AMSA examiner checklist

AMSA 249

Also called

the Master Unlimited orals, the Master (unlimited) oral exam, or the Master unlimited 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. For STCW certificates, AMSA sends a sea service assessment outcome notice before you can book. AMSA says the examiner is assessing how you apply your knowledge, not whether you can memorise it.

AMSA publishes the Master oral examination checklist (AMSA 249) and the Appendix 1 syllabus for Master and Chief Mate certificates on its Prepare for your oral exam page. Direct links to both 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, an AMSA-issued Master <3000 GT, Chief Mate or Chief Mate <3000 GT certificate and who are completing the approved training and sea service for Master (unlimited).
• Chief Mates preparing for the Master orals who want a structured way to work through AMSA’s syllabus and checklist before booking.

Official AMSA requirements

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

• Hold, or have held, one of these AMSA-issued certificates: Master <3000 GT, Chief Mate, or Chief Mate <3000 GT. AMSA says you cannot use an overseas STCW certificate to meet this requirement.
• Complete an Advanced Diploma of Maritime Operations (Master unlimited) with an AMSA-approved training provider, plus the STCW short courses AMSA lists: advanced fire fighting (A-VI/3), medical first aid (A-VI/4 (1-3)), 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)).
• Meet one of AMSA’s two sea-service options. Option 1 (standard, 36 months): at least 1,080 days on vessels of 500 GT or more as officer in charge of a navigational watch, including at least 720 days on voyages of 24 hours or more and at least 180 days on vessels of 1,500 GT or more, with at least 360 days while holding Chief Mate <3000 GT, Chief Mate or Master <3000 GT. Option 2 (experienced Chief Mate or Master, 24 months): at least 720 days on vessels of 500 GT or more on voyages of 24 hours or more, including at least 180 days on vessels of 1,500 GT or more, with at least 360 days as a Chief Mate or Master. Each option also lists the certificates you must have held during that service, so read AMSA’s page for the full conditions.
• 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, then pass the AMSA oral exam. AMSA says not to book the oral exam until you have received your sea service assessment letter.

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 249 – Master oral examination checklist. 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 command or joining a ship as Master, including handover, responsibilities and the authority of the Master; statutory certificates, surveys and classification societies; the ISM and ISPS codes; MARPOL, SOLAS, ballast water and the MLC; how international conventions are enacted into Australian law; OH&S legislation; types of charters and carriage of goods by sea.
• Standards of watchkeeping: BRM and MRM principles; fitness for duty; lookout; anchor watch; restricted visibility and congested waters; pilot on board; voyage planning; night and standing orders.
• Stress and stability: effect of density on draft; FWA and DWA calculations; free surface effect and angle of loll; IMO minimum stability criteria; stability information and the loading instrument; shear force and bending moments; damage stability.
• Emergency situations / response and equipment: grounding and collision; piracy; being taken in tow; distress, urgency and safety messages; helicopter procedures; man overboard; the Master’s obligation to render assistance; controlling fire and flooding; heavy weather and tropical revolving storms; damage control; emergencies in port.
• Rules of the road: Rules 1–3 and the annexes, 4–18, 19, 20–31 and 32–35; IALA buoyage Region A; radar plotting and collision avoidance using radar.

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, provided for guidance only.
• The examiner may ask any question relevant to the topic areas, and may ask for diagrams or simple calculations, to test the managerial, operational and safety aspects of the certificate’s duties.
• Master and Chief Mate candidates can be asked questions from all sections, with the focus on the management responsibilities of the certificate applied for.
• Because the syllabus also incorporates lower-grade certificates, the examiner may ask questions about them where they affect the safe operation of the vessel.
• You may be asked to show proficiency in radar plotting and chart-work, and to show 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.

• Plan around AMSA’s 13 syllabus sections. Give each section its own study block and tick off the checklist topics beneath it. Spend more time on topics you cannot yet explain without notes.
• Pair each section with a real decision. For each section, write down one decision you made or supported at sea, why you made it and which rule or procedure supported it. AMSA asks candidates to prepare sea-service examples in this form.
• Revisit the lower grades. AMSA says the syllabus includes the lower-grade certificates, so check that you are still comfortable with Watchkeeper-level and Chief Mate-level topics.

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

• Chief Mate Unlimited oral exam preparation. Chief Mate (unlimited) is the officer-level certificate AMSA lists, with Chief Mate <3000 GT and Master <3000 GT, as eligible prerequisites for Master (unlimited).
• Chief Mate <3000 GT oral exam preparation. Chief Mate <3000 GT is one of the three AMSA-issued certificates AMSA names as a prerequisite for Master (unlimited).
• All AMSA oral exam preparation guides, including the other certificates this site covers.