Stop Work Authority
What is being checked
The inspector is checking whether the company process for Stop Work Authority is understood, applied onboard and capable of producing traceable decisions and improvement rather than completed forms alone.
Ready onboard
0/6 completePractice questions
Answer aloud, then open the preparation point.
1What is the purpose of Stop Work Authority?
Explain how it controls unrestricted intervention, protection from retaliation, communication, reassessment, restart authority and feedback and give a recent shipboard example.
2Show one complete example.
Trace a recent stop-work example, toolbox talk, meeting record and corrective action from initiation to verified closure.
3Who verifies the quality of the process?
Identify the responsible shipboard and shore roles and how weak or overdue entries are challenged.
4How are ratings involved?
Give a specific example of participation, feedback or use rather than relying only on signatures.
5What changed because of the last finding?
Identify the control, equipment, training or planning change and show that effectiveness was checked.
Where an observation may arise
The process did not define unrestricted intervention, protection from retaliation, communication, reassessment, restart authority and feedback.
Records were generic, copied or completed after the event without supporting evidence.
Personnel affected by the process could not explain it or provide an example.
Actions lacked ownership, due date, verification or overdue escalation.
The same weakness recurred without effective learning: crew believed only officers could stop work or that schedule pressure overrode safety.
Dates or facts did not reconcile across a recent stop-work example, toolbox talk, meeting record and corrective action.
Master's practical note
Select the most recent imperfect example, not the neatest one. A functioning safety-management process should expose weakness, assign action and verify improvement.
Equipment boundary and references
Equipment boundary: This guide addresses onboard implementation. Company reporting thresholds, shore investigation authority and confidentiality controls remain governed by the SMS.
References
- OCIMF SIRE 2.0 Question Library Part 1, Version 1.0, Question 5.7.5
- ISM Code sections 5 and 7
- OCIMF TMSA Element 3
Last reviewed: 2026-09-13