AB Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the AB exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 AB Exam Format at a Glance
📚 AB Topics to Study (61)
✍️ Sample AB Questions & Answers
1. At night, a vessel engaged in fishing and making way shows which lights in addition to its sidelights?
Rule 26 requires a vessel engaged in fishing to show an all-around red light over an all-around white light plus sidelights when making way.
2. A 'back splice' is used to:
A back splice turns the strands back into the rope in a crown knot start, preventing the end from unraveling without adding much bulk.
3. How should vessels pass when meeting head-on?
COLREGs Rule 14, concerning head-on situations, states that when two power-driven vessels are meeting on reciprocal or nearly reciprocal courses so as to involve risk of collision, each shall alter her course to starboard. This action ensures that each vessel passes on the port side of the other, effectively preventing a collision.
4. What does a thermal imaging camera (TIC) allow firefighters to do aboard a ship?
A TIC detects infrared radiation and displays heat signatures, allowing firefighters to locate victims or hot spots through dense smoke.
5. What is the purpose of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code?
The ISM Code establishes an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships and pollution prevention.
6. When conducting an abandon ship drill, how often must these drills be held according to SOLAS?
SOLAS requires abandon ship and fire drills to be held at least once a month on vessels engaged on international voyages.