Safety, Fire & Survival · Damage Control — Shoring and Plugging
A small hull fracture below the waterline is taking water. Which immediate damage-control measure is appropriate?
- AOpen all watertight doors to equalize the water
- BApply a collision mat, plug/wedge the leak, and shore the patch, while starting pumps to dewater✓ Correct
- CIncrease speed to plane over the damage
- DFlood the opposite side to balance the list
Explanation
First-aid damage control for a hull breach combines stopping/reducing the inflow (collision mat over the hole, wooden plugs/wedges and softwood, shoring to hold a patch) with dewatering by pumps and eductors — buying time to reach safety or effect repairs.
Authority: Bowditch (Pub. No. 9); shipboard damage control
Practice the full Safety, Fire & Survival bank
Free spaced-repetition quizzing across 2190 USCG exam questions — it schedules your reviews so the ones you miss come back until they stick.
Related Safety, Fire & Survival questions
- Fire Theory
The three elements that must be present for a fire to burn (the fire triangle) are:
- Fire Theory
A fire involving flammable liquids such as gasoline, oil, or grease is what class of fire?
- Fire Theory
A fire in energized electrical equipment is class C. The first action that makes it safer to fight is to:
- Firefighting
Why is water the preferred agent for a Class A fire?
- Firefighting
A fixed CO2 flooding system extinguishes a fire in an engine room primarily by:
- Firefighting
Before releasing a fixed CO2 system into a machinery space, the operator must FIRST: