English for Search and Rescue Vietnam Maritime University
1 Starting up
Exercise 1. Do this quiz to test your knowledge of marine emergency procedures.
1) What is channel 70 used for?
2) What colour is rocket parachute flare?
3) With what code words do you start a call for an urgent message?
4) What is a Mayday relay?
a) when there is more than one emergency
b) when you transmit a distress message for another person
c) a vhf network
5) Who do you send a Mayday call to?
a) coastguard
b) nearest ship
c) Everyone
2 Vocabulary
Exercise 2. A maritime emergency is any serious distress to a vessel or her crew.
(a) Make a list of marine emergencies, (b) Describe an emergency that you have
been in.
Exercise 3. Match each verb (left) with a definition (right):
to capsize cannot be seen
to collide with water
to sink turn over
to swamp go down slowly
to settle smash together
to drift go without power
to disappear go under
Exercise 4. Study these three sentences. Which sentence is about some thing that
has happened (past)? Which sentence is about something happening now
(present continuous)? Which sentence is an order (present)?
1) The vessel collided with the jetty.
2) We are sinking fast.
3) Please change to Channel One Zero.
1
3 Reading
English for Search and Rescue Vietnam Maritime University
Exercise 5. Study the three emergency code words below. What do they mean?
Match them with: urgent call, distress call and safety call.
1) Mayday, Mayday, Mayday
2) Pan-pan, Pan-pan, Pan-pan
3) Securité, Securité, Securité
Exercise 6. You have to send a radio message to report the emergencies 1–10.
Which emergency code word (1–3 above) do you use for each message?
1) A crew member badly injures his hand.
2) You need to give a storm warning.
3) There is thick fog in your sea area.
4) A crew member falls into the sea.
5) There is oil spillage from your vessel.
6) Your vessel has a little damage to the hull.
7) You are under attack by men with guns.
8) You see a very large box floating in a busy shipping area.
9) Infectious disease on board.
Exercise 7. Read there ports of emergencies and answer the questions.
There were two boats. In one boat there was a man with a rocket grenade launcher. We
tried to run over one of the boats. Then we headed out to sea very fast to outrun them.
1) To run over is to:
a) chase b) hit c) run away
2) To outrun is to:
a) hit
b) go slower than the other boats
c) go faster than the other boats
‘High seas and a north east gale made our vessel drift to the south. Then suddenly the
ship stopped moving. There is no response to engine or tug movements.’
3) To drift is to:
a) move from course b) move on course c) move slowly
4) Response here means:
a) answer b) reply c) reaction
‘Sea water swamped the vessel. She settled by the stern. There was no time to call for
help and two of the crew lost their lives.’
5) Find a phrase in the text that means ‘to die’.
6) A swamped vessel is:
a) turned over b) filled with water c) damaged
7) To ship here means:
a) to travel b) to go on board c) to take on
2
8) To settle by the stern means:
a) to go down sternEnglish
down for Search and Rescue
b) to go straightVietnam
down Maritime University
c) to go down stern up
A vessel was in harbour undergoing engine repairs. There was an explosion and a
blaze started in the engine compartment. Three people suffered burns to the face and
body.
9) You can replace undergoing with:
a) needing b) having c) waiting
10) A blaze is:
a) strong heat b) damage c) fire
11) A compartment is:
a) a room b) a cupboard c) a box
A barge overturned and the total cargo of coal was lost. There were no injuries and no
pollution. A tug towed the barge to harbour. It was then righted.
12) You can replace overturns with:
a) is destroyed b) starts up c) goes upside down
13) What happens to the cargo?
a) No one could find it b) It died c) It could not be used
14) To tow is:
a) to pull b) to escort c) to guide
15) To right something is:
a) to turn it over b) to mend it c) to survey it
The bow of a vessel swung to port across a channel. A second vessel struck its side. The
collision damaged both vessels but there was no pollution.
16) Which one of these statements is correct?
a) Two vessels cause environmental damage.
b) A vessel hits the side of a channel.
c) There is a collision between two vessels.
The A deck hand went forward to the bow and disappeared. The crew heard no cry for
help. The missing man is a non-swimmer. He is not wearing a life jacket.
17) Which of these statements is correct?
a) We try to rescue a man who falls overboard, but we lose him.
b) A member of the crew is missing and no one on board knows when he fell over the
side.
c) A man is pulled from the water by a member of the crew.
4 Listening
Exercise 8. Listen to the cassette. There is an emergency on board. What is it?
3
Exercise 9. Now read these commands. One five are in the dialogue. Tick the
English for Search and Rescue
commands you hear. Vietnam Maritime University
Get the fire extinguisher!
Call the Captain!
Put out the fire!
Do not attempt to extinguish the fire!
Post two lookouts!
Sound the alarms immediately!
Lower the lifeboat!
Man overboard!
Proceed to the muster stations immediately!
Go to your emergency stations!
Prepare to abandon ship!
WORDLIST
Words Part of Pronunciation Vietnamese
speech
abandon v /əˈbændən/ rờ i bỏ
burn n /bɜː(r)n/ bỏ ng
coast guard n /ˈkəʊs(t)ˌɡɑː(r)d lự c lượ ng bả o vệ bờ biển
collide v /kəˈlaɪd/ va chạ m
collision n /kəˈlɪʒ(ə)n/ sự (vụ ) va chạ m
disease n /dɪˈziːz/ dịch bệnh
distress n /dɪˈstres/ tai họ a, cả nh lâ m nguy
drift v /drɪft/ trô i dạ t
emergency n /ɪˈmɜːdʒ(ə)nsi/ trườ ng hợ p khẩ n cấ p
engine n /ˈendʒɪn kəm buồ ng má y lá i
compartment ˈpɑː(r)tmənt /
fire extinguisher n / ˈfaɪə(r) ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃə(r)/ bình cứ u hỏ a
float v /fləʊt/ nổ i
gale n /ɡeɪl/ cơn lố c
head out v /hed/ tiến ra ngoà i
hull n /hʌl/ thâ n tà u
injure v /ˈɪndʒə(r)/ bị thương
jetty n /ˈdʒeti/ cầ u tà u
lifeboat n /ˈˈlaɪfˌbəʊt/ xuồ ng cứ u sinh
man overboard n / ænˈəʊvə(r)ˌbɔː(r)d/ ngườ i rơi xuố ng nướ c
muster station n / ˈmʌstə(r) ˈsteɪʃ(ə)n/ trạ m tậ p trung bỏ tà u
outrun v /ˌaʊtˈrʌn/ chạ y thoá t
overturn v /ˌəʊvəˈtɜːn/ lậ t ú p
4
relay n /riːˈleɪ/ chuyển tiếp
right English for
v Search and
/raɪt/ Rescue Vietnam Maritime
lậ t ngử aUniversity
rocket parachute n /ˈrɒkɪt ˈpærəˌʃuːt fleə(r)/ phá o hiệu dù
flare
rocket grenade n /ˈrɒkɪt ɡrɪˈneɪd sú ng phó ng lự u
launcher ˈlɔːntʃə(r)/
settle by the v /ˈset(ə)l baɪ ðə stɜː(r)n/ chú i lá i
stern
spillage n /ˈspɪlɪdʒ/ sự trà n
swamp v /swɒmp/ trà n và o
tow v /təʊ/ kéo
warning n /ˈwɔː(r)nɪŋ/ cả nh bá o
