🔍 Key Concepts

• Heavy weather avoidance and voyage planning • Dangers of navigating close to the eye and dangerous semicircle of a tropical cyclone • Master’s responsibility to take early, positive action to ensure safety of vessel and crew

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: What is the primary goal when a vessel is near a tropical cyclone—maintain schedule, stay near land, or maximize safety margin from the storm? • Think about which option involves acting before conditions become critical, rather than reacting at the last minute. • Consider how professional mariners are taught to use weather reports, forecasts, and routing—do they typically seek to be near, inside, or well clear of a cyclone’s influence?

✅ Before You Answer

• Which choice involves proactively increasing your distance from the cyclone’s center and worst winds? • Which options might trap the vessel in shallow or confined waters if the storm track changes unexpectedly? • Eliminate any answer that assumes you will definitely have to ride out the storm instead of planning to stay clear of it.