Engineering
AMSA Marine Engine Driver (Grades 3, 2 and 1)
- Modules
- 4
- Lessons
- 16
- Questions
- 80
AI-drafted catalogue content pending SME review. Sea service and course requirements change; verify with AMSA before relying on this for a career decision.
Aligned to the published AMSA requirements and the relevant Marine Orders. Official source (AMSA). Drafted from Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency - national law) 2022 as registered on legislation.gov.au, and AMSA guidance at amsa.gov.au. Covers all three Marine Engine Driver grades..
AUS-MED-M1 · The Three Grades
6 lessons
AUS-MED-M1-A Zero to <1500 kW, and the levers that halve the sea service
Practice in examiner ↗AUS-MED-L1.1The Australian engineering system in one pageThis lesson maps the full Australian engineering certification ladder, explaining how domestic and international regimes sit under separate Marine Orders, why every certificate ceiling is measured in kilowatts of propulsion power, and how the task book affects the sea service required at each grade.AUS-MED-L1.2MED Grade 3 - the zero rungMarine Engine Driver Grade 3 near coastal is where the Australian engineering career starts. It is not a stepping stone you take after something else. There is nothing underneath it. If you have never held a ticket, never been to sea, and never taken an engine apart, this is the door.AUS-MED-L1.3MED Grade 2 - and the trade that halves itGrade 2 lifts the inboard chief-engineer ceiling from 500 kW to 750 kW, and the second-engineer ceiling from 750 kW to 1500 kW. The engine-room limit stays at 3000 kW and the outboard entitlement stays unlimited.AUS-MED-L1.4MED Grade 1 - the first oralGrade 1 takes the inboard chief-engineer ceiling to **under 1500 kW** and the second-engineer ceiling to **under 3000 kW**. The engine-room limit stays at 3000 kW. Outboards remain unlimited. It is the last certificate before Engineer Class 3 near coastal, which is the top of the domestic ladder.AUS-MED-L1.5The task book - the single biggest lever you haveAn AMSA task book is a structured record of competencies, signed off aboard by a person qualified to sign them off. It is not a diary. It is a list of things AMSA wants to know you have actually done, and a column for the signature of the person who watched you do it.AUS-MED-L1.6Workshop skills - the legally defined listThe phrase turns up all over AMSA's engineering pages, and people assume it means something loose - handy with tools, did a bit of fitting. It does not. **Workshop skill equivalent qualification** is a defined term with a schedule of named qualifications behind it. Either your certificate is on the list, or it is not.
AUS-MED-M2 · The Engine
4 lessons
AUS-MED-M2-A The diesel, and what actually breaks
Practice in examiner ↗AUS-MED-L2.1The four-stroke diesel cycleThis lesson explains how the four-stroke diesel cycle works, covering each stroke in sequence, why compression alone triggers ignition, what exhaust smoke colours reveal about engine faults, and how the two-stroke alternative handles gas exchange differently.AUS-MED-L2.2Fuel systems - and dirty fuelThe job of a fuel system is to deliver clean fuel, at very high pressure, in a precisely metered quantity, at exactly the right moment, as a fine mist. Every word in that sentence is a place it can go wrong.AUS-MED-L2.3Lubrication - and what follows losing itLubricating oil does four jobs, and only the first is the obvious one.AUS-MED-L2.4Cooling - and overheatingCombustion produces far more heat than the engine can turn into work. Most of it goes out of the exhaust; the rest has to be taken away, or the engine cooks. On a boat, the heat sink is the water you are floating in.
AUS-MED-M3 · The Rest of the Plant
3 lessons
AUS-MED-M3-A Electrics, auxiliaries and the outboard
Practice in examiner ↗AUS-MED-L3.1Electrical generation, batteries and isolationThis lesson covers the two electrical systems found on small commercial vessels, explains where power originates and how batteries should be separated, sets out the five-step isolation procedure for safe working, and describes the faults to look for on a routine electrical round.AUS-MED-L3.2Bilge, fire and steering systemsThe engine keeps the vessel moving. Bilge, fire and steering keep the vessel. A new engineer learns the engine because it is interesting. Learn these because they are the ones that matter when it counts, and because nobody tests them unless you do.AUS-MED-L3.3Outboard motors - and why your entitlement is unlimitedAustralian MED certificates carry no power ceiling for outboard engines at any grade, making the outboard fleet a route to early authority. This lesson explains that rule, how outboard cooling, fuel and gearcase systems work, and what the most common failures look like in practice.
AUS-MED-M4 · Standing the Watch
3 lessons
AUS-MED-M4-A Running the space, and running it alone
Practice in examiner ↗AUS-MED-L4.1The engine room roundThis lesson explains how to conduct a systematic engine room round, covering the correct use of sight, hearing, smell and touch to detect faults early, and why a fixed route, written log and consistent reporting discipline are what give the round its value.AUS-MED-L4.2The log, the days, and the sea service letter that gets acceptedAn engineer keeps two kinds of record. One is technical - what the plant did, what you did to it. The other is administrative - proof that you were there, doing the job, for the number of days you say you were. The first keeps the vessel running. The second is the only thing standing between you and the next certificate.AUS-MED-L4.3When it goes wrong - fire, flooding and loss of propulsionThree casualties account for almost everything that will genuinely threaten a small commercial vessel: fire, flooding, and loss of propulsion. They share one rule, which comes at the end of this lesson and is the most important sentence in it.