Comprehensive MODU Stability / Ballast Control Operator

This stability and ballast control course equips aspiring and practising Ballast Control Operators with the competencies set by IMO Resolution A.1079(28) and endorsed by the Liberia International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR). It enables ballast operators, STCW-licensed deck or engine officers, and other mid-level rig staff to plan, execute, and document MODU stability, weight-distribution, and emergency ballasting operations with confidence. Graduates receive a Liberia-approved, lifetime Certificate of Proficiency—fully satisfying every ballast control operator job description and opening pathways to control-room, marine-superintendent, and unit-manager roles offshore.

• Sea-service route:

  • ≥ 12 months on Mobile Offshore Units (MOUs) and

  • ≥ 2 months as a trainee under a certified BCO/CRO.

• Academic route:

  • Bachelor of Science from a recognized technology school and

  • ≥ 2 months as a trainee under a certified BCO/CRO.

• Core MODU stability theory taught in this ballast control operator course: displacement, draught, trim, heel, freeboard, buoyancy, metacentre, righting arm.

• Equilibrium states; heavy-lift moments; weight changes and centre-of-gravity shifts (vertical, transverse, longitudinal).

• Inclining-experiment data, free-surface correction, longitudinal stability, trimming moments, longitudinal GM.

• Hydrostatic tables/curves, cross curves, dead-weight scales, statical-stability curves, GZ-area interpretation.

• Stability criteria for MOUs, dynamic stability, synchronous rolling, angle of loll, mooring-system and DP influences.

• Daily loading-sheet calculations, chain-deployment moments, deck-load limits, lightweight-change management.

• Ballasting equipment: valves, pumps, piping, consoles; sequencing for symmetric and unsymmetric ballasting with stress checks.

• Failure response: blackout, loss of station, hull damage, counter-flooding, cross-connection use, pumping strategies.

• Environmental limits, survival condition, zones of reduced stability, emergency drills.

• Simulator drills on a BCO panel: tank-level reading, alarm handling, DP/anchor feedback, shift hand-over, IMO/class/flag-state log compliance.

• Human factors and incident case studies—root causes and lessons learned.

5 Days