STCW Basic Safety Training vs HELM
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
STCW Basic Safety Training
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Get ready for your STCW Basic Safety Training (BST) with confidence. Basic Safety Training is mandatory under the IMO STCW Convention for seafarers assigned shipboard safety and emergency duties. This app covers all four BST modules so you can walk into your course or assessment fully prepared. WHAT YOU GET - 120+ original practice questions across the four mandatory modules: Personal Survival Techniques, Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, Elementary First Aid, and Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities. - Plain-English explanations for every answer so you understand the reasoning, not just the correct option. - Timed mock exams that mirror a real assessment format and pass mark. - Study by topic to focus on your weak spots. - Progress saved on your device, no sign-up required. - Works offline: study on watch, on a break, or ashore. - Available in English, Tagalog (Filipino), Hindi, Indonesian and Chinese. WHY THIS APP Free to download and practise. Start free, then a single one-time purchase unlocks the full question bank, every module, and unlimited timed mock exams. No ads, no subscription, no account needed. NOTE Unofficial study app. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), any flag State, training centre or certifying body. This app does not replace approved STCW Basic Safety Training and does not guarantee passing any certification. Fair winds and a safe watch! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://flysky-privacy.pages.dev
HELM
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The ticket comes down to one conversation: the MCA oral examination. HELM is built for it ā and for the years after it. HELM is a revision app for the MCA Officer of the Watch (Yachts) less than 3000gt certificate. The bridge between deckhand and officer. MOCK EXAMS ā TEST WHAT YOU KNOW Timed mock exams under real conditions, across the whole syllabus: multiple choice, true/false, matching and fill-in-the-blank, with a worked explanation on every question. Sit a full paper or drill a single module. THE ORAL ā REHEARSE IT OUT LOUD The AI Oral Examiner runs a spoken mock oral assessment. It presses for detail when an answer is thin, holds you to the standard an examiner would, and gives you a written breakdown afterwards: what you got right, what you missed, and the rule you should have cited. Four sittings a month, without booking anyone's time. LEARN THE SYLLABUS PROPERLY Sixteen modules covering the full OOW Yachts syllabus: ⢠Navigation & Passage Planning ⢠COLREGs ā Rules of the Road ⢠Lights, Shapes & Sound Signals ⢠Buoyage ā IALA ⢠Bridge Watchkeeping & BRM ⢠Meteorology ⢠Stability & Watertight Integrity ⢠Yacht Construction & Equipment ⢠Anchoring, Berthing & Ship Handling ⢠Tenders, Toys & Guest Operations ⢠Safety & SOLAS ⢠Firefighting & Emergencies ⢠Pollution Prevention & MARPOL ⢠ISM, MLC, Flag & Survey ⢠Communications & GMDSS ⢠Signals & Distress Lessons are typeset to be read rather than skimmed, with diagrams drawn to explain rather than decorate. DRILL UNTIL IT STICKS Spaced-repetition flashcards scheduled by the SM-2 algorithm, so a card comes back just before you would have forgotten it. What you find hard comes back more often. KNOW WHERE YOU STAND Readiness tracking across every module, so you can tell the difference between feeling ready and being ready. FOR JUNIOR OFFICERS, NOT ONLY CANDIDATES Passing is the start, not the finish. HELM stays on your phone afterwards as a revision companion: the full text of the Rules, lights and shapes, buoyage, signals and the sea scales, all searchable and all offline. Junior officers use it to keep the theory sharp between tickets and to check a detail without hunting through a publication. WORKS AT SEA Lessons, flashcards, mock papers and the whole quick reference run in airplane mode. Mid-ocean, in a lift, on a delivery ā it does not matter. Only the AI Oral Examiner needs a connection. QUICK REFERENCE, ALWAYS TO HAND ⢠COLREGs ā Rules 1-38 and Annexes I-IV, full text, searchable ⢠Lights & shapes ā an interactive atlas, every examinable configuration from three aspects ⢠IALA buoyage, Regions A and B ⢠Sound & light signals ⢠International Code of Signals ā single and multi-letter ⢠VHF channels ⢠Beaufort scale and Douglas sea scale ⢠Cloud recognition START WITH COLREGS, INCLUDED IN FULL The entire COLREGs module ā lessons, flashcards and mock exam questions ā is yours from the moment you install, offline, without an account. A subscription unlocks the remaining fifteen modules and the AI Oral Examiner. IN YOUR LANGUAGE The interface is available in Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Croatian, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian. Syllabus content stays in English, because English is the language of the exam. A built-in glossary gives you the English term with its definition in your own language, so nothing is lost in translation on the day. HELM is study, revision and reference material. It is not for operational navigation or decision-making at sea, and it is not an official MCA product. Azimuth Systems Ltd is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Terms of Use: https://www.azimuthsystemsltd.com/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://www.azimuthsystemsltd.com/privacy-policy
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Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: STCW Basic Safety Training at 3 against HELM's 1. STCW Basic Safety Training also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. STCW Basic Safety Training sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and HELM sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
STCW Basic Safety Training ships an update every 4 days, HELM every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | STCW Basic Safety Training | HELM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 2 days ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod ā better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 ā better | 16.4 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 25 MB | 101 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | FLY SKY PTY LTD | Azimuth Systems Ltd |
In-app purchases
STCW Basic Safety Training
- STCW Safety Full Access$6.997 Days
- STCW Safety Full Access$16.991 Month
- STCW Safety Full Access$39.993 Months
- Unlock Full Access$4.99
HELM
- HELM Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- HELM Premium Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- 2 examiner sessions$0.99
- 10 examiner sessions$3.99
Questions
Is STCW Basic Safety Training free?
Is HELM free?
Do STCW Basic Safety Training or HELM have ads?
Which is updated more often, STCW Basic Safety Training or HELM?
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