Every muster session you run on the iPad — drill or real emergency — is automatically recorded and stored in the admin panel. The recording isn't just a log entry: it's the full event timeline, the head count outcome, the audio of what was happening on the bridge, and any free-text notes the controller logged at the time. The Muster Sessions page is where you go to review all of that.
This article covers what's stored against each session, how to listen back to the audio, how to read the event log, and how to export sessions as evidence for ISM audits and flag state inspections.
Where it lives
From the admin panel, click Muster in the sidebar, then Sessions. You'll see a chronological list of every muster session ever run on the vessel, most recent first. Each row shows the date, time, scenario, duration, drill-or-real flag, head count outcome, and the iPad device that ran the session.
Click a session to open the detail view, which is where everything interesting lives.
What's stored against each session
Every session detail page contains:
- Session metadata — date, time, duration, scenario name, drill/real flag, controller (the crew member who started the session), and the device the session was run from
- Roster outcome — every crew member who was on the vessel at the time of the session, marked as accounted-for or unaccounted, with the time they were accounted
- Visitor outcome — every visitor who was on board at the time, with the same accounted/unaccounted status
- Event log — every action taken during the session, timestamped to the second: status changes, notes logged, VoIP calls placed, re-musters triggered, session start/end
- Audio recording — the full continuous audio captured during the session, available as a streamable file with playback controls
- VoIP call records — any calls made to DPA, Medical, or Emergency Services during the session, with the contact, duration, and call recording
- Free-text notes — anything the controller typed in via the Log Event button
Listening to the audio
The session audio appears as a standard playback bar at the top of the session detail page. Click Play to start listening. You can scrub through the timeline, pause, seek to any point, or download the file for offline playback.
The audio captures whatever was within microphone range of the iPad — bridge conversations, VHF radio, the controller's voice, alarms going off, whatever was happening physically near the device. For yachts that bridge the iPad to the bridge audio system, this can include intercom calls and PA announcements as well.
Audio playback is genuinely useful for:
- Drill debriefs — sit down with the senior officers after a drill and listen to the first ten minutes. You'll hear exactly what was confused, what was clearly communicated, and where training is needed.
- Crew training — new crew can listen to a previous drill recording to hear how the bridge sounds during a real session
- Incident reconstruction — for real emergencies, the audio is the most accurate record of what happened in what order
- ISM auditor evidence — listening to a real drill recording is much more convincing than reading a paper log
Reading the event log
The event log is a chronological list of every discrete action that happened during the session, with second-precision timestamps. A typical event log might look like:
- 14:32:10 — Session started (Fire on Board, drill)
- 14:32:14 — Recording started
- 14:32:45 — Note: "Bridge alarm acknowledged"
- 14:33:02 — James Wilson marked accounted for at Bridge
- 14:33:08 — Sarah Khan marked accounted for at Engine Room
- 14:33:30 — Note: "Engine room reports CO2 standing by"
- 14:34:15 — VoIP call started: DPA
- 14:35:42 — VoIP call ended: DPA (1m 27s)
- 14:36:00 — All crew accounted for
- 14:38:11 — Re-muster triggered
- 14:42:30 — All crew accounted for (round 2)
- 14:43:00 — Session ended
- 14:43:01 — Recording stopped, uploading audio…
The event log is read-only — you can't modify or delete events after the session has ended. This is deliberate, because the audit trail needs to be tamper-proof for ISM and inspection purposes. If you noticed you logged a note incorrectly during the session, you can add a clarifying note from the session detail view, but the original event stays.
Exporting a session as a PDF report
From any session detail page, click Export PDF. The Muster App generates a single PDF containing:
- The session metadata header (date, scenario, duration, controller)
- The full roster outcome, with a clear "X of Y accounted for" summary
- The complete event log
- VoIP call records
- Any notes
- The vessel's name and IMO at the top of every page for chain-of-custody
The PDF doesn't include the audio (audio is too large for a printable document), but it does include a link to the audio file in the admin panel for anyone reviewing the report digitally. For paper-based audits, the event log alone is usually sufficient evidence of compliance.
This PDF is designed to be the "evidence pack" you hand to a port state control inspector when they ask "show me your last fire drill." It contains everything they need to verify the drill happened, how long it took, who was involved, and what the outcome was.
Filtering and searching
The Muster Sessions list page has filters at the top:
- Date range — last 7 days, last 30, last quarter, last year, custom range
- Scenario type — show only Fire drills, only MOB, only Abandon Ship, etc.
- Drill or real — filter to only drills, only real emergencies, or both
- Controller — show sessions run by a specific crew member
This is useful when an inspector asks "show me the last six fire drills" — apply the filter and the list collapses to exactly what they asked for.
Comparing performance over time
Beyond compliance evidence, the Muster Sessions page is genuinely useful for spotting trends. After running drills for a few months, look for:
- Time-to-account trends — is the average head count time getting faster or slower? Faster means training is working; slower means crew are getting complacent.
- Re-muster frequency — sessions where re-musters were needed often indicate the first round was sloppy. Patterns here point to training gaps.
- Repeat unaccounted crew — if the same crew member keeps being missed, that's a signal worth investigating. Maybe they don't know their station.
- Drill frequency — are you actually meeting the SOLAS minimum? The session list will tell you.
Retention and storage
Muster sessions are kept indefinitely by default. Audio files are stored in the vessel's secure cloud storage and are encrypted at rest. There's no automatic deletion — your historical drills are always available unless you explicitly delete a session (which is restricted to admins and is fully audit-logged itself).
For most yachts this is the right behaviour: ISM evidence is valuable to keep for years, and storage cost is negligible. If you have specific data retention policies that require deletion after a fixed period, get in touch and we can configure automated retention windows.