Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
AAW An acronym for anti-aircraft warfare. aback (of a sail) Filled by the wind on the opposite side to the one normally used to move the vessel forward.On a square-rigged ship, any of the square sails can be braced round to be aback, the purpose of which may be to reduce speed (such as when a ship-of-the-line is keeping station with others), to heave to, or to assist moving the ship's head ...
A map of a sea or ocean area and adjacent coastal regions, intended specifically for navigation at sea. Nautical charts use map projections designed for easy use with hand instruments, such as the Mercator projection , and indicate depths, hazards, landmarks , aids to navigation such as buoys , and ashore facilities of interest to mariners .
Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged ().Access to holds is by a large hatch at the top. Ships have had holds for centuries; an alternative way to carry cargo is in standardized shipping containers, which may be loaded into appropriate holds or carried on deck.
Keelhauling (Dutch kielhalen; [1] "to drag along the keel") is a form of punishment and potential execution once meted out to sailors at sea. The sailor was tied to a line looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard on one side of the ship, and dragged under the ship's keel , either from one side of the ship to the other, or the length of the ...
The Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP) is a set of key phrases in the English language (which is the internationally recognised language of the sea), supported by the international community for use at sea and developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). They aim to explain: 1) external communication phrases – ship to ...
A stay is part of the standing rigging and is used to hold a mast upright. It is a large strong rope, wire or rod extending from the upper end of each mast and running down towards the deck of the vessel in a midships fore-and-aft direction.
Shipping was one of the earliest channels of commerce, and rules for resolving maritime trade disputes were developed early. An ancient example was the Rhodian law (Nomos Rhodion Nautikos), of which no extensive written specimen has survived, but which is alluded to in other legal texts (Roman and Byzantine legal codes), and later the customs of the Consulate of the Sea and the Hanseatic League.
An artificial harbor can have deliberately constructed breakwaters, sea walls, or jetties or they can be constructed by dredging, which requires maintenance by further periodic dredging. An example of an artificial harbor is Long Beach Harbor , California , United States, which was an array of salt marshes and tidal flats too shallow for modern ...