Glossary of Nautical Terms

Sl.No. Term Description

1 Abaft the Beam Area of Horizon between 90 degree and 180 degree from ahead on each Side.
2 Abandon Vessel To evacuate crew and passengers from a vessel following distress.
3 Accommodation Space containing officers and crews cabin,mess room,crew's toilets,sanitary and laundry spaces.
4 Accommodation Ladder Aluminum portable ladder with railings attached to a platform at ship's side providing certified access to ship
from water or shore.
5 Adrift Uncontrolled movement at sea under the influence of current,tide or wind.
6 Aft Towards or near the stern. Behind or near the stern of the ship.
7 After A phrase applied to any object in the rear part of the ship, as after hatchway or aft mast.
8 After Peak The compartment in the stern, abaft the aftermost watertight bulkhead.
9 Aground The situation of a ship when her bottom or any part of it,rests on the ground. A dangerous situationof a ship as it
can break or gets ruptured.
10 Ahead In front of the ship.
11 Along side Side by side or joined to a ship,wharf,etc.
12 Amidships A helm order to indicate the rudder is to be put on the center line.
13 Anchor Equipment Lowered down by a chain to the seabed,which renders the ship stationary.
14 Anchorage Place where ships anchor.
15 Ashore On the shore.
16 Astern Any distance behind a ship, as opposed to ahead.
17 Athwardship Across the ship, at right angles to the fore-and-aft centerline.
18 Anchor Aweigh When the anchor is drawn out of the ground and sighted above water level.
19 Ballast weight added in a ship (Ballasted sea water)
20 Bearing Angle between north and direction of an object or between ahead and direction of an object.
21 Berth A place assigned to a vessel for anchoring or lying alongside a pier.
22 Bitter-end Inner end of the anchor cable attached inside the chain Locker.

23 Bollard Large and firmly secured post of circular section for securing hawsers and mooring ropes. Often fitted in pairs on
the same base plate.
24 Booby Hatch An access hatch in a deck to a compartment/Cargo Hold.
25 Boottop or Boottopping The surface of the outside plating between light and load waterlines.
26 Bow The forward end of a ship.
 27 Bow stopper A metal bar used across the anchor chain to ease the strain on the windlass.

Glossary of Nautical Terms

Sl.No. Term Description
28 To Break water
Inclined bulwark like structure on the weather deck which minimizes the impact of the sea breaking on it.
29 Breakwater Stone wall structure at the harbour entrance to dampen the sea and swell.
30 Bridge Control room on the ship for Navigation and maneuvering.
31 Briefing Concise Explanatory information to crew and /or passengers.
32 Bulbous Bow Protruding bow below waterline which helps increase speed.
33 Bulk Carrier Specialized Ship with large cargo hold volume for bulk cargoes such as coal,grain,bauxiteand sugar
34 Bulkhead Vertical partition which subdivides ship into compartments.
35 Bulwark
The sides of a ship above the decks. (Vertical plating at ship to reduce quantity of water breaking into deck).
36 Buoy A floating conical or cylinderical tank with or without a top mark,anchored on the sea or river bed, to mark the
enterance to the channel,danger or for any other specific purpose.
37 Cable 1.chain connecting a vessel to the anchor. 2. One hundred fathoms or one tenth of a nautical mile.
38 Capsize To turn over.
39 Casualty Case of death in an accident or shipping disaster.
40 Chafing When two materials rub against each other causing wear and tear.
41 Chafing Plate Rounded plate designed to minimize chafing of ropes.
42 Chain Locker A compartment for the stowage of anchor chain.
43 Chart Room Room where charts are kept in , as well as other navigating equipment such as sextants etc. It is situated on
Navigating Bridge/Wheel House.
44 Cleat A fitting having two arms or horns around which ropes may be made fast.
Coaming of a Hatch The vertical plating bounding a hatch for the purpose of stiffening the edges of the opening,trackway for the
45
(Hatch coaming) hatchcover and resisting entry of water.

46 Cofferdam
Narrow void space between two compartments that prevents leakages between the adjoining compartments
47 Collision Bulkhead The foremost transverse watertight bulkhead designed to keep water out of the forward hold in case of bow
collision damage.
48 Convoy A group of vessels which sail together, e.g. through a canal or ice.
 49 Course The intended direction of movement of a vessel through the water.

Glossary of Nautical Terms

Sl.No. Term Description
50 Cowl A hood -shaped top or end of a natural ventilation trunk that may be rotated in a direction to cause wind to blow
air into or out of the trunk.
51 Davit A metal arm for handling life boats,bunker hose pipes etc.
52 Dead Weight The carrying capacity of a ship at any draft and water density. Includes weight of cargo,fuel,lubricating oil,fresh
water in tanks,stores,passengers and baggages,crew and their personal effects.
53 Deck A platform in a ship corresponding to a floor in a building.
54 Deck Mast House An enclosed space on or above the weather deck that does not extend from side to side of the ship.
55 Deck Freeboard Deck to which freeboard is measured, the uppermost continuous deck having permanent means of closing all
weather openings.
56 Destination Port for which a vessel is bound.
57 Disembark To go from a vessel
58 Double Bottom Compartments at the bottom of a ship between inner bottom and the shell plating, used for ballast water,fresh
water,fuel oil, etc.
59 Draft The depth of the ship below the waterline measured vertically to the lowest part of the hull.
60 Draft Marks The numbers on each side of a ship at the bow,stern and amidships, to indicate the distance from the draft mark
at the water level to the bottom of the keel.
61 Dragging (Anchor) Moving of an anchor over the Sea bottom involuntarily.
62 Drift The angle or distance through which the ship is pushed due to wind or tide.
63 Dunnage Cushioning material placed under or between cargoes to prevent cargo motion, prevents the goods from being
damaged and to allow drainage of moisture.
64 EFA Elementary First Aid
65 Embark To aboard a vessel (Ship)
66 Escape Route A clearly marked way in the vessel which has to be followed in case of an emergency.
67 ETA Estimated time of Arrival.
68 ETD Estimated time of departure.
69 Even Keel A ship is said to be on an even keel when the ship is floating at the same draft fore and aft.
 70 Fair-Way
The channel of a narrow bay,river or haven, in which ships usually advance in their passage up and down.
71 Fathom A measure of length,equivalent to 6 linear feet.

Glossary of Nautical Terms

Sl.No. Term Description
72 Fender Floating,fixed or portable devices such as rubber tyres, to prevent damage to ship side through rubbing or
chafing against other ships or piers.
73 Fire Patrol A member of the watch going around the vessel at certain intervals so that an outbreak of fire may be promptly
detected.
74 Flange The part of a plate or shape bent at right angles to the main part, to bend over to form an angle.
75 Fore-and-aft Throughout the whole ship's length from bow to stern.
76 Forecastle A superstructure fitted at the extreme forward end of the upper deck.
77 Fore Peak The watertight compartment and store at the extreme forward end.
78 Forward Towards the fore part of a ship.
79 FPFF Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting.
80 Free board The distance from the waterline to the upper surface of the freeboard deck at side.
81 Gangway A ladder used for boarding a ship.

82 Gantry Crane A lifting device,traveling on rails,located either on the ship or on the wharf having the lifting hook which is
movable horizontally athwartship direction.
83 Haiyards The ropes by which the flags are hoisted.
84 Harbour A secure place for a ship to berth.
85 Hatch (Hatchway) An opening in a deck through which cargo and stores are loaded or unloaded.
86 Hawsepipe Pipe through which anchor chain is led overboard from the windlass on deck through the ship's side.
87 Heading
The horizontal direction of the vessel's bow at a given moment measured in degrees clockwise from north.

88 Head - Sea When the waves meet the head of a ship in her course, they are called a head sea. It is likewise applied to a large
single wave coming in that direction.
89 Head-way The motion of advancing, used in opposition to sternway.
90 Heel The inclination of a ship sideways due to an external force such as wind or sea.
91 Helm The wheel by which the ship is steered.
 92 Holds The large spaces below deck for the stowage of cargo.
93 Hull The structural body of a ship, including shell plating,framing , decks, bulkheads etc.
94 Keel The Principal fore-and -aft component of a ship's framing, located along the centerline of the bottom and
connected to the stem and stern frames.

Glossary of Nautical Terms

Sl.No. Term Description
95 Knot A unit of speed,equaling one nautical mile per hour; the international nautical mile is 1852 m (6076.1 ft)
96 Knot (Rope) Means of tying two ropes together or a rope to an object.
97 Lash To bind. Lashing cargo together.
98 Launch To lower, e.g. Lifeboats to the water.

99 Lead Line A rope with a lead weight attached to measure the depth of water.The rope has coloured markers along its
length to indicate depth.
100 Lee That part of the hemisphere to which the wind is directed, to distinguish it from the other part which is called to
windward.