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- abaft
- aft of something or towards the stern of a ship
- abandon ship
- get away from a ship when there is a danger of ship sinking
- abeam
- on the side of a ship which is perpendicular to the ships fore and aft line
- able seaman
- a senior and experienced seaman in deck department who assists the officer on watch steers the ship and keeps gangway watch; one grade higher than the beginning grade of ordinary seaman; AB for short; AB was used apparently instead of AS to avoid confusion with OS which stands for ordinary seaman
- aboard
- on board; in or on a ship
- abreast
- side by side; abeam of
- Abt
- about
- accommodation
- spaces in ship used for mess rooms sleeping rooms lavatories and recreation
- accommodation ladder
- a retractable ladder with collapsible handrails for safe access to and from ship; hinged to a platform attached to ships sides usually available at port and starboard sides
- accumulator
- 1. an electric storage cell or battery; 2. container for storing liquid and gases at constant pressure serving as a reservoir
- Act of God
- the cause attributed to a casualty when the casualty occurs without human contribution and which could not be foreseen or averted by reasonable precautionary measures
- adiabatic
- change of volume and pressure of a gas in which there is no heat gained or lost by the gas
- ADNR
- Regulation for the Carriage of Dangerous Substances on the Rhine (EU)
- ADR
- Regulations Concerning the International Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road (European law)
- adrift
- not fastened to anything and float freely
- ad valorem freight
- freight calculated as a percentage of the value of the goods
- advance
- one of the parameters for measuring the turning performance of a ship it is the distance travelled from the instant the rudder is put over to the point at which she is on her new course; measured along a line parallel to the original direction of motion
- advance freight
- freight that is paid in advance when the cargo is loaded on board rather than at the end of the destination; the proportion of freight payable is mutually agreed beforehand in the charter party
- adventure
- in marine insurance is any undetaking or voyage or duration that exposes the property to maritime perils
- affreightment
- chartering or hiring of a ship to carry cargo
- afloat
- floating on water
- Aframax
- any tanker with deadweight just under 80 000 tons
- after perpendicular
- represented by a vertical line at the intersection of the designed load waterline and the after side of the rudder post or the centreline of the rudder stock where there is no rudder post; AP in short
- agent
- one who acts for another as in a shipping agent who serves the shipowners in a foreign port by looking after the ships interests; some of the duties include arranging for pilotage crew change etc.; also known as port agent or ships agent
- aground
- of a ship resting on the ground in shallow water
- air-cushion vehicle
- a ship which uses air cushion created by powerful fans to lift and support its full weight allowing it to reduce the hull resistance when moving through water; an example is hovercraft; ACV in short
- Aldis
- a powerful daylight signalling lamp
- allision
- collision of a moving vessel against a stationary vessel or object
- alongside
- close to the side of a ship wharf or jetty
- alternator
- a mechanical machine that produces alternating current (a.c.) when driven by a prime mover; it has two major parts - the rotating part called rotor consists of pairs of magnetic poles and a stationary part called stator consists of fixed coils of wire; also known as ac generator
- American Bureau of Shipping
- the American Classification Society or ABS for short
- amidships
- in or near the middle of a ship whether longitudinally or transversely
- ammeter
- an instrument for measuring the electric current in ampere
- ampere
- the unit for measuring electric current; also known as amp
- Anch
- anchored
- anchor
- a device which is attached to anchor chain at one end and lowered into the sea bed to hold a ship in position; it is designed to grip the bottom when it is dragged by the ship trying to float away under the influence of wind and current; usually made of heavy casting or casting
- anchorage
- a place suitable for ships to anchor
- anemometer
- an instrument for measuring the wind velocity or wind force
- angle of attack
- angle formed by the intersection of the fluid flow direction towards a foil with a straight line drawn from the foils leading edge to its trailing edge
- annealing
- a heat treatment process which serves to soften and relieve internal stresses; the metal is first heated to a certain temperature and allowed to cool down slowly to achieve the desired effect
- anodising
- process of producing a thicker natural oxide film on the surface of aluminium; also known as anodic oxidation
- anti-foam agent
- additive used to minimise the foaming tendency of petroleum products
- antifouling
- describes a desirable paint quality that prevents the growth of marine organisms such as barnacles in the underwater portion of a ships hull
- anti-oxidant
- a type of chemical additive which is used to dissolve oxidation products formed in fuel oil
- anti-wear agent
- additives used to form thin and continuous films on heavily loaded parts to prevent metal-to-metal contact
- appendages
- any part of a ship that protrudes out of the main hull form such as rudder bilge keels etc.
- Ar
- arrived
- aromatics
- one group of hydrocarbons with benzene as parent; their derivatives tend to have sweet or aromatic odours
- arrived ship
- a ship is considered arrived and the laytime can commence when certain conditions specified in the charter party are fulfilled e.g. reach the designated position for loading or discharging vessel is ready in all respects for cargo operation and notice of readiness properly given
- ASBA II
- the codename given to a standard form voyage charter party published by The Association of Shipbrokers and Agents (ASBA) for tankers in 1984; originally known as ASBATANKVOY
- ash
- a powdery residue formed after combustion by the burning of some additives especially the conventional detergent type
- ash modifier
- chemical additive used to reduce the effect of ash or impurities such as vanadium suplhur and sodium in post-combustion conditions
- ashore
- on shore; on the land
- aspect ratio
- the ratio of height to average width of a foil or sail
- asphaltenes
- hard and brittle particles of asphalt which are highly aromatic and combustible
- assured
- one who insures a property against loss
- astern
- behind; in the after portion of a ship
- athwart
- across; from side to side; transversely
- athwartship
- across a ship transversely; at right angle to the fore and aft centreline
- auto-ignition
- the ignition of a combustible material when its temperature has been raised to a point at which self-sustained conbustion occurs; no spark or flame is necessary to initiate the ignition; also known as self-ignition
- automation
- automatic control systems without need of human intervention
- autopilot
- a device used for automatically steering a ship
- auxiliary boiler
- a boiler for raising steam to work the auxiliary machinery
- auxiliary engine
- engine other than for propulsion purpose; usually refers to electrical power generating diesel engine
- auxiliary machinery
- all machinery other than that needed for main propulsion
- average
- in marine insurance it means a partial loss; in the event of a claim there are two types of average namely general average and particular average
- average adjuster
- one with in-depth knowledge of maritime insurance law and who calculates and adjusts the loss and expenditure between the interested parties in a general average claim
- awash
- washed over by water; at or slightly below the water level
- aweigh
- describes an anchor which has been lifted off the sea bottom and has its weight fully taken by the anchor chains
- awning
- a canvas covering spread over a ships deck to protect from the weather
- awning deck
- a lightly constructed deck erected above upper deck or main deck to provide shelter against the sun and rain
- AZvZ
- Algemeen Ziekenfonds voor Zeelieden - General NHS for seagoing crew
