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- backstay
- stay or rope that is secured abaft of the mast to support the latter from bending forward
- backup plate
- plate used behind a welded joint to prevent burning through during welding
- backwind
- the wind which is deflected from a sail ahead onto the sail abaft it
- balanced rudder
- a rudder in which the turning stock is not on the leading edge but close to the rudders centre of pressure; about one-quarter abaft of the leading edge; since the center of pressure shifts as the rudder is turned no rudder can be fully balanced for all rudder angles; hence a rudder is considered balanced when it can maintain so for about 15 degrees
- bale capacity
- the cubic capacity of a cargo hold measured from the inside of of the cargo battens frames bulkhead stiffeners or spar ceilings i.e. the spaces between the frames are not filled; the bale capacity is generally less than the holds grain capacity; sometimes known as Bale Cubic
- ballast
- any weight in solid or liquid form taken on a ship to increase draught to change trim or to improve the stability; use of sea water is common
- ballast bonus
- money payable by time charterer to shipowner at the end of the charter period to compensate for the ballast trip taken from the port of redelivery of the ship to the next port of loading; BB in short
- ballasting
- act of taking in ballast; usually refers to pumping in of sea water into the ships ballast tanks
- ballast leg
- that part of a ships voyage during which she is not carrying any cargo and sailing in ballast
- ballast tank
- a watertight compartment used for carrying ballast
- barge
- a large boat with a flat bottom used for carrying of goods on rivers canals shallow waters etc.
- barnacle
- a shelllike marine animal which attaches itself to the underwater portion of a ships hull; this increases water resistance and thus reduces ships speed
- barometer
- an instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure
- barque
- sailing ship with three or more masts and sails; its aftermost mast is rigged in the fore and aft direction and the other masts are square-rigged
- barrel
- the unit for measuring volume of petroleum and its products; 1 barrel is equivalent to 42 US Gallons or approximately 35 Imperial Gallons or 159 litres
- baseline
- a fore and aft reference line taken at the upper surface of the flat keel plate alonf the centreline; sometimes written as base line
- bathymetry
- the measurement of deep sea soundings
- Bd
- bound
- BDZ
- Bevelhebber der Zeestrijdkrachten - Commander of the Netherlands Naval Forces
- beam
- 1. the width of a ship; 2. of direction at right angle to ships fore and aft line; 3. structural member that supports plating
- beam knee
- a bracket connecting a deck beam and frame; usually triangular in shape
- beam wind
- wind blowing across the ships sides
- bearing
- 1. a specially designed part that supports and allows a rotating shaft to run without damage by reducing friction; 2. the direction of an object with reference to a ship observer or another object
- Beaufort notation
- a code used to express weather conditions tersely by a combination of letters of alphabet eg r for rain c for cloudy etc.
- Beaufort wind scale
- a system using numbers from 0 to 12 to express wind speed; devised by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort in early nineteenth century and slightly revised over the years
- bedplate
- a base plate or structure upon which a machine is mounted
- berth
- 1. a cabin or a place to sleep in a ship; 2. a place for mooring a ship in port or anchoring
- bilge
- the curved part of a ships underwater body where the bottom plating turn towards side shell plating
- bilged
- state of a ship when she runs aground and takes in water through her damaged hull
- bilge keel
- fin or long strip of plate attached to the turn of the bilge and run in the fore and aft direction from 25% to 75% of ships length at both sides of a ships underwater body; bilge keels serve to reduce the rolling motion at sea
- bilge pump
- pump for pumping out bilge water
- bilges
- spaces next to the bilge strake for collecting water
- bilge strake
- strake at the turn of the bilge linking the bottom plating to the side plating
- bilge water
- dirty water that collects in a ships bilges
- bilge well
- a small drain well or tank which collects bilge water; usually located at the after end of the compartments
- bill of lading
- document issued by carrier to a shipper of goods when received on board; it serves as a receipt for the goods document of title of the goods and evidence of the contract of carriage
- binnacle
- a stand of brass or non-magnetic material for holding a compass as well as illuminating and compensating units
- bitt
- vertical cylindrical shaped fitting made of steel and securely attached to deck; usually in pair and used for fastening mooring ropes or towing lines in a figure of eight; also known as bollard
- bitter end
- the last link in the inboard end of an anchor chain which is secured to the chain locker
- bitumen
- a non-volatile black or brown substance derived from refinery processes; can be viscous or solid depending on its temperature; has waterproofing and adhesive properties
- blending
- thorough mixing of two compatible fuels having different properties to produce an intermediate fuel of certain properties
- boatswain
- a supervisor of the seamen; one grade higher than able seaman; sometimes abbreviated as bosn or bosun
- body plan
- a drawing showing the end view of a ship in two half-transverse sections sharing a common centreline; since the sections are generally symmetrical the right-hand side of the centreline represents the ship as seen from ahead and the left-hand side as seen from astern; the series of transverse sections are cut at regular frame spacing from forward to aft and appear piled one on top of one another
- boiler
- a cylindrical vessel in which the water can be heated to produce steam at high pressure
- boiler mountings
- fittings on a boiler that are required for its safe and efficient operation such as safety valves water level sight glasses pressure gauges blow down valve etc.
- bollard
- Large circular post fitted at wharf for making fast mooring ropes; usually in pairs; same as bitt
- bollard pull
- force produced by a tug when pulling against a bollard; forms a measure of the tugs size
- Bonjean curve
- a curve formed by plotting transverse sectional areas measured up to each waterline against a vertical axis representing the waterline; thus the horizontal distance measured from the curve to the vertical axis gives the area of the section from the baseline to that particular waterline; usually sets of curves are obtained for each section; these curves facilitate immersed volume to be obtained for waterlines that are not parallel to baseline
- boom
- a long round pole hinged to a mast and projecting outboard; the free end is supported by a wire rope and block arrangement from the top of the mast
- boot top
- the portion of a ships outer side shell plating surface lying between the light and full load waterlines; depending on the loading condition of the ship this portion may be partially or fully immersed in water; sometimes written as boottop
- boss
- of propeller the central part to which propeller blades are attached and through which the shaft end passes
- bossing
- the curved protuding portion of the ships shell plating that surrounds and supports the propeller shaft
- bottom
- the underwater portion a ship
- bottom end bearing
- bearing at big end of connecting rod in a reciprocating engine which fits over the crank pin of a crankshaft
- bottom plating
- generally the shell plating of a ship lying between the two bilge turns other than the keel
- bourdon gauge
- a commonly used pressure measuring device which senses pressure using a bourdon tube with an oval cross section that is curved over approximately 270o; one end of the tube is linked to the pressure vessel to be measured and the other end is sealed and free; when there is a change of pressure the tube tends to change its sectional shape to circular and in doing so it tends to straighten; the resulting movement of the free end is used to move a pointer over a scale; also known as bourdon pressure gauge
- bow rake
- the fore and aft inclination of the stem at the forward end of the vessel
- bowse
- to pull downward on a rope or fall
- bowsprit
- spar projecting forward from the stem
- bow thruster
- a small propeller situated in an athwartship tunnel in the underwater hull of a ship; usually located near the bow the side thrust created by the running propeller improves manoeuvrability especially during berthing
- boxship
- popular term for containership
- BPFK
- Bedrijfspensioenfonds voor de Koopvaardij - Occupational Pension Fund for the Seafaring Trade
- brake horsepower
- the power available at the shaft of an engine after minusing the frictional losses in the running component of the engine but before passing through reduction gears or other transmission devices; for direct-connected diesel engine this power is same as shaft horsepower; this is measured using a brake which gives the name; bhp for short
- break bulk
- to commence cargo discharge
- break bulk cargo
- various kinds of goods packed in miscellaneous forms such as boxes bales drums etc.
- break bulker
- general cargo ship that carries break bulk cargo
- breakwater
- of ship inclined and stiffened plate structure on a weather deck to break and deflect the flow of water coming over the bow
- breast line
- a mooring rope deployed and oriented such that it is approximately perpendicular to the ships fore and aft line
- bridge
- an elevated superstructure having a clear view forward and at each side and from which a ship is steered
- bridle
- any fairly short length of rope secured at both ends
- brigantine
- sailing ship with square-rigged foremast and fore and aft rigged main mast
- broken stowage
- cargo space which cannot be utilised due to the type and nature of cargo loaded or structural interferences in the cargo hold
- broker
- one who acts as a link between two parties and helps in making an agreement between them; types of broker include marine insurance broker sale and purchase broker and shipbroker.
- brokerage
- Commission or fee charged by the broker for his services
- bulk cargo
- cargo such as oil coal iron ore grain etc. that is loaded in bulk and not in bags packages or containers
- bulk carrier
- a type of ship designed to carry bulk cargo
- bulker
- popular term for bulk carrier
- bulkhead
- transverse or longitudinal vertical partition or "wall" for dividing the internal space of a hull into various compartments; may be built of stiffened steel plates or corrugated plates; bulkheads may be watertight oiltight gastight or non-watertight
- bulkhead deck
- uppermost deck to which the transverse watertight bulkheads are carried
- bulk oil
- oil carried in cargo tanks forming an integral part of a ship i.e. not in drums etc.
- bull wire
- the wire used for pulling the hatch covers closed or open; the wire is being led by a winch or crane
- bulwark
- shell plating about one metre in height built around the outboard edge of upper deck from forecastle to poop to protect men and cargo against rough seas
- bumboat
- a boat that is used to carry supplies stores provision etc to ships
- bunk
- built-in bed on a ship
- bunker
- a compartment for the storage of fuel oil used by the ships machinery
- bunkering
- act of taking in bunkers onboard the ship
- bunkers
- fuel such as oil stored in the bunker and used for running ships machinery
- buoy
- a floating object secured to the bottom of a sea river etc to mark a position which a ship should avoid change course etc.
- buoyancy
- the upthrust given by the water which keeps a ship afloat; the difference between the vertical component of the hydrostatic pressure acting on the ships hull and the weight of the ship
- Bureau Veritas
- the French Classification Society or BV for short
- bursting plate
- a pressure relief device to protect an equipment from over-pressure eg to protect air compressors cooler casing from sudden rise in pressure due to bursting of the compressed air carrying tubes; also known as bursting disc
- butt
- joint between the ends of plates placed in the fore and aft line
- Butterworth cover
- a small hinged cover for closing a vertical trunkway used by Butterworth tank-cleaning machine; several trunkways are erected on the main deck of tanker for each cargo tank depending on the tank size
- butt weld
- the joining of two plates by welding along the seam of their butt joints
