CHAPTER III

SHIP’S ABBREVIATION,
MEANINGS AND EXPLANATIONS

SHIP’S NAUTICAL
TERMINOLOGY
Fire squads Specially trained and assigned crew members able to fight fires
on boards

Damage control squad . Specially trained and assigned crew members able to control
damage onboard

Rescue team Specially trained and assigned crew members able to assist un
search and rescue operations

Lowering team Assigned crew members who lower lifeboats

Coxswain The person in command of lifeboat, or liferaft

MES Evacuation Team The team that operates the Marine Evacuation System(MES)

Leader System Co-ordinator(MES)

Co-leader In change of controlling the descent (MES)

Life Raft Crew The team of MES guiding the vacuees in the liferafts
FSD Fire Screen Door , to prevent the fire spread to another area
WTD Water Tight Door, to prevent the water and fire spread to another area
F/ST Fire Station
F/H Fire Hydrant
F/E Fire Extinguisher
F/D Fire Damper
FWD Forward, front part of the ship
AFT Aft part of the ship. Rear of the ship
STBN Starboard side ( right hand side) when looking forward

PORT Port side (left hand side) when looking forward

MID Middle part of the ship

PAX Passengers
MFL Middle Fire Locker
MES Marine Evacuation System
FRB Fast Rescue Boat
GTS Gas Turbine Ship
Door Controller To control the flow of the passengers through the door

Assist as directed Waiting orders

Directing passengers To show (tell) where the passengers must go

Guiding passengers To take the group of passengers and lead them to their lifeboats

Report to lifeboat station To go to the lifeboat station

Report to the bridge To inform the bridge
Muster station Certain public area where passengers (Guest & Crew) assemble
Guest Muster Station Certain Public area where guest assemble

Crew muster station Certain Public area where crew assemble

Emergency exit Secondary door which gives you access to a higher deck

Emergency escape scuttle Vertical emergency exit which gives access to a higher deck

Affected area Burning or damaged area

Buffer zone The area surrounding due affected area which must be cooled
down by the fire squad to prevent expansion of the fire
 SHIP’S NAUTICAL TERMINOLOGY

Abeam Situated off the side of the ship

Aft Toward the rear of the ship

Ahead Situated in front of the bow (front ship)

Alongside Side of the ship when it is beside another vessel or pier

Amidships In or toward the middle of the ship (also "Midship“ )

Astern Situated behind the ship

Beam Widest part of the ship

Below Side of anything beneath the main deck; to go 'below" is to go

to a lower deck
Berth A space to anchor or moor (tie-up) the ship; to dock the ship; a
built-in bunk for sleeping

Blast The sound of the ship's horn

Bow Front of the ship

Bridge Area where the ship is steered and controlled

Bulkhead Any wall aboard the ship

Buoy A floating marker, moored the bottom of the sea or to an anchor

Chart A nautical map to guide the ship

Compass Instrument use to determine the course of the ship

Course Direction toward which the ship sails

Davit Device used for raising and lowering lifeboats

Deck The floor of the ship

Disembark To leave the ship , the process of offloading passengers aboard

a cruise ship

Dock A wharf or pier, to bring the ship next to a pier

Draft Distance between the water surface and the keel

Embark To go on board the ship, the process to loading passengers

aboard a cruise ship

Fathom Six feet. Used to measure depth

ADDITIONAL OF THE SHIP’S NAUTICAL TERMINOLOGY

 Forward : in the direction of the front (bow) of the

ship.
 Galley : the "kitchen" area where the food is stored
and prepared.
 Gangway : a stairway or ramp for passengers ( guest
and crew ) use to access the ship.
 Gross Tonnage : a standard term to convey the size of
a ship by measuring its total internal volume.
 Homeport : the regional port where passengers join
CI/ CO a ship's cruises a majority of the time.
 Key card: the magnetic strip plastic card used as your room key
and to make onboard purchases. Also called "Sign and Sail card."
 Knot: (nautical mile): a measure of a ship's speed, a common
expression is one knot equals 1.1506779 statute (land) miles.
Technically, it is a measure of distance or location where one knot
equals one minute of latitude along any meridian.
 Midship : the area of the ship generally halfway between bow and
stern along the length of the ship.
 Muster Drill : a safety drill run at every cruise. Passengers are
shown where to report, and where to assemble
 Muster Station : the place crewmembers and passengers are
instructed to assemble if an emergency alarm sounds. From the
muster station passengers would be guided to lifeboats in an
emergency ( abandon ship ).
 Norwalk Virus ( Noro Virus ) : a common Gastro-Intestinal
( GI ) virus causing vomitting and diarrhea that can break out oo
the cruise ships. To avoid it , wash your hands often.
 Pilot : a local navigation specialist who comes aboard to
assist the captain in navigating certain ports.
 Pilot boat : the small boat which brings the pilot to or
retrieves the pilot from the ship.
 Port : a facility for a ship to interface with land
 Port Side : the left side of the ship when facing forward.
 Propeller : a device having blades / screw controlling from
a central hub that is rotated to produce thrust to propel a ship
 Purser : officer in charge of financial accounting on a ship,
works at the passengers ( Guest and Crew ) service's desk.
Watches your onboard spending and tallies your final bill.
 Repositioning Cruise : Fall and Spring journeys from one
seasonal cruising region to another, known for many days at
sea while you cross the world's major oceans. Generally good
value cruises on a per diem basis.
 Room Steward: the person who cleans your stateroom,
delivers towels, etc.
 Shore Excursion: a tour sold onboard a cruise ship, (shorex) the
staff who offers and manages land tours ( out side of the ship ).
 Starboard: the right-hand side of the ship when facing forward.
 Tender Boat : a small boat used to get passengers ashore when a
ship is at anchor instead of alongside a dock. Tenders are used
regularly in islands with no dock facilities. Tenders often look like
lifeboats.
 Thruster : small device propellers in the keel that move the ship
sideways, usually located both forward and aft.
 Transatlantic: a cruise that crosses the Atlantic ocean in either
direction
 Transcanal: a cruise that sails through a canal, most often used in
reference to the Panama Canal
 Travel insurance : insurance to cover various aspects of loss before
or during your vacation.
 Underway : the time when the ship is sailing from one port to the
next
 Windward : exposed to the wind, as on one side of an island prone
to prevailing winds