Anglais maritime : general presentation

Nom de la ressource : General presentation

Formation d'où est issue la ressource :  M2 Droit et Sécurité des Activités Maritimes et Océaniques > Anglais maritime

Fiche formation (cliquez ici)

Auteur : Stéphanie DUBOIS, (École Nationale Supérieure Maritime [ENSM], site de Nantes)

Date de la dernière mise à jour : 2019

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1A-2) Discover the definitions

  

A merchant ship or vessel is a sort of elongated steel box which floats on water.

The fore part of this box is called bow (pronounce “baô”), the middle part is the middle body, the aft part is the stern.

The outside of the box is the hull and it is designed to contain as much cargo as possible.

The upper side is the deck which must be watertight. The fore part of this deck is often raised and called forecastle (pronounce “focs’le”).

Dry cargo is carried in holds, whereas liquid cargo is contained in tanks.

These holds or tanks are separated by transverse bulkheads. The space located at the fore part of the hull is not used for cargo; it is the fore peak. The reinforced bulkhead which separates the fore peak from the first hold is the collision bulkhead, designed to prevent water ingress in case of collision.

This deck is fitted with openings called hatches to give access to the cargo holds. These hatches are closed by means of watertight hatch covers.

When a ship is sailing without cargo, some weight must be loaded for that ship to be seaworthy. That extra weight is called ballast. For that purpose, sea water is stored in double bottom tanks, the ballast tanks.

The power of the main engine is transferred to a propeller which pushes the ship through the water. For that ship to be steered, it is fitted with a rudder.

The crew is housed in the accommodation, usually located aft. At the top floor of the accommodation is the bridge where officers are in charge of navigation.

The space below the accommodation is dedicated to the engine room which accommodates the main engine and all the necessary technical equipment. Exhaust gases from this equipment are expelled through the funnel.