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Marine navigation has its own secret language, and let’s face it—half of it sounds like someone making things up after too much grog. You’ve got your ‘dead reckoning,’ which isn’t nearly as ominous as it sounds, and ‘bearing,’ which has nothing to do with polar bears but everything to do with pointing the right way. Don’t even get us started on ‘knots’—why measure speed like you’re tying a shoelace? And then there’s ‘fix (not for your engine) and ‘DR’ (spoiler: it’s not a doctor). If you’re baffled, don’t worry—we’re here to help you decipher this nautical code so you can sound like a pro, not a landlubber who’s lost their compass.
Lights displayed by a vessel to indicate its presence, aspect, type, size or operational status to other vessels. Common navigation lights include red and green sidelights, a white sternlight, white masthead lights and all-round lights. The required colour, arc, number, vertical and horizontal arrangement, and range of visibility depend on the vessel’s length, propulsion, activity…
An international automated radio service that broadcasts maritime safety information to ships in coastal and sea areas. NAVTEX transmits navigational and meteorological warnings, forecasts, search-and-rescue information and other urgent messages by narrow-band direct printing. Receivers identify transmitting stations and message categories and can suppress many unwanted repeats while retaining mandatory safety categories. International NAVTEX commonly…
The difference in height between mean high water neaps and mean low water neaps. It represents the average tidal range around neap tides at a particular standard port, derived from observations rather than from one individual high and low water. Neap ranges are generally smaller than spring ranges because solar and lunar tidal influences partly…
A period in the astronomical tidal cycle when the range between successive high and low waters is relatively small. Neaps generally occur near the Moon’s first and third quarter, when lunar and solar tide-generating effects are partly opposed. Local geography, shallow-water constituents and timing mean the smallest observed range need not coincide exactly with the…
A vessel unable through exceptional circumstances to manoeuvre as required by the collision regulations and therefore unable to keep out of the way of another vessel. The status concerns actual inability, not merely inconvenience, restricted visibility, difficult handling or a voluntary decision to stop. Causes can include steering or propulsion failure or another exceptional loss…
An official notice providing navigationally relevant changes or hazards for a defined local area. A harbour, coastguard, hydrographic or other competent authority may issue an LNM covering works, buoyage, depths, closures, events, hazards or operating restrictions. The name, publication schedule, geographic scope and legal effect vary between countries and authorities. Some information is temporary while…
Situated, moving or operating away from the shore or towards the open sea. The term is relative unless a regulation, forecast, industry standard or local publication defines a boundary. It may describe direction, waters, wind, structures or operations, and ‘offshore’ in commercial or safety regulation can have a specialised meaning. Offshore water is not necessarily…
In a direction forward of the vessel’s port beam and to the left of its heading. The expression gives a relative sector rather than an exact bearing. A contact anywhere between nearly dead ahead and nearly abeam to port may be described this way, with a relative bearing or clock bearing added when greater precision…
In a direction abaft the port beam, towards the vessel’s left rear sector when facing forward. The port quarter is the area between directly abeam on the port side and directly astern. An object reported “on the port quarter” is therefore behind the vessel’s port beam but not necessarily close to the stern. It is…
If you belive the Earth is flat, you're about to fall of the end...
If you belive the Earth is flat, you're about to fall of the end...
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