Ship Terms

Hull of a Ship

The hull of a ship is the most notable structural entity of the ship. To define the hull, it can be said that it
is the watertight enclosure of the ship, which protects the cargo, machinery, and accommodation spaces
of the ship from the weather, flooding, and structural damage

Bow and Stern: The forward most contour of the ship’s hull is called the bow, and the aft-most, its stern.
The stem is the forward most contour part of the bow.

Forward Perpendicular: If a perpendicular is drawn at the point where the bow intersects the
waterline, this imaginary perpendicular line is called the forward perpendicular. For most of the
hydrostatic calculations, the forward perpendicular is used as the forward reference of the hull.

Aft Perpendicular: Depending on the designer, the aft perpendicular can be the perpendicular
drawn through the aft side of the rudder post or through the center-line of the rudder pintles. The
aft perpendicular is the aft reference line for all hydrostatic calculations.

Length between Perpendiculars: The length between the forward and aft perpendiculars is the
length between perpendiculars. The LBP is a very important parameter in all stability
calculations, hence calculation of the LBP at various drafts becomes an important step in
carrying out stability analyses.

Sheer: The upward curve formed by the main deck with reference to the level of the deck at the
midship, is called sheer. It is usually given to allow flow of green water from the forward and aft
ends to the midship and allow drainage to the bilges. The forward sheer is usually more than the
aft sheer to protect the forward anchoring machinery from the waves.

Summer Load Line: The summer load line is the waterline of the ship at sea water when it is at
its design weight and ballast conditions. It is also called the design draft; this forms the reference
for all other load lines of the ship.

Length of Waterline: The length of the ship’s hull at the summer load line is the length of
waterline for the ship. This length plays an important role in the calculation of hydrostatics of the
ship, as well as propeller design calculations.

Length Overall: The length between the forward-most and aft-most point of the ship’s hull is its
overall length. This length plays a major role in designing the docking and undocking plans of
the ship. In shipyards where multiple building docks are available, the overall length, beam, and
depth of the ship is a deciding factor in choosing a suitable building block for the ship.

Midship or amid ship : The midpoint between the aft and the forward perpendicular is known
as midship or amid ship. The section passing through this point and which is normal to the
waterplane is called midship section. The term ‘beam’ is quoted at amid ship. The breath
extreme is measured at amid ship. It is also known as moulded breadth line.

Depth: The depth of the ship varies along the length. But the depth of the ship is taken as the
distance between the undersides of the deck amid ship to the bottom of the keel. You might not
get an exact value of depth as the hull is symmetrical and the depth varies thorough out the ship.
For example, the depth is greater at stern than at midship.

Width or beam or extreme breadth: The width of the ship is also known as the extreme
breadth. It is generally measured at the amid ship. It is the greatest distance between the two
sides of the ship at the greatest width.

Sheer: It is measured as the rise of the deck towards the stem or stern. It is the height of the deck
at the side above the deck at sides amidships.

Camber or round of beam: It can be defined as the side of the deck going from side to the
centre of the ship.

Rise of floor or dead rise: At the amidships region, the bottom of the ship is extended out to
intersect the moulded breadth line. The rise or the height of this intersection above the keel is
known as rise of floor or dead rise.

Tumble home: If the sides of the ship at the amidships is not vertical and if the upper deck beam
is less than the waterline, it is said to have tumble home.

Draught: It is the distance between the keel and the waterline at any point along the length of the
ship. Moulded draught is measured from the inside of the keel plating.

Trim: The difference between the draughts at forward and aft is known as the trim. Trim is
mentioned as by the bow or by the stern depending upon which one is greater.

Freeboard: It is essential in determining the stability of the ship. It is the difference between the
depth at side and the draught, i.e. it is the height of the deck above the waterline. Freeboard is
generally less at amidships than at bow and stern.
General Classification of Ships
Passenger ships

A ship which can accommodate 12 or more passengers are defined as passenger ships. Passenger ships
range from small ferries to large ocean going vessels which are in the form of floating hotels.

Cargo ships

They are designed to carry a variety of cargoes between ports.

Modern dry cargo ship designs maximize hold space . A typical mid-size ship may have five or six holds;
three or four forward of the machinery space and superstructure, and one or two aft. The machinery
spaces and superstructure are usually located about three quarters aft. Older designs typically have
three holds forward of the superstructure and two aft. Holds aft of the accommodation and machinery
spaces improve the trim of the vessel when partially loaded, and provide the ship with sufficient draft
aft for stability and propeller immersion. Small freighters often have machinery and accommodation
spaces aft of all cargo holds. Deadweight of modern general cargo liners ranges from 9,000 to 25,000
tons; speeds range from 17 to 22 knots. Tramps are typically smaller and slower, with speeds ranging
from 12 to 18 knots.

2. Oil Tankers
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its
products. ... The size classes range from inland or coastal tankers of a few thousand metric tons of
deadweight (DWT) to the mammoth ultra large crude carriers (ULCCs) of 550,000 DWT.

Bulk Carriers

A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or colloquially, bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport
unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement, in its cargo holds.

Container ship

Container ships (sometimes spelled containerships) are cargo ships that carry all of their load
in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They are a common
means of commercial intermodal freight transport and now carry most seagoing non-bulk cargo.

Container ship capacity is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). Typical loads are a
mix of 20-foot and 40-foot (2-TEU) ISO-standard containers, with the latter predominant.

Today, about 90% of non-bulk cargo worldwide is transported by container ships, and the largest
modern container ships can carry over 21,000 TEU (e.g., OOCL Hong Kong). Container ships
now rival crude oil tankers and bulk carriers as the largest commercial seaborne vessels.
Roll on Roll Off vessels

Ro-ro is an acronym for Roll-on/roll-off. Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels that are used to carry
wheeled cargo. The ro-ro ship is different from lo-lo (lift on-lift off) ship that uses a crane to load
the cargo. The vehicles in the ship are loaded and unloaded by means of built-in ramps.
Normally these ramps are made towards the stern (backside) of the ship. In some ships, they are
also found on the bow side (front) as well as the sides. The vessel can be of both military and
civilian types.