Have you ever wondered what Plimsoll lines are? And why are they called Plimsoll? Professionals across the shipping industry may be familiar with the term, but even those not working in the industry, but who are extra observative, may have noticed that ships have some line marks on their hull, just above the waterline. These are Plimsoll lines.
Chances are you have never salvaged a vessel yourself or you have (hopefully) never seen a vessel upside down. But in case you have seen photos of a shipwreck or of a new ship getting launched from shipyard, you may have noticed that the bottom of a ship is most times red.
Managing cost, digitalization and environmental regulations are some of the key challenges shipping will have to encounter in the next 5-10 years, industry experts said on the sidelines of the latest SAFETY4SEA Athens Forum, which took place in Eugenides Foundation on 2 October.
Seasickness is the top worst holiday discomfort and all of us have—or will—succumb to seasickness on rough waters, research shows. Seasickness is a result of a conflict in the inner ear, where the human balance mechanism resides, and is caused by a vessel’s erratic motion on the water.
As port and starboard never change, they are unambiguous references that are independent of a mariner’s orientation, and, as a result, mariners use these nautical terms instead of left and right to avoid confusion. As NOAA informs, when looking forward, toward the bow of a ship, port and starboard refer to the left and right sides, respectively.
An oil spill is the potential adverse effect of most maritime incidents. Oil spills can have disastrous consequences, environmentally and economically. Oil spill response at sea is most times a complex procedure, because of the remoteness of the site or the number of interested parties.
Compliance with 2020 sulphur cap is more than simply switching to a low sulphur fuel. HSFO, the fuel that was used so far but now will be inappropriate unless there are scrubbers installed, is primarily based on residual fuel and tends to adhere to the inside of fuel tanks. As such, a proper tank cleaning becomes necessary.
As the North P&I Club informs, it is well known that in most places around the world the presence of pilot on the bridge does not relieve the Master or officer in charge of the watch from their duties or obligations for the safety of the ship. However, there are many cases where the Master appears to relinquish control to the pilot or fails to challenge a possible unsafe instruction, sometimes leading to an incident.
Language has it to use ‘she’ when we refer to ships and boats, something that has its roots in the very old times. “Ships are referred to as ‘she’ because men love them” or “like a woman, a ship is unpredictable”, tradition used to say. But seriously, what is lagging behind this language idiom?
