Some Maritime Facts

Water covers two-thirds of the Earth's surface area but for most of us

, the seas and oceans are little more than a place to paddle in. For others though - for sailors in the shipping trade or in the world's navy's - the vast bodies of water are just as familiar as the roads and pavements are to the rest of us. Here are a few interesting facts about the sea, ships and sailing:

Big Brother and Boats:

Nearly every large seafaring vessel in the world is listed on a ship database. These systems contain detailed information on all of the world's cargo-carrying and passenger ships worthy of note, from their current location to their weight capacity, dimensions, their state of repair and even who owns them and who crews them. This isn't a sinister, shadowy surveillance database though - it's a commercial tool for international business and insurance underwriters that has been around in some form or another since the 18th century. Companies around the world pay a subscription fee for access to these databases, either to see which vessels for hire can get their cargo to the destination on time/at cost or to see which ships could be added to their own maritime fleet.

Ships or boats?

Possibly one of the most argued and controversial topics of maritime terminology is the difference between a "ship" and a "boat". To the layman, the distinction is probably trivial or confusing at worst. Among the maritime professions though it's rather important. At one point the definition depended on how many masts the vessel in question had - obviously a little outdated now. The most definitive answer available is that according to the National Maritime Museum, any vessel below 40 tons and 40 feet in length is a boat and anything bigger is a ship. That said, all submarines and all fishing vessels (even the huge ones) are known as boats.

Is it flotsam or jetsam?

Well, to most of us it's just floating litter but there are specific nautical terms for the bits of shipping material that can be found bobbing up and down in the ocean. According to the letter of nautical law, Flotsam is the debris that floats off of shipwrecks - bits and pieces of hull, shipping containers, etc. Jetsam is the same sort of material - but when it's been thrown off deliberately, rather than unavoidably. Lesser known terms for maritime wreckage are Lagan - cargo left at the bottom of the sea that can be retrieved by divers, and derelict - the cargo/wreckage that can't be retrieved.

Port and Starboard

These nautical terms aren't just used on water but also in the air; every branch of the British Armed forces except the Navy refer to the sides of their aeroplanes and helicopters as "port" and "starboard". The Navy settles for the more conventional 'right' and 'left' for their aircraft to avoid confusion when taking off from aircraft carriers.

by: grundlew

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