Technical TermsRSS

Technical Terms


Alfa - A = signal letter and flag. Morse = ( . - )Burgee flag= White at hoist, blue at the fly.When hoisted singly from a ship it means "Undergoing speed trial" (Kerchove).

A winch designed specifically for lowering、retaining and hoisting an accommodation ladder, and having a rope storage drum.

A power-driven cable lifter mounted on a vertical shaft. The shaft may be extended beyond the cable lifter to carry a warping end. The cable lifter is declutch-able from the prime mover, and in operation and use is similar to the windlass.

A winch with the ability to drop and hoist the anchor which is tied with a rope or a rope combined with chain and to hold and storage rope may be fixed or not the warping ends

A mooring winch with the additional ability to haul or render a mooring rope within selectable limits without direct human intervention.


Bravo - B = signal letter and flag. Morse = ( - . . . ) Burgee flag= Red. When hoisted singly from a ship it means " I am discharging / loading explosives or flammable substances". Still widely used when bunkering.

The foremost port, used for stowing.


A V-shaped chain, wire, or rope attached to a vessel being towed to which the towline is connected.

BSFC: Brake Specific Fuel Consumption in g/kWh

A term applied to a floating object that is moored or anchored so that it remains at one place. Budys are used for marking the places on the water where a ship is sunk, where reefs are below, where the edges of the channel are, or to provide means for moo ...

Ability to float, the supporting effort exerted by a liquid (usaually water) upon the surface of a boly wholly or partially immersed.


Charlie - C = signal letter and flag. Morse = ( - . - . )Flag= Horizontally divided in 5 stripes. Blue above and under, red in the middle between two white ones.When hoisted singly from a ship it means "YES- Affirmative".

The maximum rope tension (in kilonewtons), measured at drum exit when the drum just commences to rotate on the opposite direction to the applied driving torque, the prime mover being set for maximum torque in automatic control, with the rope wound on t ...

A machinery device, which is applied for clipping and receiving/rending the electric cables during cable-laying under water.

A crane with a cantilever which is incapable of luffing. The cargo hook is fixed on the out end of the cantilever or hanged on a movable carriage along it.

A machine having a vertically mounted warping end on which a rope may be wound under power, but not stored.

A winch used for hoisting and lowering cargo.

Calculated Carbon Aromacity Index. The CCAI is a calculated value originally intended to indicate the ignition properties or ignition delay of the fuel related to the viscosity and density. The CCAI gives no indication of the combustion properties. The C ...

Contract Maximum Continuous Rating in kW.

A machine with a common prime mover which will provide independently the functions of either a windlass or a mooring winch (automatic or non-automatic).