For the purpose of this article, we will assume that all ships and vessels are symmetric below the waterline, as this is the only region where fluid resistance acts. The region above the waterline can be either symmetric or not based on its use. During the colonization era, these terms were broadly accepted by sailors in countries spanning from India to the United States. Eventually, with the formation of regulatory bodies to develop a uniform code for maritime terminology, the terms port and starboard were accepted due to their widespread usage. Some easy ways to remember port and starboard

Port and Starboard Of Vessels Explained – Everything You Port and Starboard Of Vessels Explained – Everything You

Another theory as to why it is called starboard is that Vikings called the sides of their ships boards, and the word for the steering oar sounded like star. They steered from the right side as well, and so the right side was the board with the star or the starboard. In addition, in the unfortunate event of an accident and during subsequent court proceedings, if the captain or concerned officers are found guilty of using terms such as left or right to refer to their vessel or other vessels, and if found that this error led to the accident, they are then eligible to be held guilty for having caused sinking or damage to the vessel. Thus, it is essential and important that the right technical terms are used to describe the two halves of the vessel.This led to the left side being called the larboard, based on the corruption of the old English term for loading. However, it was common to confuse the terms larboard and starboard while sailing, as they sounded similar. Thus, larboard was later replaced by the term port. This also aided in other terminology, as it was the left-hand side that was moored to the port. The origin of these terms comes from the old English usage for their respective purposes. In the early days of boating, boats were steered with the aid of a steering oar at the stern, and the majority of sailors were right-handed. Often, marine officers are trained extensively in becoming comfortable with using the terms port and starboard. The reason for this is that difficult manoeuvres may require them to react spontaneously and issue directions. The ship was demarcated into two zones that defined the right and left halves irrespective of where the observer was. These zones are the port and starboard directions that are in use in modern-day maritime terms.

Port Side Pirates! | BookTrust Port Side Pirates! | BookTrust

Ships also have white lights on the masthead and stern. These, combined with the red and green lights, make it easy to identify the ship’s direction at night. These terms also become useful while passing messages between ships. For instance, instead of mentioning that a vessel would be passing to the right or left of a ship, the terms starboard and port can be used. For instance, left and right are ambiguous directions that depend on the location of the observer and the way they are facing.

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On the other hand, should the colours be interchanged, that indicates that the vessel is moving further away from your ship. Thus, by following this convention of right or left, it is possible to accurately determine the direction of motion of the other vessel.

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Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2020-06-29 01:04:50 Associated-names Harter, Debbie, illustrator Boxid IA1823220 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier As right and left are ambiguous due to the lateral inversion of perspective, there is a higher risk of a collision without the use of proper terms. Directions in Navigation and Steering To do so, information can be fed into the system in the form of two parameters- the angle of change and whether the change is in the port or starboard side. Such an automated system reduces the chances of error and allows the officers to attend to more immediate duties. Studies have shown that most pilots turn to the left when faced with an aborted landing and even during accidents. This logic is followed even while driving on roads in some countries. Most cars have steering wheel positions that enable the driver to safely pull over to the left instead of heading to the right where there is incoming traffic. The usage of these terms became common as English trading ships sailed to several countries during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries AD.These steering oars functioned as the rudders of the craft and had to be expertly manoeuvred. Hence, it was easier to have the steering oar on the right-hand side so that the sailor was facing forward comfortably. Passing directions in such a manner is a recipe for disaster, as the captain’s left may differ from that of the person operating the steering gear. These directions must be passed as X degrees to the Port or Starboard. Here, X can take values ranging from 0⁰ to 180⁰ and indicates how much the ship should turn in the relevant direction.