BASIC DEFINITONS AND SHIP

GEOMETRY

• Figure illustrates the main parts of a typical ship.

• Hull: The structural body of a ship
including shell plating, framing, decks and
bulkheads.
• Afterbody : That portion of a ship’s hull
abaft midships.
• Forebody: That portion of a ship’s hull
forward midships.
• Bow : The forward of the ship
• Stern : The after end of the ship
• Port :The left side of the ship when
looking forward
• Starboard : The right side of the ship
when looking forward
• Design Waterline (DWL) or Load
Waterline (LWL) : The waterline at
which the ship will float when loaded to its
designed draught.
• Moulded Surface : The inside surface of
the skin, or plating, of a ship.
• Forward Perpendicular (FP) : The
vertical line at the point of intersection of
the LWL and the forward end of the
immersed part of the ship’s hull.
• After Perpendicular (AP) : The vertical
line at the point of intersection of the LWL
and the centerline of the rudderstock.
• Midships () : The point midway between
the forward and after perpendiculars.
• Deadrise (Rise of Floor) : The amount
by which the line of the outer bottom
plating amidships rises above the baseline.
Therefore, it is the difference in height
between the baseline and the point where
the straight line through the bottom flat
surface intersects the vertical line through
the side of the moulded surface at its
widest point.

• Parallel Middle Body : The portion of

the ship over which the midship section
remains unchanged. In this part of the
ship water lines and buttocks have no
curvature; that is, all the fore and aft lines
are
• Deck Camber : The rise of the deck of
the ship in going from the side to the
centre. In older ships the camber curve
used to be parabolic but in modern ships
straight line camber curves are used or
there may be no camber at all on decks.
• Bilge Radius : The radius of the circular
arc forming the bilge.
• Flat of Keel (Half Siding) : The width of
flat bottom plating on each side of the
centre girder.
• Tumblehome : The amount the top of
the side shell slopes back toward the
centerline between the point of widest
breadth and the deck at side
Principal Dimensions
• Length of Waterline (LWL) : The waterline at which the ship will float when fully
loaded .
• Length Overall (L OA) : The total length of the ship from one end to the other,
including bow and stern overhangs.
• Length Between Perpendiculars (L BP) : The distance measured parallel to the
base at the level of the design waterline from the after perpendicular to the forward
perpendicular.
• Length Overall Submerged (L OS) : The total submerged length of the ship from
one end to the other, including the bulbous bow.
• Length of Parallel Middle Body (L P) : The length over which the midship section
remains unchanged.
• Length of Entrance (L E) : The length from the forward perpendicular to the
forward end of parallel middle body, or maximum section.
• Length of Run (L R) : The length from the section of maximum area or the after
end of parallel middle body to waterline termination or other designated point on the
stern.
• Moulded Beam or Breadth (B) : The distance from the inside of plating on one
side to a similar point on the other side measured at the broadest part of the ship.
Principal Dimensions
• Maximum Beam or Breadth (B M) : Extreme
beam (breadth), from outside to outside of the
shell plating.
• Breadth at Loaded Waterline (B WL) :
Maximum moulded breadth at the loaded
waterline.
• Draught (T) : The vertical distance from the
waterline at any point on the hull to the bottom
of the ship.
• Trim : The difference between the draughts
forward and aft.
• Depth Moulded (D) : The vertical distance at
amidships from the baseline to the underside of
the plating of the main deck.
• Freeboard (f) : The vertical distance
from the waterline to the deck at side. The
freeboard is equal to the difference
between the depth at side and the
draught at any point along the ship.
• Moulded Displacement : The
displacement of a ship based on moulded
dimensions
• Total Displacement : Moulded
displacement modified by adding the
thickness of shell plating and the volume
of appendages.
• Wetted Surface : The area of the
underwater hull and appendages,
measured in square meters.
•Definition (Terminology):
•Principal Dimensions
-Breadth, depth & draft.
• Breadth (moulded) (inside of plate on one side to another side)
• Breadth maximum
• Depth (measured at midship)
• Camber – the rise of the deck at the centerline. 2% of breadth
• Bilge radius
• Rise of Floor
• Flat of keel (thicker plate)
• Tumber home
• Rake of stem
• Draught and trim
 Breadth Extreme
Camber

w.l. Deck
Fonder
Breadth
Depth moulded
Moulded
Draft (d)
Centerline
Bilge radius

Rise of Floor Base Line (Top of

Flat of Keel Flate keel)

Mid Cross Section of a ship

 Displacement
The weight of water that would displaced by
the volume of the hull measured on the
outer surface of the shell plating below the
waterline. Displacement tonnage of a vessel
can be obtained directly from Archimedes’
principle by multiplying its underwater
volume by the density of water.
 Light ship
The lightweight tonnage of a ship is the sum of all
fixed weights, i.e. hull, machinery, outfit and
permanent equipment.
LS=LWT=WS+WM+WO

Deadweight
The difference between the displacement and the
lightweight is the deadweight tonnage which is the
sum of the weight of cargo, fuel, lubricating oil, fresh
water, stores, passengers and baggage, crew and
their effects.
DWT=WC+WF+WLO+WFO+WPAS+WLUG+WCREW+W
STORE
TEU/FEU
Container Ships are designed for stowage of containers in
vertical stacks or cells either within the hold of the vessel, on
deck, or a combination of the two. Containers are described in
"FEU's" or "TEU's".
"FEU" is a forty foot long container (Forty foot Equivalent Unit)
"TEU" is a twenty foot long container. (Twenty foot Equivalent
Unit )

There are six basic types of containers.

• Refrigerated containers
• dry bulk containers;
• rack containers for lumber, etc;
• automotive containers;
• livestock containers;
• collapsible containers for stowing when not in use.
 Cubic Capacity
Tank ships are described in terms of oil carrying capacity. Barrel (bbl)
is the standard liquid cargo unit of measurement and one barrel
consists of 42 gallons (5.515 cubic feet, 0.156 cubic meter).
One ton of fuel oil is equivalent to 6.63 barrels.

Dry bulk cargo ships may also be described in terms of Cubic Bales or
Cubic Grain. Cubic Bales is the space available for cargo measured in
cubic feet within a ship cargo hold to the inside of the cargo battens,
on the frames and to the underside of the deck beams.

Grain cubic is the maximum space available for the cargo within a
ship's hold in cubic meter, incorporating all volume inside the shell
plating of the hull and to the underside of the upper deck plating.
Grain Cubic occupies a larger cargo volume than the ship's Bale Cubic
rating.
 Tonnage Measurement
• Gross tonnage
is the capacity of the spaces in the ship's
hull and of the enclosed spaces above the
deck available for cargo, stores, fuel,
passengers, and crew.

• Net tonnage
is the gross tonnage less the spaces used
for the accommodation of the ship's
master, officers, crew, and the navigation
and propulsion machinery.
International Convention on Tonnage
Measurement of Ships, (TONNAGE 69)

• Length
This means 96 percent of the total length on the
waterline, at 85 percent of the least molded depth
measured from the top of the keel, or the length from
the fore side of the stem to the axis o

• Upper Deck
The upper deck is the uppermost complete deck exposed
to weather and sea, which has permanent means of
weathertight closing of all openings in the weather part
thereof, and below which all openings in the sides of the
ship are fitted with permanent means of weathertight
closing.
• Moulded Depth
The moulded depth is the vertical distance
measured from the top of the keel to the
underside of the upper deck at side. In wood
and composite ships the distance is measured
from the lower edge of the keel rabbet.

• Breadth
The breadth is the maximum breadth of the ship,
measured amidships to the moulded line of the
frame in a ship with a metal shell and to the
outer surface of the hull in a ship with a shell of
any other material.
• Passenger
A passenger is every person other than:
(a) the master and the members of the crew or other persons
employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship on the
business of that ship; and
(b) a child under one year of age.

• Cargo Spaces
Cargo spaces to be included in the computation of net tonnage are
enclosed spaces appropriated for the transport of cargo which is to
be discharged from the ship, provided that such spaces have been
included in the computation of gross tonnage. Such cargo spaces
shall be certified by permanent marking with the letters CC (cargo
compartment) to be so positioned that they are readily visible and
not to be less than 100 milimeters (4 inches) in height.

• Weathertight
Weathertight means that in any sea conditions water will not
penetrate into the ship
• Gross Tonnage
The gross tonnage (GT) of a ship shall be
determined by the following formula:

GT = K1V
where:
V = total volume of all enclosed spaces of
the ship in cubic metres
K1 = 0.2 + 0.02 log10 V
• Net Tonnage
The net tonnage (NT) of a ship shall be
determined by the following formula:

in which formula
(a) the factor shall not be taken as greater than
unity
• Cargo Ships
Ships are generally designed for a specific
reason.

Cargo ships are designed to carry specific

cargo and can be distinguished by the
type of cargo they carry, especially since
the means of handling the cargo is often
highly visible.
Cargo ships are generally one of the following
types:
• Bulk Cargo such as coal, wheat, cement, grain or
any item moved in bulk quantities.
• Break bulk cargo is cargo that may be affixed to
a pallet. Palletized cargo is organized in such a
way as to facilitate the loading into the ship.
• Containerized cargo, is cargo enclosed into a
standardized shipping container.
• Liquid Cargo such as oil, molasses, chemicals
are carried in bulk in large tank ships.
• Roll on/ Roll Off specialized ships.
• General Cargo Ships
A general cargo ship is a ship with open cargo
holds loaded vertically through hatches in the
upper deck. The holds may be divided by
intermediate decks called tween decks.
• Container Ships
• Barge Carrying Ships
An extension of the container ship concept is the
barge-carrying ship. In this concept, the
container is itself a floating vessel, usually about
60 feet long by about 30 feet wide, which is
loaded aboard the ship in one of two ways:
either it is lifted over the stern by a high-
capacity shipboard gantry crane, or the ship is
partially submerged so that the barges can be
floated aboard via a gate in the stern.
 LASH SHIPS – LASH stand for Lighter
Aboard Ship. It is a specialized container ship carrying
very large floating containers, or "lighters." The ship
carries its own massive crane, which loads and
discharges the containers over the stern.
SEABEE -Sea-barge, a barge carrier design similar to
"LASH" but which uses rollers to move the barges
aboard the ship; the self-propelled loaded barges are
themselves loaded on board as cargo and are
considerably larger than those loaded on LASH ships
• Bulk Carriers (bulker)
Bulk Carriers carry bulk cargo such as ore, coal,
pulp, rock, cement, scrap metal, grain, flour,
rice, fertilizers, sugar or any cargo that travels
in bulk.
• Oil Tankers
Crude oil is carried in oil tankers or in bulk
and oil carriers (OBO ships).
• LPG and LNG Carrier
– Along with the great increase in numbers
and size of tankers have come specialized
uses of tankers for products other than oil.
• Roll-on/Roll-off ships
Roll-on/Roll-off (or Ro/Ro) ships are ships that
have specially designed ramps to allow cargo to
be driven on board. A car carrier is a good
example, but roll on / roll off also relates to
trucks, ferry type ships and other ships providing
landing ramps for the cargo.
• Passenger Ships
Passenger ships are vessels that carry
passengers either on an overnight cruise or
day only cruise.
Non-Transport Ship Types
• Fishing Vessels
• Tugs
– The service ships are mostly tugs or towing
vessels whose principal function is to
provide propulsive power to other vessels.
• Research Ships
Many universities, oil companies, water resource
boards and governments own and operate
research ships. Small research ship may provide
platforms for any type of oceanographic
endeavor and the large research ships
• Icebreaker
– Icebreakers are usually wide in order to
make a wide swath through ice, and they
have high propulsive power in order to
overcome the resistance of the ice layer.
Tanker (with a bulbous bow)
Small Water-plane Area Twin-Hull (SWATH)
Ferry (Catamaran, or SWATH)
Container Ship
Container Ship
Cruise ship with a bulbous bow
Trimaran
Tri-maran Sailboat
View from the below
Hydrofoil Craft
Hover Craft
or Air Cushion
Craft
Advanced Marine Vehicles
Fast Ship Pentamaran container ship
 Hydrodynamic Supported Vessels

• Hydrofoil
configurations can be
divided into two
general classifications,
surface piercing and
submerged foil, which Surface-Piercing (Left) & Fully-Submerged
describe how the (Right) Foil Configurations

lifting surfaces are

arranged and operate
Air Supported Vessels
• An Air Cushion Vehicle
(ACV) or hovercraft is
a craft that is entirely
supported by air
pressure, in close
proximity to the
surface. It is suitable
for use over water or
land.
• WIG is an abbreviation of
Wing-In-Ground effect. A
WIG craft can be seen as
a crossover between a
hovercraft and an aircraft.
It flies just above the
surface, usually the water
surface therefore others
use the term WISE or
WISES (Wing In Surface
Effect Ship).
 
CB 
LBT
-Prismatic or Longitudinal Coefficient: 0.55~0.80

  CB
CP   
L  A L  B  T  CM CM
-Waterplane Coefficient
area of water plane
CWP  0.67 - 0.87
LB
where L--Length of Load water plane
B = Beam of W.P.
-Displacement /Length Ratio  C B LBT BT
3
 3
 CB
L L LL
-Breadth /Length Ratio : B
L

-Draft/Length Ratio T
L
T
-Draft/Breadth Ratio
B

-These coefficients are related to the resistance and

stability of the ship and can be used to estimate
them empirically.
•Important Hydro-Static Curves or Relations

•Displacement Curves (displacement [molded, total]

vs. draft, weight [SW, FW] vs. draft (T))

• Coefficients Curves (CB , CM , CP , CWL, vs. T)

• VCB (KB, ZB): Vertical distance of Center of

Buoyancy (C.B) to the baseline vs. T

•LCB (LCF, XB): Longitudinal Distance of C.B or

floatation center (C.F) to the midship vs. T