marine navigation

In the commercial shipping industry, there is a deluge of data. When a cargo vessel goes from point A to point B, multiple data volumes are endlessly generated, ranging from vessel parameters to route conditions to cargo statuses.

Vessel parameters include information such as speeds, heading, fuel consumption and efficiency, engine performance, stability data, working of cargo equipment and machinery (if any), onboard power consumption, and so on.

Route conditions essentially mean weather data...

https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/voyage-management-system/

The freight valuation of any cargo vessel directly depends on how much cargo it can carry. Be it a containership, a bulker, or a tanker, all ship owners and operators aim to maximise the cargo occupancy in the ship holds, optimising other factors such as flotation, stability, design strength, service guidelines, and so on. The greater the occupancy of a vessel’s cargo spaces, the higher the profits from a voyage between two successive ports of call.

However, for a given space designated for...

https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/what-is-stowage-factor/

In our previous articles, we learned about safe water marks and cardinal marks used at sea for a litany of purposes. We saw how each mark is designed to identify itself as a unique symbol suited for a specific indication, mostly a hazard or risk.

In this article, we shall discuss one specific type of sea mark known as the emergency wreck marking buoy.

What is an emergency wreck marking buoy?

As the name suggests, an emergency wreck marking buoy is used to identify and mark wreckages at sea, at...

https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/emergency-wreck-marking-buoy/

One of the most crucial cornerstones of the maritime sector is the realm of navigation. Irrespective of the vessel’s type, size, service, and so on, any marine traffic is rendered incomplete without the very important aspect of navigation and directionality.

In endless swathes of open seas or oceans, a very strong foundation of direction and real-time location of the vessel is indispensable to a seafarer.

In the aviation sector, it is equally important for a pilot to control the flight in the...

https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/what-are-isogonic-lines/

Fenders are devices or entities used as guards for a vessel against impact with a jetty, dock, quay, berth, or any other ship close to a shore, preventing resultant structural damage.

Fenders act as cushions or absorbers that reduce the impact of mutual contact by absorbing kinetic energy through elastic action.

All vessels need to berth at their designated points. During this process, the ship must position itself at a definite location to serve its purpose based on the availability of space and...

https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/fendering/

In the previous article, we learnt about seamarks and their importance. Sea marks are a system of conventions and reference markings used in the sea to guide a navigator or seafarer in specific areas requiring special attention. They are analogous to road signs we see on roads. 

We briefly touched upon the safe water marks and how they are significant in indicating safe and navigable waters by their characteristic system of markings. This article will briefly overview another kind of seamark...

https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/what-are-cardinal-marks/

The anchors are as old as the ships themselves. They are those age-old devices used to haul a floating vessel to the ground, like the seabed or seafloor, when the vessel is required to be halted or stationed at some location for some requirement.

Anchors come in different shapes, sizes, types, and builds. Depending on the vessel size and type, the size and weight of the anchor vary accordingly. 

The anchors are usually stowed in an enclosure of the main hull, usually known as the anchor pocket.

W...

https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/what-are-foul-anchors/

We know that a ship, unlike an automobile, a train, or an aircraft, does not have brakes to stop. The answer lies in the physics of the water and the manner in which a vessel interacts with it.

Hence, for a ship to come to a stop, it must first cease to apply its propulsors’ original sense of rotation (and hence resultant forward thrust) and, thereafter, cause the engines to produce a reverse or astern thrust. 

This is often caused by changing the pitch of the propellers to a negative pitch and...

https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/stopping-distance-of-a-ship/

Whenever we think of the term ‘hull speed’, these are the few things that immediately pop into our minds: It is the maximum rated speed of the vessel; it is the service or the design speed of the vessel; or it is the current speed at which the ship is cruising. These are not the case!

A hull speed is a different hydrodynamic concept and stems from the complex physics of the interplay of the vessel with the surrounding water medium. 

Before continuing into this article, it is important to know...

https://www.marineinsight.com/marine-navigation/understanding-vessels-hull-speed-and-its-determination/