A bridge, also known as a pilothouse or wheelhouse, is a room or platform of a ship from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is under way, the bridge is manned by an officer of the watch aided usually by an able seaman acting as a lookout. During critical maneuvers the captain will be on the bridge, often supported by an officer of the watch, an able seaman on the wheel and sometimes a pilot, if required.
There are many terms for parts of a ship with functions similar to a bridge. Depending upon the design and layout of a ship, some of these terms may be interchangeable.
Traditionally, sailing ships were commanded from the quarterdeck, aft of the mainmast, where the ship's wheel was located (as it was close to the rudder). A wheelhouse was a small enclosure around the ship's wheel on the quarterdeck of sailing ships. On modern ships the wheelhouse or pilothouse refers to the bridge of smaller motor vessels, such as tugs. [1]
With the arrival of paddle steamers, engineers required a platform from which they could inspect the paddle wheels and where the captain's view would not be obstructed by the paddle houses. A raised walkway, literally a bridge, connecting the paddle houses was therefore provided. When the screw propeller superseded the paddle wheel, the term bridge survived. [1]
Traditionally, commands would be passed from the senior officer on the bridge to stations dispersed throughout the ship, where physical control of the ship was exercised, as technology did not exist for the remote control of steering or machinery. Helm orders would be passed to an enclosed wheel house, where the coxswain or helmsman operated the ship's wheel. Engine commands would be relayed to the engine officer in the engine room by an engine order telegraph that displayed the captain's orders on a dial. The engine officer would ensure that the correct combination of steam pressure and engine revolutions were applied. Weatherproof pilot houses supplanted open bridges so that the pilot, who was traditionally the ship's navigating officer, could issue commands from shelter. [1]
Iron, and later steel, ships also required a compass platform. This was usually a tower, where a magnetic compass could be sited far away as possible from the ferrous interference of the hulk of the ship.
Many ships still have a flying bridge, a platform atop the pilot house, open to weather, containing a binnacle and voice tubes to allow the conning officer to direct the ship from a higher position during fair weather conditions. [1]
Larger warships may have a navigation bridge, which is used for the actual conning of the ship, and a separate admiral's bridge can be provided in flagships, where the admiral can exercise control over the squadron of ships without interfering with the captain's command of the vessel. In older warships, a heavily armored conning tower was often provided, where the vital command staff could be located under protection to ensure that the ship could be commanded under fire. [2]
On a submarine, the bridge is the highest point on the conning tower, to provide for better visual navigation when on the surface. [3] They became standard on United States Navy submarines after 1917, greatly improving the function of the vessels while at the surface. [4]
Modern advances in remote control equipment have seen progressive transfer of the actual control of the ship to the bridge. The wheel and throttles can be operated directly from the bridge, controlling often-unmanned machinery spaces. Aboard modern warships, navigational command comes from the bridge, whereas electronically directed weapon systems are usually controlled from an interior compartment. [2]
On a commercial vessel, the bridge will contain the equipment necessary to safely navigate a vessel on passage. Such equipment will vary with ship type, but generally includes a GPS navigation device, a Navtex receiver, an ECDIS or chart system, one or more radars, a communications system (including distress calling equipment), engine (telegraph) controls, a wheel/autopilot system, a magnetic compass (for redundancy and cross check capability) and light/sound signalling devices. [5]
The navigation station of a ship may be located on the bridge or in a separate chart room, nearby. It includes a table sized for nautical charts where calculations of course and location are made. The navigator plots the course to be followed by the ship on these charts. [6] Besides the desk and the navigation charts, the area contains navigational instruments that may include electronic equipment for a Global Positioning System receiver and chart display, fathometer, a compass, a marine chronometer, two-way radios, and radiotelephone, etc. [7]
A flying bridge, also known as "monkey island", [8] [9] is an open area on top of a surface ship that provides unobstructed views of the fore, aft, and the sides of a vessel. [10] [11] It serves as an operating station for the ship's officers, such as the captain or officer of the watch. [11]
Prior to World War II, virtually every sailing ship, steamship, monitor, paddle steamer, or large pleasure ship had a flying bridge above the main bridge. [11] Flying bridges were generally not enclosed at all (although sometimes they were partially enclosed), and often had little equipment—usually just a speaking tube or telephone to allow communication with the helmsman or wheelman on the main bridge. [11] On military warships after 1914, the flying bridge was usually the station for the air defense officer and the gunnery officer. [3] The amount of equipment on a flying bridge varies widely with the need of the captain. During World War II, for example, American submarine chaser surface ships had a well-outfitted flying bridge which usually contained a pelorus, signal lamps, telescope, and voice tube to permit the captain to command the ship. [12] U.S. Navy attack transport ships could be outfitted with either 20mm or 40mm automatic cannons on their flying bridges. [13]
Flying bridges were almost always the highest bridge on the ship. [10] They were usually above the flag bridge. [3]
Since the 1980s, large pleasure craft may have a flying bridge [14] toward the stern that is used as additional outdoor seating space and a place to store a tender. [15] On the smallest surface vessels, such as a sport fishing boat, the flying bridge may have controls permitting the ship to be piloted from the flying bridge, but will lack the full range of controls of the pilot house. On larger small vessels, the flying bridge may actually be enclosed, in which case it is more properly called an "upper pilot house" or "upper bridge". [3]
Warships that were also flagships (had a flag officer onboard) sometimes contained a flag bridge. Also known as the "admiral's bridge", these were a bridge below the main bridge on a command warship where a high-ranking officer such as an admiral could conduct fleet operations, plan strategy, and conduct large battles. [3]
Some flying bridges have "bridge wings", open areas which thrust outward from the flying bridge over the sides of the vessel by approximately 10 to 15 feet (3.0 to 4.6 m) to allow an officer to see the side of their ship while docking or working with smaller vessels. [11] A bridge wing is a narrow walkway extending from both sides of a pilothouse to the full width of a ship or slightly beyond, to allow bridge personnel a full view to aid in the maneuvering of the ship. [16] Officers use bridge wings when docking or maneuvering in locks and narrow waterways. Each bridge wing may be equipped with a console controlling the bow thruster, stern thruster, rudder and engines. [17]
Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The Oxford Dictionary states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea."
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft.
The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th century, and continue to be popular for both local people and visitors.
Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or aircraft with respect to a desired course or location. Horizontal fixes of position from known reference points may be obtained by sight or by radar. Vertical position may be obtained by depth sounder to determine depth of the water body below a vessel or by altimeter to determine an aircraft's altitude, from which its distance above the ground can be deduced. Piloting a vessel is usually practiced close to shore or on inland waterways. Pilotage of an aircraft is practiced under visual meteorological conditions for flight.
USCGC Eagle (WIX-327), formerly the Horst Wessel and also known as the Barque Eagle, is a 295-foot (90 m) barque used as a training cutter for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. She is one of only two active commissioned sailing vessels in the United States military today, along with USS Constitution which is ported in Boston Harbor. She is the seventh Coast Guard cutter to bear the name in a line dating back to 1792, including the Revenue Cutter Eagle.
A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. They were popularized in the mid-19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine and the transition of fleets to this new technology.
The MV Andrew J. Barberi is one of two Barberi-class ferry boats operated as part of the Staten Island Ferry between Manhattan and Staten Island in New York City, besides MV Samuel I. Newhouse. With a capacity of 6,000, she is among the highest-capacity boats in the ferry's fleet. Since her introduction in 1981, she has had a history of incidents, including a 2003 crash that killed eleven people and a 2010 crash that injured thirty-seven.
A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets that are pulled along the bottom of the sea or in midwater at a specified depth. A trawler may also operate two or more trawl nets simultaneously.
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water. Some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical derives from the Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from nautēs: "sailor", from naus: "ship".
RMS Segwun is the oldest operating steam driven vessel in North America, built in 1887 as Nipissing to cruise the Muskoka Lakes in the Muskoka, Ontario, Canada, a resort area with many lakes and rivers. Early in the 20th century, Muskoka was poorly served by roads. Vacationers were transported to lodges, or private cottages, via a fleet of steamships. Segwun is the oldest of only three ships in the world still carrying the status of Royal Mail Ship, and the only steamer.
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and ground tackle. It is usually located as high on the ship as is practical, to give the conning team good visibility of the entirety of the ship, ocean conditions, and other vessels.
A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship's cargo and deck crew. The actual title used will vary by ship's employment, by type of ship, by nationality, and by trade: for instance, chief mate is not usually used in the Commonwealth, although chief officer and first mate are; on passenger ships, the first officer may be a separate position from that of the chief officer that is junior to the latter.
The deck department is an organisational team on board naval and merchant ships. The department and its manning requirements, including the responsibilities of each rank are regulated within the STCW Convention, applicable only to the merchant fleets of countries who have ratified it. The department is led by deck officers, who are licensed mariners, and they are commanded overall by the ship's captain. Seafarers in the deck department work a variety of jobs on a ship or vessel, but primarily they will carry out the navigation of a vessel from the bridge. However, they are usually also responsible for supervising and monitoring any maritime cargo on board, as well as ensuring maintenance of the deck and upper hull structure, monitoring the stability of the ship, including loading and discharging ballast water, carrying out mooring operations, and finally anchoring a ship.
An officer of the deck (OOD) underway is a watchstanding duty officer on a surface ship in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps who is tasked with certain duties and responsibilities for the ship. The officer of the deck is either subordinate to the command duty officer or, in the absence of one, reports directly to the ship's commanding officer and executive officer, in the latter case holding responsibility for the ship altogether. This article describes duties and responsibilities for an underway OOD for surface ships only.
Seafaring is a tradition that encompasses a variety of professions and ranks. Each of these roles carries unique responsibilities that are integral to the successful operation of a seafaring vessel. A ship's crew can generally be divided into four main categories: the deck department, the engineering department, the steward's department, and other. The reasoning behind this is that a ship's bridge, filled with sophisticated navigational equipment, requires skills differing from those used on deck operations – such as berthing, cargo and/or military devices – which in turn requires skills different from those used in a ship's engine room and propulsion, and so on.
Steam-powered vessels include steamboats and steamships. Smaller steamboats were developed first. They were replaced by larger steamships which were often ocean-going. Steamships required a change in propulsion technology from sail to paddlewheel to screw to steam turbines. The latter innovation changed the design of vessels to one that could move faster through the water. Engine propulsion changed to steam turbine in the early 20th century. In the latter part of the 20th century, these, in turn, were replaced by gas turbines.
Bellubera was a ferry operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company on the Manly service. Launched in 1910, she was the third of six "Binngarra-type" vessels. Upon her 1936 conversion from steam power, she became the first diesel-electric vessel in Australia. She was decommissioned in 1973, and scuttled at sea in 1980.
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water. Some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical derives from the Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from nautēs: "sailor", from naus: "ship".
Nautical operations refers to the crew operation of a ship. It is the term used in academic education to refer to the studies of this professional field. Nautical operations refers to all the operational procedures, specific roles of officers and crew members, and regular functions and technical processes, which together shape the structure and functions for the general operations of a ship.
On the Titanic, the navigation bridge was a superstructure where the ship's command was exercised. From this location, the officer on watch determined the ship's geographical position, gave all orders regarding navigation and speed, and received information about everything happening on board.
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