Port of initial Customs entry of a vessel to any country. Also known as First Port of Call.

The senior engineer officer responsible for the satisfactory working and upkeep of the main and auxiliary machinery and boiler plant on board ship.

A volume. Cubic meters per second.

Heavy canvas used as a covering.

see Turnbuckle

Short lengths of line attached to the sail used to tie the extra sail out of the way when reefing.

The imaginary line running from bow to stern along the middle of the boat.

A written contract between the owner of a vessel and the person desiring to employ the vessel (charterer); sets forth the terms of the arrangement such as duration of agreement, freight rate and ports involved in the trip.

A long sturdy pole fitted with a blunt hook at one end designed to catch a line when coming alongside a pier or mooring, to facilitate putting a line over a piling, recovering an object dropped overboard, or in pushing or fending off.

A severe type of food poisoning caused by eating contaminated fish

On a square-rigged ship, a light weather sail set next above the royal in fair weather.

The triangle formed by the masthead, the base of the mast at deck level, and the lower end of the headstay.

A person or firm performing a consolidation service for others. The consolidator takes advantage of lower full carload (FCL) rates, and savings are passed on to shippers.

In sailboat racing, a tactical maneuver to lock in a competitor by tacking on them in close proximity so they can not tack from under your boat and they start to lose speed due to your sails blocking their sails.

elegant, luxurious. Originally an acronym for Port Over Starboard Home. Created by British travelers to India or Australia, describing the preferred accommodations aboard ship, which lessened effects of the tropical sun on the cabins during the voyage.

A document specifying the nation of registry of the vessel.

Another term for a marine railway.

Placing a container where required to be loaded or unloaded.

To temporarily stop all movement of a line through a block by placing the hauling part across the sheave of the block. This jams the sheave and holds it tight, and a pull on the hauling part will release it.

Flapping (of sails)