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51-400: In the merchant navy , the person at the helm is usually an able seaman , particularly during ship arrivals, departures, and while maneuvering in restricted waters or other conditions requiring precise steering. An ordinary seaman is commonly restricted to steering in open waters. Moreover, military ships may have a seaman or quartermaster at the helm. A professional helmsman maintains

102-568: A landlocked country, has a civilian high seas fleet of merchant vessels, whose home port is Basel , on the Rhine . The first ships were purchased and operated by the government in order to ensure the supply of critical resources during World War II. After the war, a privately owned merchant fleet emerged, spurred in part by government subsidies that paid for the fleet's operation up until 1953. As of 2006, 26 ships (mostly container carriers) totalling 479,624 tons, operated by five shipping companies, flew

153-445: A classroom setting. Administrators network student workstations so that the instructor can launch individual scenarios at each station. Computer models are used to accurately simulate conditions such as wind, seas, and currents. Moreover, shallow-water effects or other hydrodynamic forces, such as ships passing close to each other, can also be depicted. A computer application records training sessions, complete with voice commands issued by

204-505: A guide for helmsmen. Prior to the modern three-figure method of describing directions (using the 360° of a circle), the 32-point compass was used for directions on most ships, especially among European crews. The smallest unit of measure recognized was 'one point', 1/32 of a circle, or 11 + 1 ⁄ 4 °. In the mariner's exercise of "boxing the compass", all thirty-two points of the compass are named in clockwise order. This exercise became more significant as navigation improved and

255-530: A heading is a comparatively long event and will require ongoing or continuous rudder adjustments. The following are helm orders used in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard: Rudder Heading Steering a ship effectively requires skills gained through training and experience. An expert helmsman has a keen sense of how a particular ship will respond to the helm or how different sea conditions impact steering. For instance, experience teaches

306-488: A helmsman be able to understand and respond to helm orders in English. The proliferation of autopilot systems and the increased computerization of operations on a ship's bridge lessen the need for helmsmen standing watch in open waters. Helm orders or commands fall into two categories: rudder commands and heading commands. A rudder command dictates changing the angle of the rudder, which is a single-event action, whereas steering

357-421: A helmsman the ability to correct the rudder in advance of a ship substantially falling off course. This requires the capacity to anticipate the delay between when the helm is applied and when the ship responds to the rudder. Similarly, a skilled helmsman will avoid overcompensating for a ship's movement caused by local conditions, such as wind, swells, currents, or rough seas. Computer-based ship simulators provide

408-818: A major role in the Battle of the Atlantic bolstering the Allies' merchant fleet due to high losses in the British Merchant Navy. Eventually thousands of Canadians served in the merchant navy aboard hundreds of Canadian merchant ships, notably the " Park Ship ", the Canadian equivalent of the American " Liberty Ship ". A school at St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia , trained Canadian merchant mariners. "Manning pools", merchant navy barracks, were built in Canadian ports. The Greek maritime fleet

459-770: A result they had a common flag. Among these companies were the Muhammadi Steamship Company Limited and the East & West Steamship Company . In the Indo-Pak war of 1971 Pakistan suffered a great loss, and most of Pakistani vessels were left in Bangladesh, because of having Bengali speaking crew on them. On 1 January 1974, President of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto nationalized the National Shipping Corporation and Pakistan Shipping Corporation, and formed

510-424: A steady course, properly executes all rudder orders, and communicates to the officer on the bridge using navigational terms relating to ship's heading and steering. A helmsman relies upon visual references, a magnetic and gyrocompass , and a rudder angle indicator to steer a steady course. The mate or other officer on the bridge directs the helmsman aboard merchant or navy ships. Clear and exact communication between

561-415: A training environment for learning skills to steer a ship. Training can be programmed to replicate a variety of ship sizes and environmental conditions. Scenarios depicted in 3-D graphics range from making course corrections in open waters to maneuvering in port, rivers, or other shallow waters. Cost compared to a real vessel is low. Mariners learn responses to dangerous situations, such as steering failure, in

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612-544: A variety of hazards, including man-made obstacles, land formations, grounding in shallow waters, and the threat of collision with other vessels. In addition, powerful sea tides and river currents encountered in seaports heighten navigation dangers, as a ship's ability to stop is severely limited. Helmsmen of merchant and military ships that are underway stand watch at the helm for a set period of time before being relieved by another watchstander. The person being relieved will complete any course change or other critical maneuver that

663-410: Is " Quarto di Tramontana verso Greco "; and northeast-by-north is " Quarto di Greco verso Tramontana ". The table below shows how the 32 compass points are named. Each point has an angular range of 11 + 1 ⁄ 4 degrees where the azimuth midpoint is the horizontal angular direction (clockwise from north) of the given compass bearing; minimum is the lower (counterclockwise) angular limit of

714-414: Is "Greco-Levante"; SSE is "Ostro-Scirocco", etc. The quarter winds are expressed with an Italian phrase, " Quarto di X verso Y" ( pronounced [ˈkwarto di X ˈvɛrso Y ] one quarter from X towards Y), or "X al Y" (X to Y) or "X per Y" (X by Y). There are no irregularities to trip over; the closest principal wind always comes first, the more distant one second, for example: north-by-east

765-672: Is according to the annual maritime shipping statistics provided by the British government and the Department for Transport . British shipping is represented nationally and globally by the UK Chamber of Shipping . Canada , like several other Commonwealth nations, created its own merchant navy in a large-scale effort in World War II. Established in 1939, the Canadian Merchant Navy played

816-624: Is in hand, rudder amidships, steering off the port pump." The officer on watch will usually reply with "very well." Merchant navy A merchant navy or merchant marine is the fleet of merchant vessels that are registered in a specific country . On merchant vessels, seafarers of various ranks and sometimes members of maritime trade unions are required by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) to carry Merchant Mariner's Documents . King George V bestowed

867-422: Is in progress before handing over the helm. The helmsman handing over the helm will inform the relief helmsman of any rudder commands in place and pertinent conditions. "Steering 180. We have oncoming traffic two points on the starboard" for example. In addition, the current helmsman should inform the relief if there are any peculiarities affecting steerage. Similarly, the helmsman will also point out if he or she

918-407: Is steering a ship in a harbor or seaport when reduced speeds slow a ship's response to the rudder. For it is during ship arrivals and departures, when most ship collisions or groundings occur. Clear communication, then, between the officer of the bridge and the helmsman is essential for safe operations. The officer or harbor pilot relies upon the helmsman to flawlessly execute steering commands to avoid

969-480: Is steering on a landmark, range, or navigational light. The relief helmsman is obligated to repeat the course being steered or other rudder command in order to demonstrate an understanding of the situation at the helm. On merchant ships, it is taught at the various maritime academies that the proper way to relieve the helm is for the helmsman being relieved to call out loudly the ship's course per gyro, course per standard magnetic compass, steering mode, rudder angle, and

1020-591: Is today engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience . Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since ancient times. In 2015, the Greek Merchant Marine controlled

1071-628: The Middle Ages (with no obvious connection to the twelve classical compass winds of the ancient Greeks and Romans). The traditional mariner's wind names were expressed in Italian , or more precisely, the Italianate Mediterranean lingua franca common among sailors in the 13th and 14th centuries, which was principally composed of Genoese ( Ligurian ), mixed with Venetian , Sicilian , Provençal , Catalan , Greek , and Arabic terms from around

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1122-574: The Pacific campaign . Since 2008, 3 September has been officially commemorated as Merchant Navy Day , on the same day as the pre-existing Australian National Flag Day, which allows the Australian Red Ensign to be flown on land for the occasion as a matter of protocol, as an official recognition of the merchant navy's contribution in wartime. The Australian Merchant Navy Memorial in Canberra ,

1173-1152: The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) with the intent of reestablishing the Pakistan Merchant Navy. Later, the company was incorporated under the provisions of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation Ordinance of 1979 and the Companies Ordinance of 1984. Today, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation is the national flag carrier. The corporation's head office is located in Karachi. A regional office based in Lahore caters for upcountry shipping requirements. The corporation also has an extensive overseas network of agents looking after its worldwide shipping business. The Pakistan National Shipping Corporation also has several subsidiary companies. The Polish Merchant Navy ( Polish : Polska Marynarka Handlowa , PMH)

1224-449: The Swiss flag . The United States Merchant Marine is made up of the nation's civilian-owner merchant ships and government owned ships ( Military Sealift Command , NOAA , Army Corps of Engineers , Department of Homeland Security ), and the men and women who crew them. The merchant marine transports cargo and passengers during peacetime. In time of war, the merchant marine is an auxiliary to

1275-474: The clockwise direction and "CCW" counterclockwise . The final three columns show three common naming conventions: No "by" avoids the use of "by" with fractional points. Colour coding shows whether each of the three naming systems matches the "CW" or "CCW" column. The traditional compass rose of eight winds (and its 16-wind and 32-wind derivatives) was invented by seafarers in the Mediterranean Sea during

1326-482: The navy and can be called upon to deliver troops and supplies for the military . The people of the merchant marine are called "merchant mariners", and are civilians except in times of war, when, in accordance with the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 , they are considered military personnel. As of 2009, the U.S. merchant fleet numbered 422 ships and approximately 69,000 people. Not included in these numbers are

1377-511: The 32-wind compass rose comes from the eight principal winds, eight half-winds, and sixteen quarter-winds combined, with each compass point at an 11 + 1 ⁄ 4 ° angle from the next. By the middle of the 18th century, the 32-point system had been further extended by using half- and quarter-points to give a total of 128 directions. These fractional points are named by appending, for example, ⁠ 1 / 4 ⁠ east, ⁠ 1 / 2 ⁠ east, or ⁠ 3 / 4 ⁠ east to

1428-604: The Atlantic and North Pacific trade, mostly this involved domestic and South Pacific cargos. New Zealand-owned ships were involved in trade with the United Kingdom (84% of all New Zealand exports in 1939) and the majority of New Zealand seamen had served with the British Merchant Navy. Over the course of the war, 64 ships were sunk by enemy action on the New Zealand–UK route, and 140 merchant seafarers died (a similar number were also taken prisoner). The Pakistan Merchant Navy

1479-544: The Mediterranean basin. This Italianate patois was used to designate the names of the principal winds on the compass rose found in mariners' compasses and portolan charts of the 14th and 15th centuries. The traditional names of the eight principal winds are: Local spelling variations are far more numerous than listed, e.g. Tramutana, Gregale, Grecho, Sirocco, Xaloc, Lebeg, Libezo, Leveche, Mezzodi, Migjorn, Magistro, Mestre, etc. Traditional compass roses will typically have

1530-595: The New Zealand Registry (many larger New Zealand vessels were however registered in London for insurance purposes). Some foreign vessels were impressed, including the four-masted barque, Pamir . New Zealand, like several other Commonwealth nations, created a merchant navy. However, the "wartime Merchant Navy was neither a military force nor a single coherent body", instead it was "a diverse collection of private companies and ships". Although some ships were involved in

1581-430: The United States Navy to box from north and south toward east and west, with the exception that divisions adjacent to a cardinal or inter-cardinal point are always referred to that point." The Royal Navy used the additional "rule that quarter points were never read from a point beginning and ending with the same letter." Compass roses very rarely named the fractional points and only showed small, unlabelled markers as

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1632-659: The compass point; and maximum is the upper (clockwise) angular limit of the compass point. Navigation texts dating from the Yuan , Ming , and Qing dynasties in China use a 24-pointed compass with named directions. These are based on the twelve Earthly Branches , which also form the basis of the Chinese zodiac. When a single direction is specified, it may be prefaced by the character 單 (meaning single) or 丹 . Headings mid-way in-between are compounds as in English. For instance, 癸子 refers to

1683-486: The compass with additional azimuths. Within European tradition, a fully defined compass has 32 "points" (and any finer subdivisions are described in fractions of points). Compass points or compass directions are valuable in that they allow a user to refer to a specific azimuth in a colloquial fashion, without having to compute or remember degrees. The names of the compass point directions follow these rules: In summary,

1734-524: The half- and quarter-point system increased the number of directions to include in the 'boxing'. Points remained the standard unit until switching to the three-figure degree method. These points were also used for relative measurement, so that an obstacle might be noted as 'two points off the starboard bow', meaning two points clockwise of straight ahead, 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 ° This relative measurement may still be used in shorthand on modern ships, especially for handoffs between outgoing and incoming helmsmen, as

1785-476: The helmsman and officer on the bridge is essential to safe navigation and ship handling. Consequently, a set of standard steering commands, responses by the helmsman, and acknowledgment by the conning officer are widely recognized in the maritime industry. The helmsman repeats any verbal commands to demonstrate that the command is heard and understood. The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) requires that

1836-404: The helmsman learns to relax and take into account the vessel's natural rhythm in order to avoid oversteering whatever the maritime environment. Consequently, more accurate steering is attained with less rudder. Applying the minimal rudder required to steer a course reduces drag of the ship, thereby favorably impacting the ship's speed and operating costs. One of the helmsman's most important duties

1887-399: The initials T, G, L, S, O, L, P, and M on the main points. Portolan charts also colour-coded the compass winds: black for the eight principal winds, green for the eight half-winds, and red for the sixteen quarter-winds. Each half-wind name is simply a combination of the two principal winds that it bisects, with the shortest name usually placed first, for example: NNE is "Greco-Tramontana"; ENE

1938-417: The instructor which are received by the students via a headset. On-the-job training at sea is critical to a helmsman developing ability to "sense" or anticipate how a ship will respond in different conditions. The experienced helmsman uses measured responses to sea conditions, even when encountering heavy weather that may cause a ship to pitch and roll as it pounds its way through oncoming waves. Subsequently,

1989-408: The loss of granularity is less significant than the brevity and simplicity of the summary. The table below shows how each of the 128 directions are named. The first two columns give the number of points and degrees clockwise from north. The third gives the equivalent bearing to the nearest degree from north or south towards east or west. The "CW" column gives the fractional-point bearings increasing in

2040-404: The name of one of the 32 points. Each of the 96 fractional points can be named in two ways, depending on which of the two adjoining whole points is used, for example, N ⁠ 3 / 4 ⁠ E is equivalent to NbE ⁠ 1 / 4 ⁠ N. Either form is easily understood, but alternative conventions as to correct usage developed in different countries and organisations. "It is the custom in

2091-604: The national capital city of Australia, is a memorial honouring the Australian Merchant Navy's involvement in both world wars. The British Merchant Navy comprises the British merchant ships that transport cargo and people during times of peace and war. For much of its history, the merchant navy was the largest merchant fleet in the world, but with the decline of the British Empire in the mid-20th century it slipped down

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2142-745: The over 700 ships which are owned by American interests but are registered, or flagged , in other countries. [REDACTED] Media related to Merchant marine at Wikimedia Commons Points of the compass The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths ) used in navigation and cartography . A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions — north , east , south , and west —each separated by 90 degrees , and secondarily divided by four ordinal (intercardinal) directions—northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest—each located halfway between two cardinal directions. Some disciplines such as meteorology and navigation further divide

2193-488: The pump the vessel is steering off of. The relief helmsman will then take the helm and repeat all the information to ensure that he/she knows what to steer while on watch. An example of this would be: Helmsman: "Helm is being relieved... steering two-four-eight per gyro, checking two-four-five per standard. Helm is in hand, rudder amidships, steering off the port pump." Relief: "Helm has been relieved... steering two-four-eight per gyro, checking two-four-five per standard. Helm

2244-442: The rankings. In 1939, the merchant navy was the largest in the world with 33% of total tonnage. By 2012, the merchant navy held only 3% of total tonnage. As of the year ending 2012, British Merchant Marine interests consists of 1,504 ships of 100 GT or over. This includes ships either UK directly owned, parent owned or managed by a British company. This amounts to: 59,413,000  GT or alternatively 75,265,000  DWT . This

2295-668: The safe and timely delivery of the cargo. The ship owner may be responsible for one vessel or a major fleet. The following is a partial list of the merchant navies or merchant marines of various countries. In many countries the fleet's proper name is simply the capitalized version of the common noun ("Merchant Navy"). During the First World War, the government requisitioned Australian merchant vessels for use as transport ships, hospital ships and cargo ships . During World War II, they were commissioned for use as hospital ships, supply ships and armed merchant cruisers, in particular in

2346-405: The safety of a virtual environment. Land-based ship simulators may feature a full-scale replica of a steering stand with a ship's wheel. Such simulators incorporate magnetic and gyro compasses (or repeaters) for steering. Moreover, a rudder angle indicator that responds appropriately to the helm is part of the configuration. However technology also allows for a multitude of smaller workstations in

2397-460: The title of the "Merchant Navy" on the British merchant shipping fleets following their service in World War I ; since then a number of other nations have also adopted use of that title or the similar "Merchant Marine". In most jurisdictions, the concept can be equated with a road haulage company. Ships are the equivalent of the truck, and the crew the equivalent of the truck driver, tasked with ensuring

2448-549: The world in terms of total DWT . India currently supplies around 12.8% of officers and around 14.5% of ratings to the world seafaring community. This is one of the highest of any country. India has many merchant shipping companies. Some of the prominent shipping companies in India are Great Eastern Shipping , Tolani Shipping, SCI now a private company, and Seven Islands Shipping which is an ownership company. In December 1939, 3,000 seafarers were employed and 186 merchant vessels were on

2499-465: The world's largest merchant fleet in terms of tonnage with a total DWT of 334,649,089 tons and a fleet of 5,226 Greek owned vessels, according to Lloyd's List . Greece is also ranked highly regarding all types of ships, including first for tankers and bulk carriers . The birth of the modern Indian Merchant Navy occurred before independence from the United Kingdom, when in 1919 SS Loyalty sailed from India to Britain. Today, India ranks 15th in

2550-1078: Was created in the interwar period when the Second Polish Republic regained independence. During World War II , many ships of the Polish Navy joined the Allied merchant navy and its convoys as part of the Polish contribution to World War II . After the war, the Polish Merchant Navy was controlled by the People's Republic of Poland and, after 1989, by modern Poland. As of 1999 , the PMH controlled 57 ships (of 1,000 GT or over) totaling 1,120,165  gross tonnage  (GT)/1,799,569 tonnes deadweight (DWT) including 50 bulk carriers , two general cargo ships , two chemical tankers , one roll-on/roll-off ship and two short-sea passenger ships . Switzerland, despite being

2601-542: Was formed in 1947. The Ministry of Railways and Communication (Port and Shipping Wing), Mercantile Marine Department and Shipping Office established by the Government of Pakistan . Who were authorized to flag the ships and also ensured that the vessels were sea worthy. All of the private shipping companies merged and formed the National Shipping Corporation (NSC) and the Pakistan Shipping Corporation (PSC) and as

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