Maritime Glossary
Source-cited definitions for shipping, engineering, navigation, and regulatory terminology. Confidence-scored and verified against primary IMO, IHO, and industry sources.
- Keelship keel · bar keel · bilge keel
- The keel is the principal structural member running along the bottom centreline of a ship from bow to stern. It is the backbone of the hull, providing longitudinal strength, and its laying traditionally marks the start of a ship's construction.
- naval-architectureship-structurehigh confidence
- Knotkn · kt
- The unit of speed used at sea and in the air: one knot is one nautical mile per hour, roughly 1.852 kilometres per hour or 1.15 miles per hour. A ship steaming at 12 knots covers 12 nautical miles every hour.
- navigationseamanshiphigh confidence