Maritime Glossary
Source-cited definitions for shipping, engineering, navigation, and regulatory terminology. Confidence-scored and verified against primary IMO, IHO, and industry sources.
- SOLASSafety of Life at Sea · International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
- SOLAS is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, the most important international treaty on merchant-ship safety. Administered by the IMO, it sets minimum standards for the construction, equipment and operation of ships.
- regulationsafetyhigh confidence
- SOxsulphur oxides · sulphur dioxide · SO₂
- SOx means sulphur oxides, mainly sulphur dioxide, produced when a ship burns fuel that contains sulphur. They cause acid rain and harm health, so their emission is controlled by capping the sulphur content of marine fuel or by cleaning the exhaust.
- environmentregulationengineeringhigh confidence
- Salvagemaritime salvage
- Salvage is the rescue of a ship, its cargo or other property from danger at sea by those under no prior duty to do so. Successful salvors are entitled to a reward, traditionally on a 'no cure, no pay' basis reflecting the value saved and the risk run.
- legaloperationssafetyhigh confidence
- Search and Rescue Radar TransponderSART · AIS-SART
- A SART is a Search and Rescue Radar Transponder, a portable device carried in survival craft. When triggered by a nearby ship's or aircraft's radar, it responds with a distinctive series of blips on the radar screen that guides rescuers to the survivors.
- safetynavigationregulationhigh confidence
- Slow Steamingsuper slow steaming · speed optimisation
- Slow steaming is the practice of operating a ship at a speed well below its maximum to save fuel and cut emissions. Because a ship's fuel consumption rises steeply with speed, a modest reduction in speed produces a large reduction in fuel burned.
- operationsdecarbonizationengineeringhigh confidence
- Squat Effectsquat · ship squat
- Squat is the reduction in a ship's under-keel clearance that occurs when it moves through shallow or confined water. The vessel sinks bodily deeper and changes trim, reducing the gap to the seabed at exactly the point where it is most critical.
- navigationseamanshipship-handlinghigh confidence
- Stabilityship stability · GM · metacentric height · GZ curve
- Stability is a ship's ability to return to an upright position after being heeled over by wind, waves or the movement of weights. It depends chiefly on the arrangement of weights aboard and is commonly assessed through the metacentric height, GM.
- seamanshipengineeringsafetyhigh confidence
- Standards of Training, Certification and WatchkeepingSTCW
- STCW is the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. Adopted by the IMO in 1978 and substantially updated by the 2010 Manila Amendments, it sets the minimum training and certification every seafarer must hold.
- seafarersregulationtraininghigh confidence
- SuezmaxSuezmax tanker
- Suezmax is a tanker size class describing the largest laden tankers that can transit the Suez Canal, generally around 120,000 to 200,000 tonnes deadweight, constrained mainly by the canal's permissible draught and beam.
- ship-typescommercialhigh confidence