Maritime Knowledge Base
Browse questions and answers across marine machinery, merchant navy careers, shipboard operations and maritime glossary terms.
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Marine Machinery
Troubleshooting guides for pumps, boilers, purifiers, compressors and auxiliary systems.
Merchant Navy Careers
Questions about joining the merchant navy, exams, cadetships, ranks and sea-time.
Maritime Glossary
Plain-English definitions of shipping, engine-room, navigation and regulatory terms.
Shipboard Operations
Practical Q&A for watchkeeping, safety, maintenance routines and onboard documentation.
Results for "Compass"
What is a gyrocompass and how does it differ from a magnetic compass?
A gyrocompass is a navigation instrument that uses a fast-spinning gyroscope to find and hold true north, unaffected by the ship's magnetism, providing a true heading to the ship's systems.
Shipboard OperationsWhat is the difference between magnetic variation and deviation?
Variation is the angle between true and magnetic north caused by the Earth's field; deviation is the compass error caused by the ship's own magnetism. Together they make up compass error.
Shipboard OperationsHow do you read a nautical chart?
A nautical chart is a map of the sea showing depths, dangers, aids to navigation and the coastline, read using its scales of latitude and longitude, soundings, symbols and compass rose.
Shipboard OperationsWhat is dead reckoning in navigation?
Dead reckoning is estimating a ship's present position from a known past position by applying the course steered and the distance run, without reference to external fixes.
