PRINCIPAL PARTS OF SHIP

Decks of a Ship
A ship has a number of different types of decks which are located at different levels and places on the ship. Every
seafarer working on a ship should be aware of these decks. Especially Passenger ships, Cattle carriers, RO-RO ships,
Car carriers etc have multiple decks. However, they may be identified as A,B,C…… decks.
As names of these decks are adopted from Sailing ships and/or naval ships, sometimes application is little confusing.
1. Poop Deck: The poop deck is located on the vessel’s stern.The poop deck is one deck above main deck and
part(Roof) of accommodation.
2. Main Deck: As the name suggests, the main deck is the primary deck in any vessel. The main deck however is not
the topmost deck in a vessel which is referred to as the weather deck. On most of Merchant ships Main deck and
Weather deck is same.
3. Upper Deck: The deck that covers the hull of the vessel from its fore to its aft is the upper deck. It is the topmost
deck on a ship. In all vessels, the upper deck is the biggest deck amongst all other decks. Again on most of Merchant
ships it is same as Main deck.
4. Lower Deck: The deck located below the main deck is the lower deck. Generally the lower deck comprises of more
than one deck.
5. Promenade Deck: Promenade refers to taking a lazy stroll in a feasible place like a beach or a park. In a vessel, the
promenade deck serves as a place for the voyagers to take a calming and enjoyable walk on the ship, while enjoying
the beauty of the oceanic vista. It is generally the area around the superstructure. It can have open railings or can be
enclosed in a glass. This is found on Passenger ships.
6. Tween Deck: ‘’Tween’ means ‘between’. In a ship, the tween deck is between bottom and Main deck. It is used for
loading cargo on General cargo ships and Reefer ships.
7. Weather Deck: A deck that is not roofed and thus is open to the ever-changing weather conditions of the sea is
referred to as the weather deck. It is the upper most deck on the ship which is exposed to environment.
8. Bridge Deck: Bridge deck is the deck on which the navigational equipments of the ships are housed.
9. Quarter Deck: The deck located near stern of a vessel is referred to as the quarter deck. The quarter deck is a part
of the upper deck. Term comes from Sailing and Naval ships as this part housed senior most officers and was control
station of the ship.
The forward end of the ship is called the bow, the after end is the stern, and halfway between the two is amidships.
The beam of the ship is the distance between the two ship's sides.
The hull or the body of the ship includes the outer skin or shell, and all the members and parts which hold this shell
together, divide it into compartments and give it strength and rigidity.
Three basic requirements of ships are the ability to float (buoyancy), the ability to stay together (strength), and the
ability to stay right side up (stability).

The shell plating is the outer skin of the ship and is made up of a great many steel plates fastened together by
welding. Each horizontal row of plating is called a strake. Strakes are usually lettered A-B-C-D, etc., beginning with
the row next to the keel. This strake is called the garboard strake while the top strake is called the sheer strake. The
two essentials of the shell are watertightness and strength.
The flat keel of a ship is the row at the bottom of the ship extending from the bow to the stern along the centreline.
Decks, corresponding to the floors of a house, are flat sections of steel plates. The deck constructed between three
and four feet above the shell at the bottom is called the inner bottom or tank top plating, because between these
two sections of steel plates are double bottom tanks used for carrying fuel oil, water ballast etc. The transverse
vertical plates dividing these tanks into sections are called floors.
Stringers are large beams or angles fitted in various parts of the vessel to give added strength. Depending upon their
locations, stringers are known as bilge stringers, side stringers, hold stringers, etc.
Bulkheads are large partitions made of plates riveted or welded together and stiffened with angle bars, tee bars,
etc. Depending on the type of ship there are transverse, longitudinal and side bulkheads. They divide the ship into
compartments fore-and-aft, or from port to starboard, and they may run between two or more decks.

The stem is fastened to the forward end of the keel by a stem foot casting and extends up to the top of the hull at
the bow. The frames, which are the ribs of the ship, serve to give the ship its form and at the same time support and
stiffen the shell plating. They are fastened at the bottom to the outer ends of the floors by brackets and at the top to
the deck beams

The decks are supported by transverse and longitudinal members called beams and girders, used as connections and
strengthening pieces. Poop decks, with the bridge deck on the top, are connected by stairs and ladders called the
companionway. The forecastle deck is placed foremost and carries the ship’s windlasses and mooring winches. The
ship’s gangway or accommodation ladder consists of a series of steps with handrails connecting the ship with the
shore for safe embarkation and disembarkation. The stern post is the vertical member at the after end of the ship’s
hull.
Beam
A beam is a structural element that increases load bearing capability and avoid bending of the structure. Beams can
be categorized by many types but from point of ship construction, we need to categorize it through cross sectional
shape.

For example, there are L-Shaped beams, C-shaped beams, I-shaped beams and SI-shaped beams. SI shaped beams
are I-shaped beams with slight curved cross section.
Keel
First thing first. When we say “Keel of the ship”, we are referring to a steel plate. Though it can also be in the form of
steel bar but it is very rare these days.
Keel of the ship is the bottom most plate of the ship laid along the entire length of the ship.

During construction of the ship this is the first thing that is placed on the blocks. Because of this, laying the keep is
considered to be the time when construction of the ship begins.
Keel laying also has the importance with respect to many IMO conventions as this is the date construction of the ship
starts.
So keel is the steel plate with slightly more thickness than the other adjoining plates on its sides. This area need
more strengthening because the ship sits on this area on the blocks, during construction as well as during dry docks.

We can consider the keel of the ship as the backbone or spine of the ship.
Shell plating
Again when we say shell plating, we are referring to a steel plate. In this case it is too obvious from the name.
Shell plating is the steel plate used on the shell of the ship. The dictionary meaning of the shell is “hard outer
covering”. So shell plating is whatever we see on outer side of the ship.
One of the main purpose of shell plating is to provide watertight skin of the ship. Apart from that it also adds to the
longitudinal strength of the ship.
Ship construction requires us to be able to pin point each component. So when we say shell plating, it is a huge area.
We can further divide this area in two broad parts, which is
 Bottom shell plating
 Side shell plating

Bottom shell plating is the shell plating on the bottom part of the ship. Or we can can that bottom shell plating form
the watertight skin of the bottom of the ship. It is the plate laid in the horizontal direction.
To a certain extent we can say that even keel of the ship is also bottom shell plate.
Side shell plating is the shell plating on the sides of the ship that forms the watertight skin along the ship side. It is
the plate laid in the vertical direction.

Strake
To understand what strake is, we need to again understand the construction of shell plating.
is made of smaller sections of steel plates. These smaller sections of the plate are welded together.
In old days these were riveted instead of welding.
Irrespective of with what method these plates are joined together, these are placed in a certain pattern.
In naval architecture and ship construction each of these plate has an identification. These are numbered in certain
pattern. For example the plates on the side shell plating are numbered like this.
 The plates are identified by a letter and a number
 Each plate is given a letter in the vertical direction starting with A from the bottom.
 Each plate is given a number in the horizontal direction starting from aft.
Now based on these numbering system the identification of plates for the box shaped ship would look something
like this.

Each section of the plate placed in fore and aft direction is called a “strake”.

So in the above example, we have A-Strake, B-Strake and so on.

If we want to be more specific, We can say that we have starboard A-Strake , starboard B-strake and so on. Similar
naming will be on the port side.

For the bottom shell plating, similar numbering is done for the plates forming it. For the bottom shell plating

Plates are given a letter starting with “A” to the plate adjacent to the keel plate.
Plates and given a number starting from the aft
So the plate adjacent to the keel plate will have a identification of A1, A2 and so on starting with A1 from the after
most plate.

Now there are three type of strakes that you would hear in ship construction. Let us see what these are.
Shear Strake
Shear strake is the top most strake of the Side shell plating. So if side shell plating has strakes from A to K, then K-
strake is the shear strake. This is the strake that connects with the deck plating.

Shear strake is usually of higher thickness and strength than other strakes. This is because this strake can have lot of
physical damages during the life of ship.

Keel Strake
I earlier said that keel is a plate that is back bone of the ship. But keel plate is also made up of smaller sections of the
steel plates. These strake of plates that form the keel of the ship is called Keel Strake.

The plates in the keel strake are number from aft to forward starting from the aft one which has the number “1”.
Unlike other strakes, keel strakes do not have letter associated with its naming.

Garboard Strake
Garboard strake is the first strake on each side of the keel strake. As we discussed in the bottom strakes, the first
stake from the keel is named A-strake.
So we can also say that Bottom A-strake is called Garboard strake.
Now for the box shape ship, the naming of strakes might look simple but for actual ship with curved sides and flared
bottom, it might not be that simple.
The naming and construction of side and bottom shell plating is provided in the “Shell expansion plan”.
So below picture shows how shell plating and Strakes are connected with each other.
Stiffners
A steel plate of 2mm thickness can be easily bent. If you lift this plate with the crane from its ends, it will most likely
bend at the center. Now what can you do to avoid it from bending ?
One easy solution is to increase the thickness of the plate by welding two or more plates together. But in ship
construction this is not a good idea. One among many reasons for this is that we do not want to increase the light
weight of the ship.
The better option is to weld two of more flat bars either in fore and aft direction or athwartship direction.
In this case these flat bars will be called stiffners. Anything that is used solely to provide strength to a ship structure
can be called a stiffner.
A stiffner welded in longitudinal direction is called “Longitudinal stiffner”. Same way a stiffners welded in transverse
direction is simply called “transverse stiffner”.
Longitudinal stiffners and transverse stiffners can further will named according to various factors including the
amount of strength these provide to the structure.
Let us discuss few of these.

Girder
Girders are one form of longitudinal stiffners. These are
 Big size steel plate (or sometimes beams) connected to bottom of the ship
 Runs in fore and aft direction
 strengthen the ship against bending moment
Girders are also named according to its location. The girder at the center of the ship is called center girder.
In double bottom tanks, the thick solid metal plate that divides the ballast tanks into port and starboard tank is the
center girder.
Apart from the center girder, there can be few girders on each side of the ship or double bottom.
Depending upon the breadth of the ship, there can be more than one side girder on each side.
While center girder runs in full depth of the double bottom tank, side girders may or may not run in full depth.
Though below photo is not that of a ship, it is good representation of a ship’s strengthening components. If you see
in this case girder is further strengthened with something we may call “Vertical Stiffners” as there is no other specific
name for it.

Longitudinals
Longitudinal is short name for longitudinal stiffners.
In most cases the longitudinals are beams (mostly L-beams) and runs along the length of the ship. Double bottom
space is the most common space where you can easliy identify longitudinals.
Longitudinals are further named depending upon what section these longitudinals are strengthening.
In double bottom ballast tank, longitudinals strengthening the bottom are called “bottom longitudinals”.
Longitudinals strenghtening the top of the ballast tank are called “top longitudinals”.
If you have been to a double bottom tank, these longitudinals are difficult to miss. The bottom longitudinals are the
one we sometime step on to avoid stepping in the left over water (or mud) of the ballast tank.

Frames
Frames act as major transverse stiffners. Frames are
 Big size steel plate connected to bottom of the ship
 Runs in athwartship direction
 strengthen the ship against buckling and bending.
We can consider the frames to be similar to the girders but with only one difference. Frames runs in transverse
(Athwartship) direction.
If keel is the backbone of the ship, the frames are considered to be the rib cage.
Frames are numbered starting from aft perpendiculars.

Transverse
Transverse is the short name for “transverse stiffners”. These are different from frames in two ways. First unlike
frames these do not extend to full height of the compartment. Second transverse are of lesser strength and
thickness than frames.
Based on the location of transverse, these may be called “bottom transverse”, “inner bottom transverse” or even
“deck transverse”.
Stringers
In the above photo, notice how the girder is stiffned. The stiffner is welded in vertical direction. If same stiffner is
required to be welded in horizontal direction, it will be called stringer.
One of the location where stringer is mostly used is the forward part of the ship. Bow of the ship has to bear lots of
stress and so requires extra strengthening.
So among many other strengthening members, panting beams are used in this area to counter these stresses.
But even these beams need to be stiffened at the point where these connects with the side frame. Panting stringers
does this job. As I said stringers are horizontal stiffeners (parallel to the water line).
Cargo Gear
Cargo gears depend on ship’s requirements. Earlier days, when ports were not developed ships had cargo gear to
handle cargoes. Traditionally they were DERRICK (BOOM) system with few variations. Preparing gear was complex
part and needed lot of man power. Over long period Derrick system lost to “CRANE” system. Today we rarely see
Derrick system but Cranes have become very common. Cranes do have variations in designs and capacities. Smaller
and Medium size bulk carriers have crane systems to handle cargoes in smaller ports. Container feeders may have
Cranes to handle containers in smaller ports.

Derrick system:: Along with booms they have MAST system for support. Masts may be of different types like “T” or
“Goal post” or Stullken (Sort of angular). Masts may be supported by STEEL WIRE STAYS (A method to tie down top
of mast with deck).
Ship's Deck Gear
The term "ship’s gear" is used to describe that gear and equipment aboard ship that is
used for cargo transfer activities and deck operations. Ship’s gear can be divided into four
categories:
 Standing rigging.
 Running rigging.
 Deck fittings.
 Deck machinery.
STANDING RIGGING
Standing rigging gear includes the rigging that supports masts or king posts. This gear
includes the following:
Shrouds are heavy wire ropes that provide athwartship support for the mast or king
posts. Two or more shrouds are used on either side of a mast or king post. They are
secured to the outboard side of the deck or to the bulwark to provide maximum support.
Turnbuckles are internally threaded collars turning on two screws threaded in opposite
directions. They are used to secure and to take up the slack in the shrouds and stays.
Stays and Backstays are heavy wires similar to shrouds. The difference is that they will
lead in a forward or aft direction. They are found at the mast where the jumbo boom
(heavy lift boom) is located. When they support the mast from a forward direction, they
are called stays. When they support the mast from an aft (back) direction, they are called
backstays.
RUNNING RIGGING
This gear includes the moving or movable parts that are used to hoist or operate gear
(such as cargo runners, topping lifts, and guy tackles).

DECK FITTINGS
These are the devices that are used to secure standing rigging, running rigging, and mooring lines. Bitts are heavy
metal bed plates with two iron or steel posts. They are used on ships for securing mooring or towing lines. Usually
there is a set forward and after each chock. Chocks are heavy fittings secured to the deck. Lines are passed through
them to bollards on the pier. The types of chocks used are closed, open, roller, and double roller. Cleats are metal
fittings having two projecting horns. They are used for securing lines. Pad Eyes are fixtures welded to a deck or
bulkhead. They have an eye to which lines or tackle are fastened and are used for securing or handling cargo. A
bulwark is the wall around any deck exposed to the elements. This includes the weather deck, the poop deck, the
fore deck, and any deck on the superstructure. On top of the bulwark is a flat rail (or plate) called the rail. Pad eyes
and cleats are often welded to the rail.

Crane system: Cranes became popular as they do not need manpower for rigging. They are simple to operate and
can work around 3600. Cranes can handle cargoes efficiently and do not need support from masts.
DECK MACHINERY This includes the standard machinery that is found on the decks of Army watercraft. The size and
shape of the deck machinery may vary depending upon type of vessel, but the operating principles remain the same.

Cargo Winches are power-driven machines used to lift, lower, or move cargo. Winches are classified according to
their source of power. Electric winches are standard equipment on most vessels. An electric winch has a steel base
on which the winch drum, motor, gears, shafts, and brakes are mounted. The drum, which has cable wound on it, is
usually smooth with flanged ends. It revolves on a horizontal axis and is driven through single or double reduction
gears by an electric motor (usually direct current). A solenoid brake and a mechanical brake are fitted to the motor
shaft. The winch is located on deck or on a deckhouse. The winch controls consist of a master controller or switchbox
located on a pedestal at the end of the hatch square and a group of relays, contactors switches, and resistors located
near the winch motor.

Anchoring and Mooring Equipment

It consists of
Windlass: It is designed to handle anchors. Most of the time it also has attachment for handling mooring ropes.
Handling means Pulling (Heaving) or Slacking anchor chain or mooring ropes. Clutch links/delinks various drums.
Always placed on Forecastle deck where Anchors are.
The Windlass is a special type of winch used to raise and lower the anchors and to handle the forward mooring lines.
It consists of a wildcat (a steel casting in the form of a deeply grooved drum with projecting ribs [whelps]) used to
grip the anchor chain, controls for connecting or disconnecting the wildcat from the engine, and a friction brake
which can be set to stop the wildcat when disconnected. There are horizontal drums at each end of the windlass for
warping.
Mooring Winches: They are specifically designed to handle mooring ropes. They consist of Rope/Wire rope drum as
well as Warping drum. They are placed on Forecastle deck and Quarter decks.

Fairleads: These are sort of rollers for guiding ropes. They avoid chafing of ropes.

Panama leads or chocks: These are sort of strengthened holes and ropes/wire ropes are passed through them.

Pedestal fairlead: These are raised fairleads to guide rope to warping drum. Also known as “Old man” or “Dead
man”.

Bollards or Bitts: A pair of cylindrical steel pieces where mooring ropes and wires are made fast (Tied).

Great Lake leads: This is arrangement of horizontal and vertical rollers. Wire ropes are passed through them.
The Capstan is a vertically mounted winch head used aboard ship when mechanical power is required for raising
anchor, lifting heavy weights, or for any similar work. It is a cast steel drum mounted on a vertical spindle with the
largest diameters at top and bottom and the smallest in the middle to allow the rope around it to surge up or down
as the number of turns are increased. The drum is fixed to the spindle by keys.
Hatch Covers
Cargo storage spaces of any type of vessel, need to be well protected in order to preserve the cargo and prevent any
kind of spoilage. A cargo space needs to be air and water tight for conserving the cargo goods for a longer time. If
the cargo that is carried contains perishable food items, then it becomes extremely important to protect it from
moisture and adverse weather conditions, especially rain. Inability to do this not only results in spoilage of goods but
also produces chances for spreading diseases. Hatch covers come to the rescue in this situation and can be
compared to the lid on a box

Cargo Hatch Covers

Hatch covers are used to cover and protect the cargo in the cargo spaces. Hatch covers close off the hatch opening
and makes it water tight. In the days of wooden ships, the hatch covers were made of wooden planks, beams and
boards and were covered with tarpaulins. Wooden hatch covers had many drawbacks. Mainly, they used to get
spoilt due to continuous exposure to the moisture laden sea winds. Rain and sea water also used to produce
detrimental effects on the wooden hatch covers. But with the advent of steel, the wooden hatch covers started
disappearing. Nowadays, mostly steel hatch covers are used. The most common type of hatch cover used today
consists of a number of steel covers linked together. The design of a hatch cover changes according to the size and
design of the ship, but most of the designs are made to make the opening and closing of the covers as quick as
possible in order to facilitate faster cargo handing process.

Arrangement
One such type of hatch cover is a MacGregor, single pull hatch cover, shown in the figure. In this type, the hatch
cover moves on rollers attached to tracks fixed on the hatch coaming. The hatch cover is not one steel structure but
a series of steel covers linked together by chains. When the cover is opened, the individual steel covers ride up and
tip onto a stowage tank at the hatch end. Most of the hatch covers found on board a ship are controlled hydraulically
by a hydraulic power unit operated from a control box fixed near the hatch cover. Hatch covers can also be operated
with the help of a crane or a winch, though these systems are today obsolete .

Moreover, the hatch covers are made watertight, using a compressible jointing strip at the place where the cover
sits on the hatch openings. The covers are pulled down on this compressible joint strip with the help of cleats, which
can be hand or automatically operated.
Tween Deck Hatch Covers
For hatch covers that are to be fitted below the weather decks, the covers are arranged flush with the deck. A
hydraulic system consisting of a reservoir pump and a motor is mounted into the hatch covers for controlling the
opening and closing of the same. The controlling of the doors can be done from any place nearby.
Hatch covers should be properly maintained by regular inspections and periodic routine tests. The hydraulic system
of the hatch covers should be tested and the hydraulic oil level should be checked at regular interval of time.