Papaleonidas,  

P.  (2018).  IMO  Standard  Marine  Communication  

Phrases.  Maritime  English  Volume  I. (pp.  16-­‐32). Athens:  
Eugenide Foundation.  
The  condition  the  ship  is  in
Pull  the   Tighten  the   Pull  the  strings  
lifejacket  over   strings  well. around  your  waist  
your  head.   and  tie  in  front.
Helmsman
Helm
Hold
Rapidly

Heading

Swing
Steer
 Port  five

Ease to ten
Midships
Nothing to starboard

Hard-­‐a-­‐port
Starboard fifteen
Meet her
Starboard ten
Steady as  she goes
 Midships

Meet her

Steady

Ease her

Steady as  she goes

Lat  12°  45.5  ́  N,  Long  044°  57  ́  E. 14  knots  
0715 hrs UTC.   8.5  meters
True  course  is  027°
Capsized

Moored
Adrift
Derelict
Wreck
NUC

Disabled
Underway

Hampered
Maritime Distress and Safety System
Working Load

Point  of  Approach

Position Indicating Radio Beacon

Time  of  Arrival
Coordination Center
Traffic Service

Separation Scheme
 points alert
Move party
exercise station
area call
orders pattern

signal cargo
v The  four cardinal  directions,  or cardinal  points,  are  the  four  
main compass directions: north, east, south,  and west,  commonly  denoted  by  
their  initials  N,  E,  S,  and  W  respectively.
The ordinal  directions (also  called  the intercardinal directions)  are  northeast  
(NE),  southeast  (SE),  southwest  (SW),  and  northwest  (NW).

v Rig  move:  The  movement  of  an  oil  rig,  drilling  platform,  etc.,  from  one  
position  to  another.

v Ordnance  exercise:  Naval  firing  practice.  

v Restricted  area:  A  deck,  space,  area,  etc.,  not  permitted  to  be  entered  for  
safety  reasons.
v Standing  orders:  Orders  of  the  Master  to  the  officers  of  the  watch  which  
s/he  must  comply  with.
v Retreat  signal:  Sound,  visual  or  other  signal  to  a  team  ordering  it  to  return  
to  its  base.

v Distress  alert  (GMDSS):  A  radio  signal  from  a  distressed  vessel  

automatically  directed  to  a  RCC  giving  position,  identification,  course  and  
speed  of  the  vessel  as  well  as  the  nature  of  distress.

Fire  party: a  component  of  the  ship’s  DC  organization.  The  minimum fire  party  
should  consist  of  sufficient  personnel to  perform  the  functions  required  for  
a   particular   condition.
Fire  parties  organization:
In  an  emergency  situation  on  a  vessel,  a  well-­‐organized  emergency  response  
plan  (ERP)  must  go  into  immediate  action,  to  minimize  the  effect  of  that  
emergency.  Following  are  the  prime  features  of  effective  ERP:
• To  make  sure  that  there  are  no  risks/dangers  to  crew  lives  at  sea
• Timely  response  to  an  alarm
• Facilitating  an  efficient  way  of  communication  between  different  fire  
parties/teams  and  command  team.
v Lifeboat  station: Place  assigned  to  crew  and  passengers  where  they  have  to  
meet  before  they  are  ordered  to  enter  the  lifeboats.

v Roll  call: The  act  of  checking  who  of  the  passengers  and  crew  members  are  
present,  e.g.  At  assembly  stations,  by  reading  aloud  a  list  of  their  names.

v Search  pattern:  procedures  carried  out  on  or  over  the  surface  of  a  body  of  
water  with  the  purpose  of  finding  lost  vessels,  persons,  or  floating  objects,  
which  may  use  one  or  more  of  a  variety  of search  patterns depending  on  the  
target  of  the  search,  as  the  direction  and  rate  of  drift   vary  depending  on  the  
characteristics  of  the  target  and  the  water  and  weather  conditions  at  the  
time.

v Shifting  Cargo/  Cargo  shift:   typically  occurs  on  vessels  transporting  cargo  
that  normally  settles  during  transit,  such  as  food  products  and  raw  
construction  materials.  As  this  cargo  settles,  it  can  shift  with  the  movement  
of  the  vessel,  creating  a  hazard  for  workers  near  the  cargo.