English Maritime Terminology on Ship and Cargo Handling

Survey Ships

Survey vessels are specialized ships equipped with advanced technology to collect data about the marine environment. This data is crucial for a variety of purposes, including navigation, offshore resource exploration, marine scientific research, and environmental monitoring.

Types of Survey Vessels:

• Hydrographic Survey Vessels: These vessels are primarily used to collect data on seabed topography, water depth, and ocean currents.
• Geophysical Survey Vessels: These vessels use advanced seismic and magnetic equipment to study the Earth's subsurface.
• Oceanographic Research Vessels: These vessels are equipped with a wide range of scientific instruments to study various aspects of the marine environment, including biology, chemistry, and physics.

Key Characteristics

Advanced Sonar Systems:

• Multibeam Echo Sounders: These systems emit sound waves in a fan-shaped pattern, providing detailed bathymetric data of the seabed.
• Side-Scan Sonar: This technology produces high-resolution images of the seabed, revealing underwater features such as wrecks, pipelines, and geological formations.
• Sub-Bottom Profilers: These systems penetrate the seabed to reveal subsurface layers and geological structures.

Precise Positioning Systems:

• Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS): This system provides highly accurate positioning data, essential for precise survey operations.
• Inertial Navigation Systems (INS): These systems use a combination of gyroscopes and accelerometers to track the vessel's position and orientation, even in areas with poor GPS coverage.

Hydrographic Equipment:

• Current Meters: These devices measure the speed and direction of ocean currents.
• Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) Sensors: These instruments measure the conductivity, temperature, and depth of seawater, providing valuable information about water properties.
• Water Sampling Systems: These systems collect water samples for analysis of chemical, biological, and physical parameters.

Scientific Laboratories:

• Wet Laboratories: These laboratories are equipped with facilities for processing water samples and marine organisms.
• Dry Laboratories: These laboratories are used for data analysis, computer modeling, and other scientific research activities.

Deck Equipment:

• A-Frames and Winches: These systems are used to deploy and retrieve scientific instruments, such as CTD sensors and sediment cores.
• Moon Pools: These openings in the hull provide access to the water for deploying and retrieving underwater equipment.