Marine Engineering

Discover the 7 essential hull markings found on every ship. From Plimsoll lines to tug and pilot symbols, loading limits, and class compliance under IMO and SOLAS conventions.

The efficiency of a ship is determined by how well all the ship’s machinery and operating systems are maintained. To ensure such conditions are maintained, SOLAS Chapter-I Regulation-10, stipulates that all active ships in the 100A5 category must undergo a bottom survey twice every 5 years. In addition, merchant vessels older than 15 years must…

The stern can be defined as the aftmost section of a vessel. It is the backmost part of a vessel that serves a lot of functions. The stern is designed not only for the vessel’s aesthetics but plays a major role in functionality also. From the basic function of housing navigation lights to advanced hydrodynamic…

The keel of a boat is an essential part of the structure of a vessel. It keeps the vessel stable and prevents the vessel from being overturned into water. The keel of a vessel is typically found at the bottom of a vessel, mostly a fin-like structure, that rests on the seabed, progressing downwards from…

One aspect of a ship that needs additional consideration during design and construction is the hull. In the development of naval architecture, hull designs have gone from cylindrical wooden shanks to steel columns over time. To provide higher structural strength, engineers have been improving hull designs regularly. A variety of forces are working simultaneously on…

Stepped hulls are those hulls that have either a transversal or longitudinal break on the hull bottom called steps, which are designed to reduce the amount of hull surface which is in contact with water. When a normal hull runs on water, most of the underwater area is in contact with the water which creates…