Safe speed - That speed of a vessel allows time for effective action to be taken under prevailing circumstances and conditions to avoid a collision and to be stopped within an appropriate distance.
SWL - Safe working load: a maximum working load of lifting equipment that should not be exceeded
Safe working pressure - The maximum permissible pressure in cargo hoses
SAR - Search and Rescue
SART - Search and Rescue Transponder
Scene - The area or location where the event, e.g. an accident, has happened
Search pattern - A pattern according to which vessels and/or aircraft may conduct a co-ordinated search (the IMOSAR offers seven search patterns)
Search speed - The speed of searching vessels directed by the OSC
Seamark - A navigational aid placed to act as a beacon or warning
Segregation(of goods) - Separation of goods which for different reasons must not be stowed together
Shackle .1 - Length of chain cable measuring 15 fathoms
Shackle .2 - U-shaped link closed with a pin used for connecting purposes
Shifting cargo - Transverse movement of cargo, especially bulk cargo, caused by rolling or a heavy list
Slings - Ropes, nets, and any other means for handling general cargoes
Speed of advance - The speed at which a storm centre moves
Spill - The accidental escape of oil, etc., from a vessel, container, etc., into the sea
Spill control gear - Anti-pollution equipment for combating accidental spills of oils or chemicals
Spreader - step of a pilot ladder which prevents the ladder from twisting
Stand by (to) - To be in readiness or prepared to execute an order; to be readily available
Stand clear (to) Here - to keep a boat away from the vessel
Standing orders - Orders of the Master to the officer of the watch which he/she must comply with
Stand on (to) - To maintain course and speed
Station - The allotted place or the duties of each person on board
Stripping - Final pumping of tank’s residues
Survivor - A person who continues to live despite being in an extremely dangerous situation, e.g. a shipping disaster.
Take off (to) - To lift off from a vessel's deck (helicopter)
Target - The echo generated, e.g. by a vessel on a radar screen
Tension winch - A winch which applies tension to mooring lines to keep them tight
TEU - Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (standard container dimension)
Track - The path followed, or to be followed, between one position and another
Transit Here - the passage of a vessel through a canal, fairway, etc.
Transit speed - Speed of a vessel required for passage through a canal, fairway, etc.
Transhipment (of cargo) Here - the transfer of goods from one vessel to another outside harbour
Underway - Describes a vessel which is not at anchor, or made fast to the shore, or aground.
Union purchase - A method of cargo handling by combining two derricks, one of which is fixed over the hatch, the other over the ship’s side
Unlit - When the light of a buoy or a lighthouse is inoperative
UTC - Universal Time Co-ordinated (GMT)
Variable (of winds) - A wind that is constantly changing speed and direction
Veering (of winds) - Clockwise change in the direction of the wind; opposite of backing
Veer out (to)(of anchors) - To let out a greater length of cable
VHF - Very High Frequency (30-300 MHz)
Walk out (to) (of anchors) - To reverse the action of a windlass to lower the anchor until it is clear of the hawse pipe and ready for dropping.
Walk back (to) - To reverse the action of a windlass to ease the cable (of anchors)
Waypoint - A position a vessel has to pass or at which she has to alter course according to her voyage plan
Windward - The general direction from which the wind blows; opposite of leeward
Wreck - A vessel which has been destroyed, sunk or abandoned at sea
