Passing directions in such a manner is a recipe for disaster, as the captain’s left may differ from that of the person operating the steering gear. A phrase similar to that used in navigation is then used- X degrees to the port or starboard. This information is conveyed either to the captain or to an officer manning the weapon system. Although the terms port and starboard started off on-board English ships several centuries ago, they have found their way into every mariner’s life. Without them, navigation would be a nightmare, and accidents would be frequent occurrences. However, certain experiments conducted in recent times at hydrodynamic testing facilities have pointed out that specific vessels that are unsymmetrical can have better performance parameters compared to their symmetrical counterparts. In the case of unsymmetrical vessels as well, the two halves are never separately assembled. In general, most ships are symmetrical about their centerline on both sides. This has proven to be the ideal design that allows for the least resistance in moving a ship.

Port Side Pirates - Oscar Seaworthy, Debbie Harter, book Port Side Pirates - Oscar Seaworthy, Debbie Harter, book

The origin of these terms comes from the old English usage for their respective purposes. In the early days of boating, boats were steered with the aid of a steering oar at the stern, and the majority of sailors were right-handed. When facing the other vessel, if the red light is on the right and the green is on the left, the indication is that the vessel is approaching your position. These directions must be passed as X degrees to the Port or Starboard. Here, X can take values ranging from 0⁰ to 180⁰ and indicates how much the ship should turn in the relevant direction. Port and starboard are the official directions for left and right on all vessels, and this convention was laid down in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.

To do so, information can be fed into the system in the form of two parameters- the angle of change and whether the change is in the port or starboard side. Such an automated system reduces the chances of error and allows the officers to attend to more immediate duties. In nautical terms, the bow or fore lies at the forward of the ship, while the stern or aft is the rear portion. This definition of port and starboard ensures that these directions are unique irrespective of the position of the concerned party.

Port Side Pirates (Singalong) - Seaworthy, Oscar - AbeBooks Port Side Pirates (Singalong) - Seaworthy, Oscar - AbeBooks

Ships also have white lights on the masthead and stern. These, combined with the red and green lights, make it easy to identify the ship’s direction at night.Lccn 2006038845 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Old_pallet IA18109 Openlibrary_edition The terms port and starboard are used instead of left and right since port and starboard never change as they are unambiguous references that are not affected by a mariner’s orientation. Hence, these nautical terms help mariners in avoiding confusion and improve onboard safety. During such high-stressed environments, it is important that they continue to use conventional terms of navigation.

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Along with the port and starboard nautical terms, colours are also used to aid in navigation, especially during night manoeuvres. Incorrectly passing information has led to major mishaps in the past. So, although both instructions put the vessel in almost the same position, care must be taken when using them. In addition to manoeuvring, the terms port and starboard are also used to spot and convey the location of an object, mainly on warships. The ship was demarcated into two zones that defined the right and left halves irrespective of where the observer was. These zones are the port and starboard directions that are in use in modern-day maritime terms. The port side is the ship’s left side when looking forwards towards the bow of the ship. The starboard is right side of the ship when facing the bow.

This led to the left side being called the larboard, based on the corruption of the old English term for loading. However, it was common to confuse the terms larboard and starboard while sailing, as they sounded similar. Thus, larboard was later replaced by the term port. This also aided in other terminology, as it was the left-hand side that was moored to the port. One can imagine a nice bottle of port and remember the saying, “There is some red port left in the bottle”– Red Port Left. In general, 0⁰ to either side does not result in any change in direction. For instance, 90⁰ to the starboard indicates that the vessel must now proceed in a direction perpendicular to the initial direction and on the starboard side. When asked about the most common unsymmetrically designed ships, the first example that often springs to mind is that of aircraft carriers. These carriers generally have a conning tower and their superstructure on the starboard side, while a long runway is installed on the port.