Unit 11

AUXILIARY SHIPS
The great majority of ships that are neither military vessels nor yachts can be divided into several
broad categories: cargo carriers, passenger carriers, industrial ships, service vessels, and noncommercial
miscellaneous. Each category can be subdivided, with the first category containing by far the greatest
number of subdivisions.
Besides commercial ships, there are military ships which form Navy fleets and some other ships that
help activities round ports and channels, and ships specialised for certain economic or productive
activities like drill ships.
3.1. Warships.
The warships are divided according to their shape and size. They must be seaworthy and
manoeuvrable and have high speed. Some of them are: aircraft carrier, amphibious ship, corvette,
despatch ship (destroyer), destroyer, escort, fleet replenishment ship, frigate, ice patrol ship, landing
ship, mine hunter, mine layer/mine laying ship, mine sweeper, patrol vessel, submarine, support
tanker.
3.2. Service vessels
Service vessels or special duty vessels are those ships working round ports and channels designed to
do special jobs to help ships and shipping. The most important are: tugs, dredgers, icebreakers, lightships,
lifeboats and pilot launches.
a. The service ships are mostly tugs or towing vessels whose principal function is to provide
propulsive power to other vessels. Most of them serve in harbours and inland waters, and, because the
only significant weight they need carry is a propulsion plant and a limited amount of fuel, they are small
in size. The towing of massive drilling rigs for the petroleum industry and an occasional ocean salvage
operation (e.g., towing a disabled ship) demand craft larger and more seaworthy than the more common
inshore service vessels, but ocean-going tugs and towboats are small in number and in size compared to
the overwhelmingly more numerous cargo ships. They are divided into four basic types: river tugs,
harbour tugs, coastal tugs and ocean-going tugs. The characteristics of tugs are stability, manoeuvrability
and power. Tugboats range in size up to about 60 m (200 ft), and vessels of 3,000 hp are common. The
first tugboat, the Charlotte Dundas, was built in 1802 by the Scottish engineer William Symington and
was fitted with a Watt steam engine that powered a paddlewheel. By 1850 tugs had substituted screws for
paddlewheels, and by 1900 diesel power had replaced steam.
Early tugboats had steam engines; today diesel engines are used. Tugboat engines typically produce
750 to 3000 horsepower (500 to 2000 Kw), but larger boats (used in deep waters) can have power ratings
up to 25.000hp (20.000 Kw). The engines are often the same as those used in railroad engines, but
typically drive the propeller mechanically instead of converting the engine output to power electric
motors, as is common for railroad engines. For safety, tugboats engines feature two of each critical part
for redundancy.
Tugboats are highly manoeuvrable due to their propulsion units. Instead of a normal propeller, often
the so called Schottel propulsion system (azimuth thruster) or the Voith-Schneider propulsion system are
used on tugboats designed for tasks such as ship docking and marine construction. Conventional propeller
/ rudder configurations are more efficient for port-to-port towing. Thrust is sometimes enhanced by the

installation of Kort nozzles. The Kort nozzle is a sturdy cylindrical structure around a special propeller
having minimum clearance between the propeller blades and the inner wall of the Kort nozzle. The thrust:
power ratio is enhanced because the water approaches the propeller in a linear configuration and exists the
nozzle the same way.
A revolutionary new type of tugboat has been invented in the Netherlands. The so-called carrousel tug
comprises of a design wherein the flexibility and effectiveness of the tugboats manoeuvres is determined
not by the propulsion system, but by a steel construction on deck, consisting of two steel rings. The inner
ring is fixed to the ship, and the second ring rotates freely and carries a hook or winch. The ship cannot
only manoeuvre now 360 degrees independent from the seagoing ship, but due to the fact that the towing
point rotates towards the point nearest to the seagoing ship (the towline force always stays over the ships
center of Gravity), the tug cannot capsize anymore. This is considered to be the safest tugboat at the
moment. Only one prototype exists, but the first new builds are expected to sail in 2006.

b. Dredgers are necessary to remove sand and mud from the beds of channels and harbours. They are
of three main types: bucket dredger, suction dredger and grab dredger. (fig.1)
c.
Icebreaker,
vessel designed
to make or keep
open
a
navigable
passage through
ice.
Icebreakers shatter
the portion of
the ice sheet
directly ahead
of them either
by ramming the
ice
or
by
running up on
to it and letting
Fig. 1
the weight of
the ship break
through the ice
sheet; they are
heavily built to withstand the shocks involved in these processes. Icebreakers are equipped with a heavy,
usually overhanging, bow and armoured sides. These ships also normally have both forward and aft
propellers to provide greater manoeuvrability and to create suction under the ice to facilitate its breaking.
Icebreakers have mainly been used to clear channels during the winter in bodies of water such as the
Great Lakes and the Baltic Sea, but in recent years they have been increasingly used in exploration of the
Arctic and Antarctica. The former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics employed nuclear power in at least
one icebreaker used in Arctic waters. In 1969 the oil tanker SS Manhattan was converted into an
icebreaker and became the first commercial ship to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to northern Alaska via
the frozen North West Passage.

d. Lightships look like ordinary ships but they do not have engines, because they are towed into
position and then anchored there. They have a light, a foghorn, a radio beacon and meteorological
equipment. Lights used may vary in power from 10 candlepower to 28 million candlepower, depending
on the importance of the traffic they serve, customary weather conditions, and the requirements of
visibility. In areas where it is impractical to construct buildings to house a beacon, lightships and lighted
buoys are often used.
The first American lightships were built with wooden hulls. They replaced the early beacon boats,
small, undecked craft apparently built for sheltered waters. Joseph Hill, the probable builder of the sloop
Discovery, originally a bacon boat, described her in 1821 as a 26.2 by 9.8 by 3.9-foot, 8-16/95-ton vessel
with a square stern, built around 1791. In 1821, Hill noted that the vessel was fitted with a single mast and
deck, apparently installed after she was sold by the government condemned as not fit for service. The
beacon boats were unmanned, securely moored vessels that served as large buoys. The first manned
lightship was authorized by Congress in 1819 and built in 1820 by John Pool in Hampton, Virginia. The
specifications called for a 70-ton vessel, cooper fastened and sheated, with berths for four men, a galley, a
capstan belfry, spars, and a yawl boat with davits. The hull design of these early vessels did not differ
from that of standard merchant vessels.
The installation of diesel-electric plants in lightships was considered by marine engineers happened in
1913. The modern lightships, built between 1926 and 1938, embodied the changes wrought by direct
diesel-electric technology. Older lightships were modified with diesel and diesel-electric engines and
more modern electrical systems, but at the same time a number of ships were built with the new
technology. Thus the first class of lightships built in the 20th century with riveted steel hulls and massive
steam engines were eventually all re-engined save one or replaced by lightships, with diesel-electric
propulsion, diaphone air horns, 1000-watt electric lights in 375-mm lenses, and a reduced tonnage (with
the installation of less heavy diesels) meaning less resistance to the sea and hence less battering.
e. Lifeboat, strong boat designed for rescuing shipwrecked people or people abandoning ship, carried
on ocean-going vessels or maintained at onshore stations. The essential features of a lifeboat are extreme
buoyancy and stability, a self-bailing capability, and the ability to progress in the stormiest waters and to
be self-righting when capsized. Lifeboats are propelled by oars or motors. Rescue lifeboats are now
almost universally diesel-powered.
f. Pilot launches are motorboats for transporting pilots to and from ships. They must be seaworthy as
pilots go out in all types of weather.
Other types of service vessels are barges, trawlers and drill ships.
Barge is a flat-bottomed cargo or passenger vessel, sturdily built to transport cargo on rivers or canals.
History Sailing barges were once common in the Thames estuary and further upstream; these could be
quite large, especially those for use downstream, and could be of 100 tonnes capacity or more. On other
rivers similar craft might be used, such as the Severn, a sailing barge that could weigh 70 tonnes. Horses
were also used to tow barges before the development of steam engines and internal-combustion engines
during the Industrial Revolution. The growth of canals throughout Britain and Ireland in the 18th and 19th
centuries widened the scope for barge transport. A great variety of cargoes were carried, as water was a
better means of conveying bulky loads than roads. During the Industrial Revolution, canals formed a new,
vital transport network and coal, the driving force behind industrial development, became particularly

important as a cargo. The canal age in Britain began with the construction of the Bridgewater Canal,
under the direction of James Brindley. Completed in 1765, its purpose was to move coal the 12-km (70mi) distance from the Duke of Bridgewaters mines at Worsley to Manchester. The wooden barges used
on the canal provided the dimensions of the narrow boats employed on an extensive canal system, until
the growth of the railways from the 1840s onward put an end to the great period of canal-building.
Powered barges have long since replaced sail-driven or horse-drawn barges. As with the deep-sea cargo
trade, steam power arrived in the 1860s. Diesel engines appeared in about 1910, along with metal boats,
and are now generally used, usually being located at the stern of the barge. From the early 19th century it
was common for the bargees and their families to live aboard their barges, the living accommodation
usually being in the stern and the cargo space amidships.
Barges in Use Today. Specialised barges have been developed for particular traffic-for example,
tanker barges for transporting fuel oil in bulk-and are used on the worlds principal waterways. On most
large canals, barges are pushed or pulled by tugboats and towboats; one towboat may pull as many as 40
barges lashed together. There are also unpowered barges (sometimes called dumb barges), several of
which can be propelled by a single tugboat. Modern open-hopper barges carry coal, gravel, and large
equipment; covered dry-cargo barges are used for grain and dry chemicals; tank barges carry oil and
liquid chemicals. On some European canals, barges are towed in trains of two or more by petrol- or
diesel-powered tractors running on a towpath beside the canal. (fig. 2)
1. elevator platform
(can be submerged

space between barge

to load/unload

receiving blocks)

barges using a
pusher tug)
2. twin catamaran type
cantilevers (delimit
the open load bay,
or dock, of the barge
carrier)
3. loading control
room
4. lift winch system
5.

platform rails in the

barge transporter
(moves along the
deck and on elevator

6. barge (entering

10. raised superstructure

(spanning the
weather deck to

tweendeck)

allow barge

7. railed cross(ing)

movements

beams (can be
lowered to give the
barge transporter

underneath)
11. accommodation
deck

direct access on the

12. tube-protected shaft

cargo deck)

13. watertight stern door

8. barges (stowed on
weather deck)
9. funnels (placed at
the sides)

Trawlers are used for fishing and they have special equipment. (fig. 3)

1. fishing lights

11. D.F. aerial

20. otter boards

2. navigation light

12. VHF aerial

21. chafing ribs

3. jumper stay

13. radio receiver whip

22. propeller

4. breakwater

antenna

23. nozzle

5. runner

14. floodlight

24. fishing winch

6. hatch covers

15. fishing bridge

25. engine room

7. wheelhouse

16. inflatable life raft

26. galley

8. compass

17. trawl reels

27. mess room

9. radar scanner

18. cod end lifting

28. fish hold

10. Decca whip

antenna

block
19. stern gantry

Drill ships are used for drilling holes into the water of seas and oceans to extract petrol (fig. 4).

1.

2.
3.
4.

main propulsion
controllable
pitch (CP)
propellers
after CP
thrusters
forward CP
thrusters
main generating
sets

5.

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

propulsion
reduction gear
main motors
mud pumps
decompression
chamber
diving bell
mud hoppers
pipe handling
system

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

drilling
platform
mud processing
plant
drilling control
center
drilling derrick
pipe storage
area
control centre

TASK 1 Reading comprehension

1. Complete the table below with the auxiliary ships you know and insert their main characteristcs
Ship type
Characteristics
TUG
small boats, seaworthy, powerful diesel engines, ..........

warship ~ nav de lupt

3.3. Vocabulary
aircraft carrier ~ portavion

amphibious ship ~ nav amfibie

corvette ~ corvet

despatch ship (destroyer) ~ distrugtor

destroyer ~ distrugtor

escort ship ~ escortor

fleet replenishment ship ~ nav de

alimentare

frigate ~ fregat

ice patrol ship ~ nav de supraveghere

landing ship ~ nav de debarcare

mine hunter ~ vantor de mine

mine layer/mine laying ship ~ puitor de

mine

mine sweeper ~ dragor de mine

patrol vessel ~ nav de patrulare

submarine ~ submarin

support tanker ~ petrolier logistic

service vessel ~ nav special

special duty vessel ~ nav auxiliar

tug ~ remorcher

dredger ~ draga
lightship ~ nav far
pilot launch ~ pilotin
drilling rig ~ platform de foraj
harbour tug ~ remorcher de port
ocean-going tug ~ remorcher de larg
bucket dredger ~ drag cu cupe
grab dredger ~ drag cu graifr
to tow ~ a remorca
radio beacon ~ radiofar

icebreaker ~ sprgtor de ghea

lifeboat ~ barc de salvare
propulsive power ~ putere de propulsie
river tug ~ remorcher fluvial
coastal tug ~ remorcher de coast
paddlewheel ~ roat cu zbaturi
suction dredger ~ drag de absorbie
armoured sides ~ borduri blindate
foghorn ~ siren de ceat
meteorological equipment ~ echipament
meteo
buoyancy ~ flotabilitate
stability ~ stabilitate
self-bailing capability ~ autoevacuare a oar ~ ram, vsl
apei
barge ~ barj, lep
trawler ~ pescador
drill ship ~ nav de foraj
upstream ~ amonte
bargees ~ cei care locuiesc pe lep
downstream ~ aval
TASK 2. Use the vocabulary to translate the paragraph about lightships.

3.4. Terms related to ships hull and ships dimensions

A bulwark is an extension of the hull plating which rises above the top of the upper deck. Bulwarks
act as a barrier against the force of the waves. Along the edge of the remainder of the upper deck,
especially amidships, you will find a line of guardrails. These are made up of vertical posts called guard
stanchions, which are linked together by either wires or tubes. These protect the passengers and crew
from falling overboard.
The maximum breadth or extreme breadth is the width of the ship at its widest part, including any
protruding parts. The beam of the ship is the width of the ship (over the plating) taken at any position
along the length. It has the same figure as the registered breadth. Overall length is the length of the hull
and is the distance between the stern and the bow of the ship. Registered length is the dimension
registered at the upper deck level and length between perpendiculars is measured to the water line. The

depth of the hull below the water line at any point depends on its size, shape and how heavily loaded it is,
and it is called the draught or draft. The distance from the waterline to the side of the upper deck at its
lowest point is the freeboard. The depth of the cargo space is called registered depth. The height of a
ship is the dimension from the highest part (including the arial) to the water line. The line marked like an
eye is called the Plimsoll line and is important for the safety of the ship. A ship that was overloaded
might become unstable and sink. To stop that from happening there are very strict laws governing the
loading of ships.
bulwark ~ spargeval de punte
guard stanchion ~ baston de balustrad
maximum breadth or extreme breadth ~ lime maxim
registered breadth ~ lime de registru
overall length ~ lungime maxim
registered length ~ lungime de registru
length between perpendiculars ~ lungime ntre perpendiculare
water line ~ linia de plutire
draught or draft ~ pescaj
freeboard ~ bord liber
registered depth ~ adncime de registru
height ~ nlime
Plimsoll line ~ marc de bord liber
TASK 3 Reading comprehension.
1. What is the bulwark?
2. How do you measure the freeboard?
3. What do you understand by Plimsoll line

3.5. List of ship types

Air cushion vessel

Drill ship

LPG tanker

Anchor handling tug

supply vessel

Dry bulk carrier

Merchant ship

Dynamic position drill

ship

Methane carrier

Asphalt tanker

Motor ship (MS)

Banana carrier

Dynamically-supported
craft

Motor vessel (MV)

Fast ferry

Multihull vessel

Feeder

Multi-purpose cargo
vessel

Barge
Barge-carrier
Bucket dredger
Ferry
Bulk carrier
Fire boat

Multi-purpose survey
vessel

Fishing vessel

Ocean survey vessel

Float-on/float-off vessel
(Fo-Fo)

Ocean-going vessel

Bulk/ore carrier
Cable-layer
Car carrier

Oil tanker
Cargo vessel
Carrier
Catamaran

Floating production,
storage and off-loading
unit

Open hatch carrier

Ore carrier

Chemical tanker

Floating storage unit

(FSU)

Coastal lifeboat

Freighter

Coaster

Full ro-ro ship

Collier

Gas tanker

Passenger car ferry

Combination carrier

General cargo ship

Passeur liner

Container bulk carrier

(CONBULKER)

Ore/bulk/oil carrier
(OBO)
Ore/oil carrier (O/O)
Parcel tanker

Passenger vessel

Container ship

Heavy-lift vessel

Container carrier

Hovercraft

Patrol boat
Pilot boat

Craft

Hydrofoil

Pipe layer

Cross-channel

Ice-breaker

Planing hull vessel

Cross-river

LASH carrier (lighter

aboard ship

Product tanker

Crude carrier
Launch (boat)
Cruiser liner
Cutter dredger

Lift-on/lift-off vessel (LoLo)

Diving support ship

Light vessel

Salvage tug
Short-sea trader
Shuttle tanker
Single hull vessel
Small water plane area
twin hull (SWATH)

Pure car carrier (PCC)

Reefer ship
Roll-on/roll-off vessel
(Ro-Ro)

Lighter

Ro-ro container carrier

(CONRO)

Lighthouse tender

Sailing ship

Lightship

Tug

LNG tanker

Turbine vessel (TV)

Supply vessel
Support vessel

Twin hull vessel

Stand-by safety vessel

Surface effect ship (SES)

Twin screw steamer

(TSS)

Tanker

Watchdog

Tender

Wave piercer catamaran

Trader

Wine tanker

Train ferry

Whale boat

Training ship

Yacht

Steam ship (SS)

Suction dredger

Tramp ship

3.6. Prefixes
Prefixes are groups of letters put at the beginning of words to alter their meaning in a certain way. The
more common prefixes are used to give adjectives, verbs and nouns a negative meaning. Here are
negative prefixes and the rules for using them with words, according to the letter these words begin with.

un- used with adjectives: unhappy; untidy;

used with verbs: unbend; undo; unload; unlock;
im- is used before words beginning with m or p: immature; impolite; impatient; improbable;
il- is used before words beginning with l: illegible; illegal;
ir- is used before words beginning with r: irresponsible; irreplaceable; irreversible;
dis- is used before adjectives and verbs: dishonest; disconnect; disqualify;
in- is used before a limited number of words: invisible;
over- is used before verbs and the meaning is too much: overdo; overwork; overheat;
mis- is used before verbs and the meaning is badly or incorrectly: misunderstand; mistranslate;
misinform;
semi- the meaning is half: semicircular; semi-final; semi-detached;
sub- the meaning is under: submarine; subdivision;
under- the meaning is not enough: under worked; underused.
TASK 4 Prefix exercises
Exercise 1 Use a prefix from the left and a word from the right and complete the sentences below:
un-

in-

ir-

possible

friendly

regular

legible

patient

im-

il-

dis-

correct

honest

visible

employed

responsible

1. Nobody at the party talked to us they were very _________________.

2. I cant read this at all; handwriting is completely ________________.
3. Its a very depressed area and almost 20% of young adults are
____________.
4. You cant see where my jacket was mended. The repair is completely
_____________.
5. I find it very hard to remember the past tense of lots of _____________
verbs.
6. Bobs so ______________ that hes just not prepared to wait for the right

opportunity.
7. It was very _____________ to go out and leave those two children alone.
8. It says here _____________ we lost 300 last week, but these figures must
be ______________. Check them again, Sue!
9. His brother steals money and tells lies hes very _____________.
10. She says it cant be done, but I dont accept that. Nothing is _____________.

Exercise 2 Replaced the underlined words and phrases with a word of the same meaning which begins
with the prefix given.
Example: That child looks very sad. unhappy
1. Im sure thats against the law. il______
2. The doctor told me to take off my clothes. un_______
3. We dont have the same opinion about this. dis________
4. His room is always in a mess. un________
5. Im afraid she doesnt like onions. dis________
6. That was very rude, wasnt it? im_________

Exercise 3 Match the prefixes in the box with the meanings below. (There are two prefixes for one
meaning)
mis-

un-

over-

re-

dis-

1. do something again
2. do something badly or incorrectly
3. reverse an action
4. do something too much
Exercise 4 Complete the sentences with a suitable verb, using a prefix from exercise 3.

Example: If she fails her exam, she can retake it in the autumn.

take

pack

do

open

lock sleep understand appear

hear

1. I wrote the wrong answer because I __________ the question.

2. When I __________ I feel even more tired when I wake up.
3. I got to the hotel at 4.00 but I couldnt _________ my stuff until later.
4. I turned left instead of right. Obviously I ________ what she said.
5. Its closed for the summer, but it will _________ in September.
6. The children were here a minute ago, but now theyve _________.
7. John had a key but it wouldnt _________ the door.
8. A: It says here 3, but the man asked me for 5.
B: In that case he has __________ you.
9. Do you think I can __________ my homework if its not very good?

charge