I. Ships, Size and Shape
Ship or Boat?
Tonnage - A Sea of Confusion Made Clear
Why Is It Called a Bridge?
Why Do Most Ships Have Their Bridge at the Stern?
Why Do Ships Have a Flat Bottom?
Why Are Ships Designed to Bend?
Why Don't Ships Tip Over?
From Single Hulls to Double Hulls
Why Are Ships Painted Red Below the Waterline?
Why Don't Metal Ships Rust Away?
II. Finding Your Way at Sea
Celestial Navigation
The Longitude Problem
Datums - The Invisible Foundation of Safe Navigation
WGS84 and Map Projections
Why Don't Ships Go Straight?
How Does GPS Work?
GNSS Antennas
Why Do Ships Use UTC?
Why Do We Use Nautical Miles and Knots?
GNSS Jamming and Spoofing
III. The Modern Bridge
Magnetic Compass Binnacles and Kelvin's Balls
Gyrocompasses
How a Fibre Optic Gyro Works
How Does Radar Work?
Radar Trails and Vectors
AIS - How Ships Introduce Themselves
AIS Spoofing
How ECDIS Became Essential
Why Do We Need an Echo Sounder?
Why Do Ships Still Need Speed Logs?
Autopilots
Integrated Bridge Systems
Power and Redundancy on the Bridge
Alarm Fatigue
S-100 - The Next Chapter of Digital Navigation
IV. Rules, Signals and Collision Avoidance
Why Ships Don't Have Headlights
COLREGs - The Rules of the Road at Sea
Traffic Separation Schemes
The International Code of Signals
What Are Elephant Ears on a Ship?
GMDSS
What Is a VDR?
How Ships Actually Talk
V. Weather, Motion and Seamanship
Weather and the Voyage
Waves and Swell
How Rolling Can Become Dangerous
Electronic Inclinometers
Why Can't Ships Reverse Around Corners?
Why Do Huge Ships Need Tiny Tugboats?
How Can a Small Anchor Hold a Massive Ship?
Why Do Ships Carry Less Cargo in Winter?
Expedition Navigation in Uncertain Waters
VI. Cargo, Trade and Global Shipping
Containers - The Unsung Heroes of Global Trade
From 500 Boxes to 24,000
Why Don't Containers Fall Off Ships?
What Happens to Containers Lost at Sea?
How Does a Container Terminal Work?
Who Actually Owns a Ship?
Why Are Most Ships Built in China?
The Panama Canal
Slow Steaming
Why Do Ships Sometimes Sail in Circles?
VII. Propulsion, Energy and Future Fuels
What Powers a Ship?
Why Are Four Propeller Blades Better Than Three?
The Voith Schneider Propeller
The Bulbous Bow
How Can Bubbles Help a Ship Save Fuel?
The Propeller That Tries Not to Help
Why Ships Use Shaft Generators
Why Do LNG Carriers Have Those Giant Bumps?
The Colourful Future of Marine Fuels
EU ETS and FuelEU Maritime
VIII. Safety, Governance and Maritime Projects
Why Do Ships Have a National Flag?
Who Checks Whether Ships Follow the Rules?
Why Do We Have Class Societies?
The Story of the IMO Number
IACS UR E26 and E27
Why Do Ships Carry Ballast Water?
Why Is Fire One of the Greatest Dangers at Sea?
Lifeboats
Pilot Transfers and Rope Ladders
How Do Ships Stay Connected?
How to Read Cryptic Ship Specifications
Navigating the Acronym Seas
Glossary
About the Author