The Mariner’s Lexicon: Key Terms for Professional Seafarers

The maritime industry is truly a global business, spanning to every corner of the world, employing hundreds nationalities. What brings all of these unique individuals together is the common tongue of the sea. Developed over the course of many hundreds of years, today professional seafarers communicate with one another in a language that, to the outsider, might seem odd and at times, surely incomprehensible! It is an unfortunate truth that to be a successful seafarer, it is vital to learn this language and to recognise the subtleties that lies within it. This lexicon contains key terms that are most commonly used by professional seafarers throughout their normal working days. It is an amalgamation of words and terms that have evolved from both American and British English. Some words are shared and others are interchangeable. Some are unique to American speakers and vice versa. The purpose of this lexicon is to provide professional seafarers with single point of reference for the most common terms used in shipping and the wider global logistics industry. Though extensive, it is by no means complete. It is my intention for the lexicon to evolve in the same way as the language of the sea evolves.