Glossary of Marine Terms
A
 ABS
American Bureau of Shipping; a vessel classification agency which also assigns international loadlines.
activation
means notification by telephone or other expeditious manner or, when required, the assembly of some or all appropriate members of the RRT or NRT.
age hardening
precipitation hardening; a process of aging that increases hardness and strength and ordinarily decreases ductility. age hardening usually follows rapid cooling from solution heat treatment temperatures or cold working.
aging
a change in properties of an aluminum alloy that generally occurs slowly at atmospheric temperatures and more rapidly at higher temperatures.
AHP
Above Head of Passes; used with mileage designations on the Mississippi River, the Head of Passes being mile zero.
AIWW
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
alloy
the mixture of any element with a pure metal. however, there are several elements regularly occurring in plain carbon steel as manufactured, such as carbon, manganese, silicon, phosphorous, sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. plain carbon steel is therefore an alloy of iron and carbon and these other elements are incidental to its manufacture. steel does not become alloy steel until these elements are increased beyond their regular composition for a specific purpose, or until other metals are added in significant amounts for a specific purpose.
alloy steel
steel is considered to be alloy steel when the maximum of the range given for the content of alloying elements exceeds one or more of the following limits: manganese 1.650/0, silicon,.60%, copper,.600/0, or in which a definite range or a definite minimum quantity of any of the following elements is specified or required within the limits of the recognized field of constructional alloy. steels: aluminum, chromium up to 3.9~, cobalt, columbium, molybdenum, nickel, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, zirconium, or any other alloying element added to obtain a desired alloying effect.
anchora
heavy object of steel or iron attached to a vessel by a cable and/or chain and cast overboard to keep the vessel in place, either by its weight or by its flukes gripping the bottom.
annealing
see heat treating definitions.
anodes
metallic plates which, when attached to the hull of a vessel,
decompose because of electrolysis, thereby reducing deterioration of hull plate.
Area Committee (AC)
as provided for by CWA sections 311(a)(18) and (j)(4), means the entity appointed by the President consisting of members from qualified personnel of federal, state, and local agencies with responsibilities that include preparing an area contingency plan for an area designated by the President.
Area contingency plan (ACP)
as defined by CWA sections 311(a)(19) and (j)(4) means the plan prepared by an Area Committee that is developed to be implemented in conjunction with the NCP and RCP, in part to address removal of a worst case discharge and to mitigate or prevent a substantial threat of such a discharge from a vessel, offshore facility, or onshore facility operating in or near an area designated by the President.
athwartship
transverse or across a vessel from side to side.
Automated Identification System (AIS)
an electronic instrument placed on regulated powered vessels to automatically provide their identity, location and other navigational data to a central receiving base to facilitate navigational control and safety.
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