Glossary of Marine Terms
C
camber
the upward slope of a vessel’s deck, occurring when the centerline is higher than the gunwale.
camela
pontoon used to fender between a vessel and a wharf.
capstana
hand or machine powered, vertical, spindle-mounted drum which rotates and pulls lines by winding.
carbon steel
steel is classified as carbon steel when no minimum content is specified or required for aluminum, boron, chromium, cobalt, columbium, molybdenum, nickel, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, or zirconium, or any other element added to obtain a desired alloy effect; when the specified minimum for copper does not exceed .40% or when the maximum content specified for manganese does not exceed 1.650/0; silicon .600/0; copper .60%.
carburizing
see heat treating definitions
CERCLA
is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986.
certification
the act of attesting that a vessel has met specific legal requirements by the issuance of various certificates or validation of documents by certain governmental or private agencies.
channel
that portion of a waterway which is naturally or artificially deepened to permit safe navigation within certain limits.
charpy test
a pendulum-type single-blow impact test in which the specimen, usually notched, is supported at both ends as a simple beam and broken by a falling pendulum of given weight. the energy absorbed, as determined by the subsequent rise of the pendulum, is a measure of impact strength or notch toughness and is a measurement in foot-pounds. the test specimen is 2” or 2.165” long, .394” square and has a key hole type notch in the center made by centering a no. 47 drill .160” from one side and sawing through the hole.
chemical agents
means those elements, compounds, or mixtures that coagulate, disperse, dissolve, emulsify, foam, neutralize, precipitate, reduce, solubilize, oxidize, concentrate, congeal, entrap, fix, make the pollutant mass more rigid or viscous, or otherwise facilitate the mitigation of deleterious effects or the removal of the oil pollutant from the water. Chemical agents include biological additives, dispersants, sinking agents, miscellaneous oil spill control agents, and burning agents, but do not include solvents.
chock
a heavy metal casting through which lines may pass for mooring or towing.
CIF
Cost, Insurance, and Freight; cost of transportation and insurance to be paid by the seller of goods to the named point of destination.
claim in the case of a discharge under CWA
means a request, made in writing for a sum certain, for compensation for damages or removal costs resulting from an incident.
claimant as defined by section 1001 of the OPA
means any person or government who presents a claim for compensation under Title I of the OPA.
classification
the certification process as administered by certain international agencies whereby a vessel is designed, constructed, and maintained to an agency’s requirements.
clean natural seawater
means that the source of this seawater must not be heavily contaminated with industrial or other types of effluent.
cleat
a metal fitting with two projecting horns around which a rope may be made fast. (See kevel.)
clip
a small steel bracket used for securing or reinforcing.
coaming
a watertight, raised framework around an opening in the deck of a vessel.
Coast Guard District Response Group (DRG)
as provided for by CWA sections 311(a)(20) and (j)(3), means the entity established by the Secretary of the department in which the USCG is operating within each USCG district & shall consist of: the combined USCG personnel & equipment, including firefighting equipment, of each port within the district; additional prepositioned response equipment; & a district response advisory team.
coastal waters
for the purpose of classifying the size of discharges, means the waters of the coastal zone except for the Great Lakes and specified ports and harbors on inland rivers.
coastal zone
as defined for the purpose of the NCP, means all United States waters subject to the tide, United States waters of the Great Lakes, specified ports and harbors on inland rivers, waters of the contiguous zone, other waters of the high seas subject to the NCP, and the land surface or land substrata, ground waters, and ambient air proximal to those waters. The term coastal zone delineates an area of federal responsibility for response action. Precise boundaries are determined by EPA/USCG agreements and identified in federal regional contingency plans.
cofferdam
the space in a vessel between two closely located parallel bulkheads.
coils
a system of small diameter pipes installed inside a liquid cargo tank for the purpose of heating the cargo by means of hot oil or steam.
cold drawing
this is a process for finishing a hot rolled rod or bar at room temperature by pulling it through the hole of a die of the same shape but smaller in size. the bars or rods are cleaned of scale by pickling or other methods prior to cold drawing and then coated with lime which aids as a lubricant in the drawing operation.
cold finishing
the cold finishing of steel, generally used for bars and shafting, may be defined as the process of reducing their cross sectional area, without heating, by one of five methods: 1. cold rolling 2. cold drawing 3. cold drawing and grinding 4. turning and polishing 5. turning and grinding
cold rolling
the cold working of hot rolled material by passing it between power driven rolls. the process is generally used for flat bars of such a size that they cannot be pulled through a die and for the production of cold rolled sheets by cold reducing hot rolled and pickled sheets. whereas wire and sheets are cold drawn and cold rolled continuously from coil, bars are individually cold drawn.
cold working
plastic deformation of a metal at a temperature low enough to insure strain hardening.
common carrier
a federally licensed company which offers to the general public, under published tariffs, to engage in the interstate or foreign transportation of commodities of various types.
compartment
an interior space of a vessel’s hull which is formed by bulkheads.
contiguous zone
means the zone of the high seas, established by the United States under Article 24 of the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone, which is contiguous to the territorial sea and which extends nine miles seaward from the outer limit of the territorial sea.
contract carrier
a federally licensed company which offers, under individual contracts, to engage in interstate or foreign transportation of commodities of various types.
core
the center portion of a piece of steel which may be of different chemical composition than the outside, as in the case of carburized parts or which may have different mechanical properties than the outside due to the failure of penetration of heat treatment effect.
