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Modern professions · maritime English

Maritime English: ship and crew

Bow, stern, starboard, bridge, Chief Officer — 20 words maritime English starts with. With phonetics, audio, simple explanations and examples from life on board. Free, for seafarers and cadets.

  • 20 words
  • Audio and phonetics
  • Ship parts and ranks
  • 3 exercises
  • Free
To the wordsPractice

Where to start with maritime English

English is the working language at sea: orders, reports, documents and radio. The parts of a ship (bow, stern, port, starboard) and the ranks come first, because they’re in every order: “Chief Officer to the bridge.”

These words appear in Marlins and CES tests, in crewing-agency interviews and every day on board. Test yourself with our maritime English practice test.

Ship and crew

Parts of a ship, rooms and ranks on board. Tap to hear.

Speed
  1. the front of a ship
  2. the back of a ship
  3. the left side when facing the bow
  4. the right side when facing the bow
  5. the room from which the ship is steered
  6. a floor of a ship
  7. the main body of a ship
  8. the space below deck for cargo
  9. where the ship’s engines are
  10. a ship’s kitchen
  11. a heavy object that holds a ship in place
  12. a rope that ties a ship to the shore
  13. the walkway between a ship and the shore
  14. the captain of a merchant ship
  15. the second in command on a ship
  16. the head of the engine department
  17. the senior deck crew member
  18. an experienced deck crew member (AB)
  19. a trainee officer
  20. the people who work on a ship

Practice: test yourself

10 words from the list per round. After every answer you hear the word and the right option lights up.

Choose an exercise

How to remember maritime words

  • Port and starboard are easy to mix up: port and left both have 4 letters — that’s how you remember port is the left side.
  • Learn each word in a short order: “Rig the pilot ladder on the starboard side” — the way it’s said on board.
  • Say the words out loud as on the radio: clearly and slowly. The audio next to each word helps with pronunciation.

FAQ

Didn’t find your answer? Send us a request — we’ll tell you everything.

Why “port” and “starboard” instead of left and right?

Port is the left side and starboard the right side when facing the bow. They don’t change with the direction a person is facing, so they’re never ambiguous.

What are the ranks on a merchant ship?

Master (captain), Chief Officer or Chief Mate, Second and Third Officers, Chief Engineer, bosun, able seamen (AB) and ordinary seamen (OS), cook and cadets.

Are these words enough for Marlins?

No: Marlins tests general English in a maritime context — grammar, numbers and time, reading and listening. Ship vocabulary is the base; general English needs work too. Start with our free level test.

What’s next

Next step

Keep learning with a mini-course

Short online courses by Slay School teachers: a 15-minute lesson a day with audio, exercises and dialogues, and the words you forget come back on their own.

  • Day 1 is free
  • 15 minutes a day, at your own pace
  • Every word has audio
  • Lifetime access once paid
Start for freeAll mini-courses

All you need to start is an email or a Google account.