Extended Operational and Trade Vocabulary

Shipbuilding Yards and Construction glossary

The shipyard and hull-construction vocabulary: the named yards and shipbuilding groups, block construction (aft block, aft peak block), shaft alignment, and the dock-assembly and outfitting terms. Grounds each term in the construction process or the yard it belongs to, the industrial counterpart to the naval-architecture sections.

415 defined terms.

Showing 250 on this page (page 1 of 2).

A

Admiralty Shipyard: Saint Petersburg yard within Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation, building diesel-electric submarines and surface vessels.
Aft block: Stern hull section containing the engine room, stern tube, and steering gear, typically erected late in dock assembly.
Aft peak block: Sternmost structural block enclosing the aft peak tank above the rudder horn area.
Aker Yards: Former Norwegian shipbuilding group whose cruise and offshore assets were absorbed into STX Europe and later Meyer Turku, Chantiers de l'Atlantique, and Vard.
Alignment tolerance: Permissible deviation in block-to-block joint geometry before forced fit-up is required.
Alignment, shaft: Process of setting bearing offsets so the propeller shaft line meets calculated sag and gap tolerances.
Allowance, shrinkage: Extra plate length added at block edges to compensate for weld shrinkage during erection.
Anchor pocket: Recess in the hull plating to house the anchor flukes when stowed.
Angle bar: Rolled L-section used as longitudinal or transverse stiffening on shell, deck, and bulkhead plating.
Arc-air gouging: Carbon-electrode air gouging used to back-gouge welds and remove tack welds during block assembly.
Arrangement drawing: General arrangement plan showing decks, compartments, and major equipment locations for a newbuild.
As built drawing: Final fabrication or installation drawing reflecting the actual configuration following any deviations from design.
Assembly stage: Phase between subassembly and grand-assembly in which panels and webs are joined into blocks.
Astilleros de Cadiz: Navantia yard in southern Spain historically building offshore platforms and naval vessels.
Astilleros Gondan: Spanish private yard at Figueras building tugs, ferries, and offshore support vessels.
Astilleros Murueta: Basque shipyard at Murueta and Erandio constructing dry cargo and multipurpose vessels.
Astilleros Navantia: Spanish state shipbuilder operating yards at Ferrol, Cartagena, San Fernando, and Cadiz.
Astilleros Zamakona: Basque yard at Bilbao and Las Palmas building tugs, fishing vessels, and patrol craft.
Atlantico Sul, Estaleiro: Brazilian yard at Suape, Pernambuco, built for Petrobras tanker and platform orders.
Austal: Australian shipbuilder with yards at Henderson and Mobile producing aluminum ferries and Littoral Combat Ships.
Auxiliary block: Subassembly housing auxiliary machinery rooms outfitted on the hardstand before erection.
Avondale Shipyard: Former Louisiana yard near New Orleans, closed by Huntington Ingalls in 2014 and later redeveloped.

B

Back-step welding: Sequence in which short weld runs are deposited in the reverse direction of overall progression to control distortion.
Backing strip: Steel strip placed behind a butt weld to support root passes during one-sided welding.
Balcony cabin block: Hotel-area accommodation block on cruise vessels prefitted with balcony cells, plumbing, and ducts.
Ballast tank coating: Protective coating, typically epoxy, applied to ballast tanks under the IMO Performance Standard for Protective Coatings.
Baltic Shipyard: Saint Petersburg yard within USC building nuclear icebreakers including the Project 22220 class.
Bath Iron Works: General Dynamics shipyard at Bath, Maine, building Arleigh Burke class destroyers for the US Navy.
Bay, assembly: Covered shop area where panels are joined into three-dimensional blocks before transfer to the dock.
Beam knee: Bracket connecting deck beams to frames or longitudinal bulkheads.
Beam, ship's: Maximum molded breadth of the hull at the design waterline.
Bending press, plate: Hydraulic press used to cold-form heavy shell plates around dies to required curvature.
Berth, building: Inclined or level platform on which a ship is assembled before launch.
Beveling, plate edge: Machining or grinding plate edges to a V, X, or K profile to accept multi-pass welds.
Block: Pulley used with rope to make a tackle.
Block construction: Modular shipbuilding method in which the hull is fabricated as discrete blocks joined in the dock.
Block erection: Stage of joining preassembled blocks into the complete hull within a building dock.
Block joint: Welded seam between two blocks, designed with adequate root opening and access for inspection.
Block storage area: Open hardstand where completed blocks await transport to the building dock.
Block weight: Combined steel and outfitting mass of a block, governing crane lift capacity and transport equipment selection.
Body plan: Drawing showing transverse section curves of the hull, used to fair the lines and define plate geometry.
Bohai Shipbuilding: CSSC yard at Huludao, Liaoning, building tankers, bulkers, and naval vessels.
Bollinger Shipyards: Louisiana-based US builder of patrol craft, OPCs for the Coast Guard, and offshore vessels.
Bonded warehouse: Customs bonded storage facility.
Boot-topping: Coating zone between light and load waterlines, painted with specific antifouling system.
Bottom block: Double-bottom section forming the lower hull including inner bottom, floors, and girders.
Bow block: Forward hull section incorporating the bulbous bow, fore peak, and forward shell.
Bow thruster tunnel: Niche area highly susceptible to biofouling due to low flow when idle.
Brasfels: Brazilian yard at Angra dos Reis, formerly Keppel FELS BrasFELS, constructing FPSOs and offshore platforms.
Bridge block: Wheelhouse and navigation deck module, often outfitted as a turnkey unit and lifted into place.
Brodogradiliste Kraljevica: Historic Croatian shipyard at Kraljevica, the country's oldest.
Brodosplit: Croatian shipbuilder at Split building bulk carriers, special-purpose ships, and polar expedition cruise vessels.
Brodotrogir: Croatian shipyard at Trogir, historically building tankers and product carriers.
Builders trial: Sea trial conducted by the yard with its own crew before the owner's acceptance trial.
Building berth: Inclined slipway for ship launching.
Building dock: Drydock used for new construction.
Bulbous bow block: Forward block containing the bulb form, fitted with sonar dome supports on some warships.
Bulkhead, transverse: Vertical wall dividing the hull into watertight compartments, integrated into bottom and side blocks.
Burning machine: CNC cutting gantry equipped with oxyfuel or plasma torches for nested plate cutting.
Burning, plate: Thermal cutting of steel plate by oxyfuel or plasma along nested patterns.
Butt weld: Weld joining two plates in the same plane.

C

Cable tray: Prefabricated tray supporting electrical cabling runs through accommodation and machinery blocks.
Cantilever crane: Heavy lift crane with a horizontal arm extending over a building berth or quay.
Carrier block: Heavy steel module supporting aircraft elevator or catapult equipment on a warship.
Castellammare di Stabia: Fincantieri yard near Naples building cruise ferries and special tonnage.
Cebu: Site of Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Cebu, a Japanese-Filipino yard producing bulk carriers in the Philippines.
Centerline keel block: Lowest building block laid first on the dock blocks, establishing the keel reference.
Chamfer, plate: Beveled edge prepared on a plate for welding.
Chantiers de l'Atlantique: French shipbuilder at Saint-Nazaire, cruise specialist.
Chengxi Shipyard: CSSC subsidiary on the Yangtze building bulk carriers and ship-to-ship transfer vessels.
China Merchants Heavy Industry: CMHI shipbuilding group with major facility at Haimen, Jiangsu.
China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation: Former CSIC, the northern Chinese state shipbuilder merged with CSSC in 2019.
China State Shipbuilding Corporation: State-owned shipbuilder, parent of CSSC Haizhuang offshore wind turbine business.
Christening: Ceremony in which a sponsor names a ship and breaks a bottle on the bow.
Class survey, new construction: Inspection regime by a classification society during yard construction to verify rule compliance.
CNC plasma cutter: Computer-controlled gantry cutting steel plates to nested geometry using a plasma arc.
Cochin Shipyard: Indian state shipbuilder at Kochi, builder of the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
Cofferdam: Temporary watertight enclosure for construction.
Cold-forming: Bending of steel plate at ambient temperature using rolls or presses to develop hull curvature.
Combatant module: Preoutfitted weapons or sensor block integrated into a naval newbuild.
Combination Carrier Yard: Term for yards building OBOs and combination carriers, historically including some Japanese builders.
Commissioning: Sequence of mechanical completion, energization, and performance testing before commercial operation.
Conrad Industries: US shipbuilder at Morgan City, Louisiana, building tugs, barges, and small commercial vessels.
Construcciones Navales del Norte: CNN, Spanish shipbuilder at Sestao building dredgers, ferries, and offshore vessels.
Container cell guide block: Engineered guide frame inside a container hold, prefabricated and lifted in.
COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry: Repair and shipbuilding arm of COSCO group.
Cradle, launch: Wooden or steel structure supporting the hull during a side or end launch.
Crane operator: Yard operator licensed to handle heavy block lifts with rigging team coordination.
Crane, gantry: Bridge crane spanning a building dock, often rated 600 to 1,600 tonnes for megablock lifts.
Crane, Goliath: Very large twin-leg gantry crane straddling a building dock for megablock erection.
Crane, jib: Side-mounted boom crane along the dock edge handling outfitting components.
Cribbing: Stacked timber blocks supporting the hull on the keel line and bilge during dock work.
CSBC Corporation Taiwan: Major Taiwanese shipbuilder at Kaohsiung and Keelung, formerly China Shipbuilding Corporation.
CSIC: China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, merged with CSSC in 2019.
CSSC: China State Shipbuilding Corporation, the consolidated Chinese state shipbuilding group.
CSSC Offshore and Marine Engineering: Subsidiary including Guangzhou Shipyard International and Huangpu Wenchong.
Curved block: Block including double-curvature shell plating in the bow or stern.
Cutting Plan: Engineering drawing showing wreck section cuts, lift points, and sequencing.

D

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering: South Korean shipbuilder, now Hanwha Ocean, with a long history of LNG and LPG carrier construction including membrane LNG vessels.
Dalian Shipbuilding Industry: DSIC, large Chinese yard at Dalian within CSSC, building VLCCs, LNG carriers, and aircraft carriers.
Damen Shipyards Group: Dutch shipbuilder, major supplier of ASD, RSD, ATD, and Stan Tug series.
Davie Shipbuilding: Canadian shipyard at Levis, Quebec, the country's largest, building icebreakers and naval auxiliaries.
Deadweight, building: Designed cargo deadweight tonnage specified in the shipbuilding contract.
Deck block: Single-deck unit including beams, longitudinals, and pillars assembled in the panel shop.
Deck house block: Accommodation block built up separately and lifted onto the main hull during erection.
Delivery: Handover of the vessel to the time or bareboat charterer at the agreed place and condition.
Delivery date: Contract date by which a newbuild must be delivered, governing yard liquidated damages.
Delivery dock: Wet basin at a yard where vessels are completed and handed over.
Delivery protocol: Document signed by yard and owner recording successful delivery and exchange of ownership.
Design Draft: Draft used as basis for hydrostatic and scantling design.
Distortion, welding: Geometric deviation in a welded structure caused by thermal contraction.
Dock block: Concrete or wooden support on the dock floor cradling the keel during construction or repair.
Dock gate: Floating caisson or hinged gate sealing a dry dock.
Dock master: Officer responsible for dock operations.
Dock, building: Concrete graving dock used to assemble and float out a newbuild hull.
Dock, dry: Dock that can be drained to allow access to the hull below the waterline.
Double bottom block: Bottom hull section comprising inner bottom, floors, girders, and outer shell.
Double hull block: Side hull block on a tanker incorporating inner and outer shells with stiffened web frames.
Drag: Said of an anchor that fails to hold.
Drawing register: Yard's master list of construction drawings issued for production.
Dry dock: Basin pumped dry for hull work.
DSME: Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean), historical builder of Q-Flex and Q-Max series.
Ductwork block: Preassembled HVAC duct module installed in accommodation blocks before closure.
Dynamic launch: Launching method in which the hull slides into water under gravity from inclined ways.

E

Eastern Shipbuilding Group: US yard at Panama City, Florida, prime contractor for Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutters.
Edge preparation: Machining of plate edges to specified bevels for welding.
EISA: Estaleiro Ilha S.A., Brazilian shipyard at Rio de Janeiro.
Electric welding shop: Indoor shop equipped with multi-process welders for subassembly fabrication.
Electroslag welding: Vertical position joining process using a molten slag pool, used for heavy plate splices.
End launch: Traditional launch in which a hull slides stern first down inclined ways into the water.
Engine block: Machinery space block including the main engine seating, double bottom, and tank top.
Engine room block: Preoutfitted machinery space module containing the main engine, pumps, and auxiliary systems.
Engine seating: Reinforced foundation under the main engine, integrated into engine block fabrication.
Engine, two-stroke crosshead: Slow-speed propulsion engine installed during engine room block outfitting.
Erection drawing: Drawing showing the sequence and alignment for joining blocks in the dock.
Erection sequence: Planned order in which blocks are placed and welded in the building dock.
Estaleiro Atlantico Sul: EAS, Brazilian yard at Suape built for tanker and platform orders.
Estaleiro Maua: Brazilian shipyard at Niteroi, historically the Maua Jurong joint venture.
Estaleiro Renave: Brazilian shipyard at Rio de Janeiro.
Excise, structural: Removal of misaligned plates by gouging and replacement during fit-up.
Eyepad: Welded lifting lug used for crane attachment during block handling.

F

Fabrication shop: Workshop where steel is cut, formed, and welded into parts and panels.
Fairing: Process of smoothing hull lines.
Fairing aid: Hydraulic tool used to align block edges before welding.
FCAW: Flux-cored arc welding, the dominant process for ship structural welds, offering high deposition with semiautomatic equipment.
Ferrol: Site of Navantia's main shipyard in northwestern Spain, building frigates and amphibious assault ships.
Fillet weld: common weld type in crane fabrication.
Fincantieri: Italian shipbuilder, prime contractor for FREMM and Constellation.
Fit-up: Alignment and clamping of plates or blocks before final welding.
Fitter, ship: Skilled tradesman aligning and tacking plates, sections, and blocks prior to welding.
Float-out: Operation removing hull from drydock.
Floating dock: U-shaped or L-shaped floating dry dock.
Floor, double bottom: Transverse plate in the double bottom between inner and outer shell.
Flush deck construction: Hull with a continuous upper deck running from bow to stern with no break.
Forecastle block: Fwd-most block of the hull.
Forward block: Bow block including the stem, bulbous bow, and forward shell.
Foundation block: Heavy structural seating for main propulsion machinery or major deck equipment.
Frame line: Reference station along the ship's length, numbered from aft to forward in most yards.
Frame spacing: Longitudinal distance between transverse frames.
Frame, transverse: Vertical structural rib supporting shell plating.
Friction stir welding: Solid-state welding of Al panels.
Funnel block: Stack and uptake block preoutfitted with exhaust piping, ladders, and platforms.

G

Galati Shipyard: Damen-owned Romanian yard on the Danube building ferries, OPVs, and offshore support vessels.
Gantry crane: Rail-mounted gantry such as STS, RMG, or RTG.
General Arrangement: Top-level 2D plan and section drawing produced from NAPA Designer, AVEVA Marine, or Foran.
General Dynamics NASSCO: US shipbuilder at San Diego, the only large commercial newbuild yard on the West Coast.
GMAW: Gas metal arc welding, used for thinner shipboard structures and outfitting components.
Goa Shipyard: Indian state shipbuilder at Vasco da Gama building coast guard and naval vessels.
Goliath crane: heavy-lift shipyard gantry, e.g., Samsung Geoje 1,000 t Goliath.
Gondan Shipyard: Spanish private yard at Figueras building tugs and special purpose vessels.
Grand assembly: Stage of combining blocks into megablocks before erection in the dock.
Grand block: Megablock formed by joining several blocks on the hardstand before dock erection.
Graving dock: Land-recessed drydock used for hull coating and structural work.
Groove weld: Weld deposited in a groove formed by edge preparation of the joining plates.
GTAW: Gas tungsten arc welding, TIG, used for stainless and aluminum joints in pipework and equipment.
Guangzhou Shipyard International: GSI, CSSC subsidiary at Guangzhou building semi-submersibles, ferries, and bulkers.
Gusset plate: Triangular bracket reinforcing the connection between primary members.

H

Halter Marine: US shipbuilder at Pascagoula, Mississippi, building Coast Guard polar security cutters.
Hanjin Subic: Former Philippine yard at Subic Bay built by Hanjin Heavy Industries and bankrupt in 2019.
Hanwha Ocean: Korean shipbuilder, former Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
Hardstand: Paved open area on which blocks and megablocks are assembled before crane lift to the dock.
Heat input: Energy per unit length deposited into a weld, controlled to limit distortion and heat-affected-zone effects.
Heat treatment: Postweld stress relief or normalizing of critical structures.
Hellenic Shipyards Skaramangas: Greek shipyard at Skaramangas building naval vessels and submarines under license.
HHI: HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the Ulsan flagship yard of the HD Hyundai group.
High tensile steel: Structural steel of yield strength typically 315 to 460 MPa used for hull plating.
Hindustan Shipyard: Indian state shipbuilder at Visakhapatnam, the country's first shipyard.
Hold block: Cargo hold section of a bulker or container ship including hopper, bilge, and side shell.
Honda Heavy Industries: Japanese shipbuilder at Saiki, Oita, building chemical tankers and small vessels.
Hopper block: Inclined hopper tank section in a bulk carrier including double bottom and side longitudinals.
Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding: CSSC subsidiary at Shanghai, leading Chinese builder of LNG carriers.
Hull: Watertight envelope of the ship, fabricated as blocks and assembled in the building dock.
Hull erection: Sequence of placing and welding blocks together in the building dock.
Hull line: Geometric reference line on the hull form, used for fairing and plate development.
Huntington Ingalls Industries: USN prime shipbuilder for Ford CVN and Virginia SSN.
Hyundai Heavy Industries: HHI, Ulsan, world's largest shipbuilder by output.
Hyundai Mipo Dockyard: HHI group yard specializing in medium range tankers.
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries: HHI group yard building larger vessels.
Hyundai Vinashin Shipyard: Joint venture yard in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, between HHI and Vinashin.

I

IHC Merwede: Dutch shipbuilder known for dredgers, now Royal IHC.
IHI-Marine United: Japanese builder associated with contra-rotating propeller systems on shuttle tankers.
Imabari Shipbuilding: Largest Japanese shipbuilder, headquartered in Ehime.
Imari: Site of Namura Shipbuilding's main yard in Saga prefecture.
In-block outfitting: Installation of pipework, equipment, and cabling inside blocks before erection.
Indented quay: Quay with finger piers permitting parallel berthing of multiple vessels for outfitting.
Ingalls Shipbuilding: Huntington Ingalls yard at Pascagoula, Mississippi, building destroyers, amphibious ships, and Coast Guard cutters.
Inner bottom plate: Watertight tank top plating above the double bottom.
Inspection, class: Newbuild surveys conducted by a classification society during plate, fabrication, and assembly stages.
Inverted assembly: Block assembly with the unit upside down to allow downhand welding of bottom seams.
Inverted construction: Fabrication of blocks in inverted position for easier welding access.

J

Japan Marine United: Shipyard active in offshore wind support vessel construction for the Japanese market.
Jiangnan Shipyard: Shanghai shipbuilder under CSSC, large container and LNG builder.
Jib crane: Crane with a horizontal or angled boom serving outfitting quays.
Jig: Fixture holding plates or sections in position during welding.
Joining, block: Welding of blocks into the complete hull within the building dock.
Joint design: Engineering of subsea cable joints including conductor connector, insulation rebuild, and armor termination.
Joint, block to block: Welded seam between adjacent erected blocks.
Jurong Shipyard: Singapore yard part of Sembcorp Marine, building offshore and conversion projects.

K

K Shipbuilding: Korean yard at Sacheon, formerly STX Offshore and Shipbuilding.
Kanmon Strait yards: Cluster of Japanese yards on either side of the Kanmon Strait, including Mitsubishi Shimonoseki and Honda Saiki nearby.
Karmsund Maritime: Norwegian maritime industrial site historically housing shipyards on the Karmsund.
Kawasaki Heavy Industries: Japanese shipbuilder with a history of constructing Moss-type LNG carriers.
Keel laying: Symbolic placement of first block in dock.
Keel Plate: Centerline bottom plate addressed in IACS UR S23 thickness requirements.
Keppel FELS: Singaporean offshore yard, parent of the former Keppel FELS BrasFELS at Angra dos Reis.
Keppel Subic Shipyard: Philippine ship repair facility within the Subic Bay Freeport.

L

L&T Shipbuilding: Larsen and Toubro shipbuilding division at Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu.
Ladder block: Outfitting module containing engine room ladders and gratings, installed during engine room outfitting.
Laser Cutting: A precision cutting technology used selectively for non-ferrous components and equipment recovery.
Launch cradle: Wood or steel structure supporting the hull during dynamic launch.
Launch ways: Lubricated greased timbers along which the cradle slides during launch.
Launch, dynamic: Launching by gravity slide down inclined ways into the water.
Launch, end: Stern-first dynamic launch down inclined ways.
Launch, side: Sideways dynamic launch across a narrow waterway.
Launching: Transfer of a newly built hull from the building berth into the water.
Lay days: Days allowed for loading or discharging.
Layout, plate: Nesting of plate parts on stock plates to minimize waste.
Lift, block: Crane operation transferring a block from hardstand to building dock.
Liner ship: Vessel built on a fixed schedule and route, often a series build at a single yard.
Lines plan: Drawing of body, sheer, and half-breadth views.
Loa: Length overall, a key newbuild dimension governing dock and berth selection.
Longitudinal: Stiffener running fore and aft along shell, deck, or bulkhead plating.
Longitudinal bulkhead block: Section of longitudinal bulkhead with adjoining double bottom or hopper.
Lubrication, launchway: Tallow or modern launch lubricant applied to launchways before a dynamic launch.

M

Main deck block: Upper deck section including hatch coamings and deck longitudinals.
Mangalia Shipyard: Damen-operated Romanian yard at Mangalia on the Black Sea.
Marghera: Fincantieri's shipyard at Venice, building large cruise ships.
Marking, plate: Inkjet or scribed marking of plate components for assembly identification.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders: Indian state shipbuilder at Mumbai, building destroyers, frigates, and submarines.
Megablock: Very large preassembled hull section, often weighing 1,000 tonnes or more.