Marine Tales — The World of Merchant Navy, Explained
THE WORLD OF MERCHANT NAVY, EXPLAINED

The world moves by sea.

Stories, knowledge and perspectives from the world of Merchant Navy and commercial shipping — written by the people who work on board.

EXPLORE THE MARITIME WORLD WATCH VIDEOS
LAT 51°28'N · LON 000°00'W ISSUE 041 SCROLL ↓
FEATURED STORY
PHOTO — 24,000 TEU CONTAINER SHIP, DECK LOOKING FORWARD
SHIPS

How does a giant container ship actually work?

Four hundred metres of steel, a single propeller, and twenty-four thousand boxes. We walked one from the forecastle to the steering gear to explain how the whole machine holds together — and what the crew of twenty-two actually does all day.

CAPT. R. IYER·28 AUG 2026·14 MIN READ
READ STORY
DISPATCHES

What's happening at sea

ALL NEWS
REGULATIONS PHOTO — IMO HEADQUARTERS

IMO tightens carbon intensity rules for the 2027 fleet

Operators face a steeper CII curve from January, and owners of older tonnage are already recalculating.

02 SEP 2026·4 MIN
TECHNOLOGY PHOTO — METHANOL BUNKERING

Methanol dual-fuel orders overtake LNG for the first time

Newbuilding contracts signed this quarter show a clear shift in how owners are hedging future fuel rules.

31 AUG 2026·6 MIN
SHIPPING PHOTO — SHIP ON PASSAGE, DUSK

Reroutings add 3,500 miles to Asia–Europe loops

Longer passages mean more sea time, more bunkers, and contracts being renegotiated mid-voyage.

29 AUG 2026·5 MIN
PORTS PHOTO — AUTOMATED TERMINAL

Rotterdam opens a fully automated container terminal

Faster turnarounds on paper. We asked officers what automated berths change for the ship's staff.

27 AUG 2026·7 MIN
THE FUNDAMENTALS

Merchant Navy, explained.

Every merchant ship runs on the same small set of departments, ranks and rules. Start here and the rest of the industry becomes readable.

Deck Department

Navigation, cargo, stability and watchkeeping. Who stands the bridge watch and what they are responsible for.

EXPLORE

Engine Department

Propulsion, power generation and every auxiliary system that keeps the ship alive and moving.

EXPLORE

Electro-Technical

The ETO's world: switchboards, automation, control systems and the electronics behind the bridge.

EXPLORE

Ratings

Bosun, AB, oiler, fitter, cook. The crew who do the physical work of running a ship every day.

EXPLORE

Cadets

Training record books, sea time, orals. What the first contract on board is really like.

EXPLORE

Ship Management

Owners, managers, charterers and agents — who actually gives the ship its orders.

EXPLORE

Maritime Regulations

SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, ISM and ISPS — the five documents that shape life on board.

EXPLORE
80–90%
of global trade by volume is estimated to travel by sea.
50,000+
merchant ships are in service across the global fleet.
Millions
of seafarers keep those ships running, year round.

FIGURES SHOWN AS INDICATIVE RANGES. EACH IS TO BE SOURCED AND DATED BEFORE PUBLICATION.

THE FLEET

Ships

Machines built to move the world.

ALL SHIP TYPES
PHOTO — CONTAINER SHIP
UP TO 24,000 TEU
Container Ships
PHOTO — CRUDE OIL TANKER
VLCC · SUEZMAX · AFRAMAX
Tankers
PHOTO — BULK CARRIER
CAPESIZE · PANAMAX
Bulk Carriers
PHOTO — LNG CARRIER
CARGO AT −162 °C
LNG Carriers
TECHNICAL LIBRARY

How ships work

Complex ship systems explained simply — one machine at a time, with the diagrams and the operating logic that engineers actually use.

01 Main Engine Two-stroke, slow-speed, directly coupled — why the biggest diesel on earth turns at 80 rpm. 02 Electrical Systems Generators, switchboards, load sharing — and what happens in the seconds after a blackout. 03 Steering Gear Hydraulic power moving a 90-tonne rudder, and the tests done before every departure. 04 Ballast Systems Why a ship carries water it doesn't want, and how treatment plants changed the job. 05 Navigation Systems ECDIS, radar, gyro and GNSS — the instruments a bridge watch is built around.
ALL 15 SYSTEMS
ON BOARD

Life at sea

Watchkeeping, food, shore leave, storms, and the long stretch between two ports. The parts of the job nobody puts in a recruitment brochure.

PHOTO — BRIDGE AT NIGHT, INSTRUMENT GLOW
WATCHKEEPING

A night watch in the North Atlantic

Four hours alone with the radar, a thermos, and 3,000 metres of water underneath.
CAREERS

Your journey to sea

From the first application to the day you sign on as Master or Chief Engineer. Six stages, roughly a decade, and a lot of sea time.

STAGE 01

Cadet

Pre-sea training, sponsorship, and 12–18 months of sea time in a training record book.

STAGE 02

Junior Officer

Third Officer or Fourth Engineer. First certificate, first watch of your own.

STAGE 03

Officer

Second Officer or Third Engineer. Passage planning, maintenance, real responsibility.

STAGE 04

Senior Officer

Management-level certificate. Cargo, safety and the crew start reporting to you.

STAGE 05

Chief Officer / 2nd Eng.

Running the deck or the engine room day to day, one rank below command.

STAGE 06

Master / Chief Engineer

Command. Legal authority over the ship, the cargo and everyone on board.

How to join the Merchant Navy Required courses & certificates Medical requirements Salary & benefits Life after sailing
FILM

Watch from the sea

ALL VIDEOS
VIDEO THUMBNAIL — SHIP TOUR, FORECASTLE TO STERN 28:14
SHIP TOURS

Full tour: a 15,000 TEU container ship, bow to stern
HUMAN INTEREST

Stories from the sea

01

45 days without seeing land

9 MIN 02

What happens during a blackout at sea?

9 MIN 03

The first day as a deck cadet

7 MIN 04

When the weather turns

11 MIN
REFERENCE

Maritime glossary

Every abbreviation in the industry, in plain language first and technical detail second. Searchable from anywhere on the site.

AIS
Automatic Identification System

Ships and shore stations automatically exchange identity, position, course and speed.

SOLAS
Safety of Life at Sea

The convention setting minimum safety standards for construction, equipment and operation.

DWT
Deadweight Tonnage

The total mass a ship can carry: cargo, fuel, stores, fresh water and crew.

TEU
Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit

The standard way container capacity is counted, based on a 20-foot box.

ECDIS
Electronic Chart Display

The chart and information system that has largely replaced paper charts on the bridge.

STCW
Training & Watchkeeping

The standards for training, certification and watchkeeping every seafarer works to.

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