Glossary of Hydro-Mechanical Engineering and Marine Equipment Metrics

• Sinking device — A person who performs dives or a technical device designed to introduce, maintain, or lower an object to a great depth in a liquid medium. As an adjective, it refers to a structure, mechanism, or animal behavior that promotes or achieves deep immersion under water.
• Mooring — A technical maneuver of securing, tying, or firmly anchoring a vessel, seaplane, or cargo using special cables, ropes, or chains to prevent accidental movement under the influence of waves or wind. In marine aviation, it denotes the controlled landing of a hydroplane or space capsule on the water surface.
• Embardee — A sudden, temporary, and involuntary deviation or swerve of a vessel, boat, or aircraft from its normal course, caused by currents, waves, wind gusts, or a steering error (from French embardée). Technologically, it is the physical result of yawning or sheering.
• Kedge anchor — A small and lightweight anchor, usually equipped with four prongs (claws), used on board light watercraft, launches, or lifeboats for temporary fastening. On large vessels, this technical device is utilized as a secondary maneuvering anchor, serving to veer or change the ship's orientation in restricted port spaces by means of a towline.
• To dock — To guide a ship or vessel into a dry or floating dock to perform structural repairs, cleaning of the hull, maintenance, or painting; to rest on the keel blocks within a dock. This complex technical procedure requires precise coordination between the crew and port engineers to ensure the vessel's stability during water evacuation.
• To secure alongside — To execute an approach, guiding, and securing maneuver of a light vessel or a seaplane near a mother ship or onto a specially designated platform; in an extended technical sense, it represents the action of ensuring a stable structural connection between two mobile elements of a maritime transport system.
• Docking operation — The technical operation and its result of securing or docking alongside; the entirety of maneuvers and structural systems used for guiding, catching, and immobilizing a light vessel or an aircraft onto a base ship.
• To trim by the stern — To orient or position a ship with its stern (the rear part) toward a certain reference point, a quay, or in the direction of the wind and waves; reflexively, it refers to a vessel's action of tilting longitudinally backward due to misallocated cargo or hydrodynamic forces during transit.
• Trimming by the stern — The act of trimming by the stern and its result; a modification of a ship's trim through its longitudinal tilting backward, such that the draft at the stern becomes greater than the draft at the bow. This structural phenomenon can be caused intentionally by shifting ballast or accidentally by flooding rear compartments or misallocating cargo.
• Asphalt carrier — A specially constructed tanker ship intended for transporting liquid bitumen or asphalt in a hot state; relating to the transport or industrial handling of asphalt. Its structure includes thermally insulated tanks and complex heating systems that maintain cargo fluidity during the maritime voyage.
• Trim — The structural position of static or dynamic equilibrium of a ship or aircraft, determined by the angle formed by its longitudinal axis with the horizontal plane. In naval architecture, it reflects the difference between aft and forward draft, while in aviation it indicates the aircraft's orientation relative to the flight path; in equitation, it denotes the rider's correct, firm, and stable posture in the saddle.
• Astronavigation — The science, technique, or method of guiding and determining the position, trajectory, and speed of a vehicle (maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft) through astronomical observations performed on celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, stars, or reference planets). In the context of modern spaceflight, it represents an essential pillar of astrodynamics, utilizing stable optical sensors (star trackers) for the autonomous orientation of interplanetary probes when ground guidance signals are unavailable.