Tag "bridge"

In our maritime knowledge base, you will find many exciting articles on maritime terms and expressions. If you’d like to contribute to this section, just get in touch with us and submit a question or marine topic that you would like to add to FleetMon’s Marine Knowledge Library. This article explains why the command center of a vessel is called the bridge.

A modern bridge contains all the necessary elements for the control of the ship.

In the early days of sailing, the rudder was connected to a tiller, which was operated by a helmsman. The term helmsman translates as “servant of the boat”. The tiller was located in the so-called cockpit, a pit in which the steering elements of the boat were located. Over the years, the tiller was replaced by a wheel. This was not connected directly to the rudder but was connected by ropes and pulleys. This allowed the wheel to be moved. Ships became larger and were built with more and more decks. The largest deck was the main deck. The ship’s steering wheel was located on the quarterdeck. The raised profile of the aft deck allowed the captain to walk around and have a good view of the entire ship as well as the sea around it. As he walked around, he could give verbal orders to the helmsman.