Nautical Abbreviations, Maritime Initialisms, Merchant Navy Contractions, Shipping Shortenings and Marine Truncations

"Hey 3rd, FYI the FRC isn't S/D at the min. as the 2/0 won't be in No2 DB FO TK with the DP from HO", Ta!

Eh, what did you say, what language are your speaking? Might be easier to learn Chinese than to keep up with all the abbreviations, truncations, shortenings, acronyms, initials and contractions found in various countries and industries the world over. Businesses, clubs, offices, cafes, schools, institutes and private homes across the globe have all got their own systems, some official some unintelligible but all go to confuse those not included.

I once attended an interview at Warsash Maritime Academy in Southampton. I was 17yrs old and looking around for opening to kick-start my career at sea and entry to a marine college and a cadetship was the first step. Anyway, one of the routes I tested out was this school and involved seeing cadets doing early morning drills. I stayed overnight and in the dormitory of 3 first-year Cadets who I was immediately in awe of! During the general chitchat, between them showing me my bunk and them leaving me to go and hit the town, they attempted to initiate conversation.

One of them asked me "what does BP stand for"?

I proudly responded with "British Petroleum", pleased as punch to know the answe!

When they had disappeared to get gloriously drunk I lay there wandering why our conversation had ground to such an immediate halt. And then it dawned on me, that they had been just politely asking me what my middle initials in my name stood for and not grilling me on my knowledge of the shipping industry.

I went to Leith Nautical College instead!

The years tick forever onwards and as technology increases at a hyperbolic rate many more shortenings and 'word destructions' enter the fray! The Internet could be blamed for destroying the English language but not as badly as the Mobile Phone Industry has managed to do with text messages! To Text Message correctly or as prescribed by a specific country or group of text fiends one can now buy a book on the subject with reams of pages on the correct words and symbols to use - it is in fact another language as remote from English as is French! Lists of usable and accepted acronyms and shortenings now fight for space with the Oxford English Dictionary in many homes around the world, and in some do not fight at all as the dictionary has been relegated to the dustbin.

A few major reasons can be attributed to this sudden surge in popularity of shortened words or phrases. One of the most basic: by shortening sentences data transfer time is speeded up and thus costs can be considerably reduced. Another reason could be to confuse and keep out persons not in the club or business, not being understood can make one feel vastly superior.

But whether or not the reasons are personal or financial the fact remains that the Shipping Industry has more than its fair share of unintelligible abbreviations and shortenings as to seriously confuse even those in the 'know'! With increasing frequency I have had guys onboard asking me what 'such and such' stands for. They hand me copies of emails, invariably from Head Office regarding vessel matters, and the unknown mass of tangled letters that has confused even those who have been at sea longer than I, is contained in this document. Nine times out of ten even I do not know what head office are after or what they mean and sometimes I have even managed to get it wrong! So even within organizations confusion reigns: although in the case of the Merchant Navy it tends to be sea-going personnel not understanding the Office Walla's and that is something that has been with us even before Noah decided to set foot in his ark!

Certainly, current abbreviations, acronyms, curtails, etc are forever growing in number and changing in context or meaning. Some are disappearing, others appearing or used by one firm but not another or unofficially or officially, only on mobile phones, used to keep secrets and confuse parents or dedicated to saving costs and time. My lists of shortenings, truncations, initialisms, etc as found in the Global Maritime Industry are therefore not comprehensive, not complete, not guaranteed to be totally accurate and not designed to be used officially (I was told to say that) by anybody. What these lists represent are a start to a very large project, a massive exercise that will never end and one that I could spend every waking hour and the rest of my life trying to keep up with.

Which I'm certainly not going to do

Instead, I have compiled these lists as an introduction to the more common abbreviations, truncations, initialisms and shortenings found in various places of the Maritime Industry. I will update them and add to as time and enthusiasm permits and should anybody want to see additions or alterations made then I am more than happy to receive emails regarding such.

Pls snd me any abbs or truncs, acryms and shorts as you would like to see inc. Tnks, IBPD, C.Eng. and Wbmstr of Seashockers.com