Why Is The Bridge At The Back?

this video was sponsored by world of tanks i know these are animations but do you notice how most of these ships have their bridge at the stern i'm not saying every ship does because of course we have the likes of ferries cruise ships even car carriers and osv's that have their bridge up forwards but they all have a very specific reason for departing from the norm take this cargo ship for example it's a geared bulker designed to carry predominantly bulk cargos and would arguably be the sort of ship you would draw if i asked you to think of a standard cargo ship the bridge is at the stern and there are at least six reasons why firstly tradition in the past ships were steered using attila connected directly to the rudder the helm had to be located at the stern so naturally that was where the captain would spend most of their time as well next convenience the engine connected directly to the propeller is also at the stern keeping the accommodation block the bridge and the engine room all in the same place is a very efficient use of the crew's time this leads straight on to safety with the main areas together the crew actually spend most of their time close to the lifeboats firefighting equipment and medical treatment areas if for example the ship is caught in rough weather the crew are already in the most sheltered part of the ship away from the dangerous parts where spray might be washing over the decks when the ship gets deported needs to maneuver the stern is actually the best place to do it you maintain a much better overall picture of how the entire ship is moving when you make a tight turn using the rudder the ship appears to rotate around a pivot point the bow goes one way as you'd expect but actually the greater movement is the stern moving in the other direction keeping the bridge at the stern makes tight maneuvering on a huge ship so much easier otherwise it does take a lot more mental effort to remember what the stern is doing finally and probably most importantly for ship owners placing the ship's bridge at the stern can maximize cargo capacity and efficiency you've already lost space because of the engines so there would be limited cargo capacity at the stern anyway you might as well place the other things that are not actually going to generate revenue here as well so with all those reasons for having the bridge at the stern why would anyone consider placing it anywhere else surely you'd be mad actually there can be sound reasons for doing so before we get to those though let me take a moment to tell you about this video's sponsor world of tanks world of tanks is an epic free-to-play online pc game with over 100 million players worldwide you'll feel like you're in a real tank thanks to the game's historical accuracy and inspiration with authentic models and vehicle characteristics there are over 40 battle arenas where you can drive your tanks across open spaces like fields and deserts climb steep hills or sneak through forests and 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bridge at the stern you'd lose so much cargo carrying capacity and need to make the bridge so much taller that it just wouldn't be worth it notice though how they have tried to preserve some of the advantages of a stern bridge the accommodation and lifeboats are close to the bridge and are still protected from the worst of the weather at the bow albeit that is less of a problem on a massive ship like this anyway everything else will be a bit of a compromise there is a separation between the accommodation and the engines and the sense of movement while maneuvering is far more limited saying that this ship will take tugs and have a vast array of electronic aids to visualize things like its swept path and its pivot point so there are sound reasons for moving the bridge on a massive container ship but what about on others cruise ships and ferries for example they have their bridge at the bow and have done for hundreds of years again it all comes down to visibility passengers need space and want accommodation with windows and open decks and things essentially you need a lot of superstructure above the hull with a large superstructure you either need to mount the bridge really high or place it near the bow clearly placing it near the bow makes the most sense and it's not as much of a compromise as you would think convenience isn't really a factor because the entire ship is accommodation so there's no separation between living spaces similarly life-saving and safety equipment is spread across the entire ship so you're not far away from that exposure on a passenger ship is quite different too the bridge and accommodation is still protected by the design of the hull but so is the rest of the ship in terms of maneuverability yes it is harder on a passenger ship but it's just something we have to get used to you will however find helpful features like bridge wings which overhang the side of the ship so that the captain can see past the accommodation still when navigating a passenger ship you do have to remember how much ship is behind you and how it's going to swing around when you make a turn so on passenger ships and large container ships it makes sense to move the bridge but what about some others car carriers well those are the same story as container ships you need the space for cargo so you have to move the bridge for visibility you compensate by arranging the accommodation to be all along the top deck in the space where you can't put cargo coincidentally well protected due to its height above the water yes it is a long way to the lifeboats at the stern and the engine room down below but that is one of the trade-offs for this particular ship type osvs and generally most offshore vessels also have forward bridges again it's because of the working arrangements of the ship they need the open deck space at the stern because of the nature of their operations they do a lot of towing and have crew working on the open deck in rough weather where it's important to provide protection as for maneuverability interestingly with these ships as they're so maneuverable you will find a lot of them maneuvering a stern when they're in a confined area it provides such an improved appreciation of how the ship is moving a lot of skippers actually prefer it and what about the future of ships i'm sure i'm not alone in noticing that lots of images and designs of ships of the future place the bridge at the bow i think they are taking heavy inspiration from the modern looking design of offshore support vessels and passenger ships that just look newer dig a little deeper though and you can see a bit of logic behind it alternative propulsion systems usually things like wind power are huge and take up a lot of deck space incorporating a forward bridge eliminates the risk that they will block visibility comfort and protection from the weather well a big factor in the past has been significantly improved by the offshore industry through necessity lifeboats can still be protected by recessing them within the design of the forward accommodation and general protection is improved through the use of modern design and construction techniques notice the shape of the bowels which are designed to comfortably punch into the weather while protecting the rest of the ship as always with this industry the future is going to be a trade-off between tradition and what we know versus innovation and new technology but what do you think where would you place a bridge and what considerations would you prioritize let me know down in the comments below

Channel: Casual Navigation

Views: 1,056,620

Keywords: casual navigator, marine, shipping, casual navigation, maritime explaination, merchant navy, sailing, marine animation

Id: oP2y1eiu0ac

Length: 8min 10sec (490 seconds)

Published: Fri May 13 2022