A Freighter in Port

This is a modern ocean freighter. The freighter is almost as long as a city block. The ocean freighter makes it possible for nations all over the world to trade their raw materials and finished goods. The front of the ship is called the bow. The bow holds the ship's anchor. The anchor is lowered into the water to keep the ship from moving away. The hooks on the anchor grip the bottom. This is the bow of another freighter. When a freighter is empty, it rides high in the water. The numbers painted on the bow show the number of feet between the bottom of the ship and the water line. The numbers show how much of the ship is underwater. The back of the ship is called the stern. The name of the ship and its port of registry are painted on the stern. The freighter flies the flag of its own country on the stern. The large ropes which hold the ship at the dock are called hosers or lines. These large metal discs are called rat guards. They are put around the hosers to prevent rats from leaving or entering the ship. Rats carry disease. The law requiring rat guards helps to protect us from disease. When the freighter is in port, the gang way is lowered so that workmen can go aboard the ship. This is the ship's funnel or smoke stack. Smoke and fumes from the boilers in the engine room pass out through the funnel. All ships which belong to one company have their funnels painted exactly the same. The ship's whistle is located at the front of the funnel. Listen to the whistle. [Music] The whistle is blown in a fog or at night as a warning. Ships also whistle when they pass other ships. When the ship is in port, the crew cleans the funnel and other parts of the ship. Seaman are trained to keep the ship clean and in good repair so that she will be seaorthy and will be able to stand storms and high seas. The ship must be ready for any emergency. This is one of the ship's lifeboats. The crew is testing the machinery which lowers the boat. This is a very modern or new way of lowering the lifeboats. It is safe and quick. On older ships, the lifeboats are lowered by hand. The lifeboats can carry 66 people. The crew is also having a lifeboat drill. They practice lowering the boat and getting into it quickly. Then, if an accident happens at sea, they will be ready. The men hold the oars straight up. They do this to prevent damage to the oars and to be ready to put them into the water quickly when the lifeboat is launched. If the lifeboat had to be lowered into a rough sea, the ores might be broken against the side of the ship if the men did not hold them straight up. Other parts of the freighter are shown on this diagram. The floor of the ship is called the deck. The cargo space is called the cargo hold. Most freighters have four or five separate holds. Each hold is usually about as large as 16 school rooms. The hold of a freighter has several decks. This cargo is being unloaded from the lowest deck. The ship's rudder steers the ship. It is located at the stern. The propeller is also located at the stern deep under the water. It is turned by the ship's big engines. The propeller makes the ship move through the water. Frighters have two masts, one forward and one aft. The mast carries flags for signaling and the ship's radio antenna. The kingposts are tall posts located near each hold. Cargo booms are attached to the kingposts. The cargo boom pivots at the base of the kingpost. Cables are strung along the boom. The kingposts and booms are used to load and unload the cargo. Here is a freighter with kingposts and booms in use. Before the men begin to load or unload a freighter, they put up cargo nets between the ship and the dock. These nets catch any cargo which might fall. This man is the winch driver. He operates the cargo winch at one of the holes. Another man called the hatch tender gives signals to the winch operator. He signals with his hands. This means lower the cargo. Stop. Raise one cable. Raise the other cable. All is clear. Go ahead. Now the winch operator is lowering the cargo into the hold. Watch his hands. His hands control these switches. The switches make an electric motor go forward or backward. When the winch motor goes forward, this cable is wound up on the drum. The other end of the cable is hooked to the cargo. The cargo goes up. When the winch motor is reversed, the cable is unwound. The cargo goes down. This model of the kingposts and booms shows how they work. As the cable on the left boom is wound up, the load rises. Then the cable on the right boom is wound on its drum and the load moves to the right. When both cables are unwound, the load goes down into the hold. Now watch the cargo as it is lifted from the dock over the side of the ship and lowered slowly into the hold. It takes great skill and practice to move the cargo so smoothly. The men who load and unload ships are called long shoremen. These boxes contain oranges. They are being shipped to Norway and Sweden. Every ship has a cargo loading plan. Cargo to be taken off first is loaded last. Perishable cargo is put into refrigerated holes. The ocean freighter brings to our country the products of many foreign lands. This ship is unloading bananas from Central America. Huge cranes on the dock hold the loading machinery over the ship. From the refrigerated hold of the banana boat, the green bananas are carried to the dock in this automatic conveyor. The conveyors unload over 2,000 bunches of bananas every hour. The work of loading or unloading the ship goes on 24 hours a day. This ship has five holes. One of the holes is being loaded with synthetic rubber. From a freight car on the dock, these large sheets of steel are being put into another hold. Crews of long shoremen work in all the holes at the same time, so the ship can be loaded or unloaded quickly. Frighters stay in port only long enough to take on or put off cargo. This heavy sheet steel is being put far down into the ship because it'll be taken off near the end of the freighter's trip. The long building beside the freighter is called a transit shed. The cargo is assembled and stored in the transit shed until the ship is ready to load. Here it is kept safe and dry. Inside the transit shed are cargos from all over the world. Here is tea from Canton, China. Shipments from Hong Kong, China. bales of hemp from the Philippine Islands, manufactured goods from Czechoslovakia, and olive oil from Italy. This machine is called a fork lift. Small cargo is brought from the transit shed to the dock by a forklift. This ship is unloading steel pipe which was made on the eastern coast of the United States. It was shipped through the Panama Canal to the West Coast where it will be used in building new homes. When a ship is unloading, the cargo is sometimes put directly onto freight cars or trucks, but more often the cargo is stored in the transit shed for a few days before it is shipped on. A small tractor pulls the loaded trailer into the transit shed. Another tractor brings an empty trailer for the next load. Freighters carry many kinds of cargo. They carry the products of our factories to all parts of the world. Freighters carry lumber from our forests to many different countries. The ocean freighter makes trade between nations possible. When the loading of the freighter is completed, the hatch covers are swung into place to protect the cargo from damage. The hatches are covered with heavy waterproof tarpolins to keep the cargo dry. The ship is almost ready to sail. The ocean freighter is now leaving the harbor. The freighter is important to all of us because it brings to our country many raw materials and products we need and carries the products of our forests, farms, and factories to all parts of the world.