Standard wheel orders
from
the
Standard Marine Phrases of the International Maritime Organisation
All
wheel orders should be repeated by the helmsman and the officer of the
watch
should ensure that they are carried out correctly and immediately. All
wheel
orders should be held until countermanded. The helmsman should report
immediately if the vessel does not answer the wheel.
When
there is concern that the helmsman is inattentive s/he should be
questioned:
“What is your heading?” And s/he should respond: “My
heading is … degrees.”
Order |
Meaning |
1. Midships |
Rudder to be held in the fore
and aft position |
2. Port / starboard five |
5° of port / starboard
rudder to be held |
3. Port
/ starboard ten |
10° of port / starboard
rudder to be held |
4. Port / starboard fifteen |
15° of port / starboard
rudder to be held |
5. Port / starboard twenty |
20° of port / starboard
rudder to be held |
6. Port / starboard twenty-five |
25° of port / starboard
rudder to be held |
7. Hard-a-port / starboard |
Rudder to be held fully over to
port / starboard |
8. Nothing to port / starboard |
Avoid the vessel’s
head to go to port / starboard |
9. Meet her |
Check the swing of the
vessel’s head in a turn |
10. Steady |
Reduce swing as rapidly as
possible |
11. Easy to five / ten /
fifteen / twenty |
Reduce the amount of rudder to
5°/10°/15°/20° and hold |
12. Steady as she goes |
Steer a steady course on the compass heading
indicated at |
13. Keep the buoy /mark /
beacon on the port / starboard side |
|
14. Report if she does not
answer to the wheel |
|
15. Finished with wheel. No
more steering. |
When
the officer of the watch requires a course to be steered, the direction
which
s/he wants should be stated followed by each numeral being said
separately
including zero, for example:
Order |
Course to be steered |
Port, steer one-eight-two |
182° |
Starboard, steer zero-eight-two |
082° |
Port, steer three-zero-five |
305° |
If
it is desired to steer on a selected mark the helmsman should be
ordered to
“steer on … buoy / … mark /
… beacon”. The person giving the order
should
acknowledge
the helmsman’s reply.