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KANBAN

Source: Chartering & Shipping Terms Glossary
A method which during storage uses standard units or lot sizes with a single card attached to each. A pull system used at a stock point in which a supply batch is ordered only when a previous batch is withdrawn. Note: Kanban in Japanese means loosely translated ‘card or sign’.

KAPPEL propeller

Source page ref: 324
A propeller with blade tips curved toward the suction side to reduce tip losses and improve efficiency.

Kawasaki

Source page ref: 352
A Japanese heavy-industries and shipbuilding company; the name appears on various marine engines and equipment.

KB

Source page ref: 377
The height of the centre of buoyancy above the keel, a quantity used in stability calculations.

Keel

Source page ref: 324
The principal longitudinal member running along the bottom centreline of the hull, the backbone of the ship's structure.

Keel blocks

Source page ref: 324
The blocks on a dry-dock or slipway floor on which the ship's keel rests when it is docked or built.

Keel laying

Added — maritime supplement
The formal start of a ship's construction, when the first structural unit is placed on the building berth or in the dock. The keel-laying date is significant because it determines which convention requirements apply to the ship under the usual date-based application rules. IMO-grounded

Kelly

Source page ref: 324
A square or splined length of pipe at the top of a drill string that transmits rotation from the rotary table to the string.

Key

Source page ref: 324
A small block fitted into matching slots to lock two components together so they rotate as one, such as a propeller on a shaft.

Keyless fitting of fixed pitch propeller

Source page ref: 324
A method of securing a fixed-pitch propeller to its shaft by an interference fit without a key, the propeller boss being expanded hydraulically over a tapered shaft.

Keyway

Source page ref: 324
The slot machined in a shaft or boss to receive a key.

Kind Of Packing

Source: Chartering & Shipping Terms Glossary
Description of the packaging material used for goods to be transported.

Kinematic viscosity

Source page ref: 324
A measure of a fluid's resistance to flow under gravity, equal to its dynamic viscosity divided by its density, used to specify fuels and oils.

King Pin

Source: Chartering & Shipping Terms Glossary
The coupling pin, welded or bolted in the centre of the front underside of a semi-trailer chassis, which couples to the fifth wheel of the towing tractor or dolly convertor.

Kingpost

Added — maritime supplement
A short, strong vertical post, also called a Samson post, that supports cargo-handling derricks and their associated blocks and rigging. Kingposts are built into the ship's structure to take the loads imposed during cargo operations.

Kingston valve

Source page ref: 324
A valve in the ship's bottom (a sea valve) controlling the connection between a sea chest or seawater system and the sea.

KM

Source page ref: 377
The height of the metacentre above the keel, equal to KB plus BM, used with KG to find the metacentric height.

Knocking

Source page ref: 324
Abnormal, noisy combustion in an engine caused by uncontrolled ignition, which can damage the engine; its tendency depends on the fuel and engine condition.

Knot

Source page ref: 324
A unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, the standard measure of a ship's speed.

Knot (speed)

Added — maritime supplement
A unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, used for the speed of ships and the rate of currents and wind. One knot is approximately 1.852 kilometres per hour.

Knuckle

Source page ref: 324
A sharp change in direction of plating or of a line of the hull, where the surface turns at an angle.

Kort nozzle

Source page ref: 325
A fixed or steerable duct surrounding a propeller that increases thrust at low speed, used on tugs and trawlers needing high pull.

Kyoto Convention

Source: Chartering & Shipping Terms Glossary
The convention for the International Customs Cooperation Council held in Kyoto in 1973 for the simplification and harmonization of national customs procedures.