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A bridge wing is a walkway on a ship that extends from the pilot’s house to the outer edges of the vessel, providing a better view for the captain to maneuver the ship when docking. It has control panels and is open for a panoramic view.
A bridge wing is a narrow walkway that extends outward from the pilot’s house on a ship to the outer edges of the vessel. Commonly fitted with a control panel on each side, the bridge wing provides an optimal visual position for a captain to maneuver the ship when docked. Large ships generally place the ship’s wheel and other vital controls in the center of the bridge. This position does not provide a good view of the outside area of the ship’s hull for the captain when the ship enters confined spaces, such as a crowded port or dock area. By moving to the bridge wing, the captain has a much better view of the vessel’s proximity to the dock.
Due, in part, to the great length of some ships, many large ships are equipped not only with propellers to move the ship back and forth, but devices known as propellers are also placed on the ship’s hull to help propel the ship. move the ship from port to starboard and vice versa. This side to side motion is commonly required when attempting to dock larger vessels. The main difficulty in this side-to-side movement of the ship is proper vision. The solution to this problem, for many ships, is the bridge wing.
The bridge wing allows a ship’s captain to gain a much clearer understanding of what the ship must do when entering or exiting a berthed position by allowing the captain to look directly over the side of the hull. While not a complete set of controls, there are enough controls located on a panel on either side of the ship’s bridge wing to allow the captain to use the thrusters and rudder to complete the docking maneuver in most cases. In some circumstances, external control panels require a key to enable or disable them, thus preventing unwanted or unauthorized use by anyone other than the ship’s captain.
On very long cruises, the ship’s captain might take the opportunity to stand on the bridge wing and get a breath of fresh air. The area surrounding the bridge wing is rarely closed. This area is designed to remain an open area, designed to give a panoramic view of the side of the ship’s hull, and enclosing the area would be counterproductive. Occasionally a spotlight will be attached to the railing of the bridge wing to allow the captain to illuminate any dark areas, thus providing the best possible visual image of the area.
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