Text 3c

SAFETY AT SEA

Safety standards for ships have been set up by International Safety of Life at Sea conventions, which were held in 1914,1929,1948,1960, and 1972. All the major maritime nations have agreed to these stand­ards. The standards require that ships have watertight bulkheads; fire-fighting equipment; and enough lifeboats, life jackets, and other lifesaving equipment. Other rules provide that lifesaving and fire drills be carried out at regular intervals. In addition, ships must follow the International Rules of the Road. These rules deal with such points as the rights of way of ships on the high seas, the lights ships must show, and the signals that ships must give in fog and during times of distress.

In 1930, all the leading seafaring countries accepted rules set up by the International Load Convention to keep ships from being overloaded. These rules require that cargo ships have a series of short lines painted on their side to show the depth to which the vessels may be safely loaded at various times of the year and in vari­ous waters. When a ship, being loaded with cargo, sinks in the water to a certain line, it has reached the maxi­mum load. The lines are called Plimsoll marks. They are named after Samuel Plimsoll, a member of the British Parliament who brought about their adoption in Great Britain's Merchant Shipping Act of 1876. In 1966, the world's maritime nations agreed to new rules that raised the limits to which ships may be safely loaded. The new rules reflected improvements in ship design and construction since 1930.

In addition to international maritime laws, individual countries have regulations governing the construction and operation of their own ships. The United States has especially high safety requirements. In many cases, its standards are far higher than international rules require. These strict standards have made American ships excep­tionally safe. They have also made U.S. ships much more costly to build and operate than foreign ships.

The U.S. Coast Guard sees that American vessels meet the standards set up by the federal government. The Coast Guard must approve the construction plans for each new ship. It inspects the ships during their con­struction to make sure that they are being built accord­ing to the plans. At regular periods, the Coast Guard also checks all merchant ships in active service to make sure that they meet all safety regulations.

Ex. 17. Summarize the main points of the unit in a form of a short report.

Unit IV water ecology

Ex. 1. Read and remember the words:

Discharge, threat, environment, hazard, disturbance, impact, dredging, waste, disposal, pollution, can, leakage, accident, consequence, erosion, slope, state, equilibrium, backwash, barrel, repository, damage, value, grave, rag, leftover, emission, fume, sulphur, nitrogen, acidification, tank, exhaust, spill, current, exposure;

To present, to deliberate, to spread (out), to involve, to constitute, to cause, to expose, to wipe (out), to rescue, to prohibit, to imply, to irritate, to pose, to grind, to regard, to include, to leak, to restore;

Particular, solid, sensitive, combustible, brackish, persistent, obvious, disastrous, moderate, adverse, detrimental, poisonous, restorative;

To be far smth, to be got rid of, due to

Ex. 2. Insert the right word:

slope, spills, brackish, tanks, damage, currents, wastes, erosion, restorative, exhausts, disturbance, accidents, oil-spills, threat, exposure, detrimental, hazard, backwash, consequences

1) Chemical pollutions such as involuntary …, leakage from motors and fuel … , great accidents present the serious … .2) Shipping represents a great harm to the environment due to … and …from ships and harbours. 3) … caused by ships is the result of wave actions and currents. 4) Some adverse conditions as cold climate, … water can make … biological processes considerably slower. 5) The impact of the waves depends on the … and material of the shore. 6) The erosion risk is determined among others by the … to ship-generated waves and probable direction of the attack by this waves. 7) In the areas where the tanker … happen, … are serious, long-term and very … to surrounded water resources. 8) Shipping causes a serious … to the environment. 9) Some of detrimental activities are presence of … of wildlife in coastal areas through boat traffic, landing and spills, … and different chemical pollutions. 10) The … are produced when large water masses are moved rapidly during forward movement of the ship.

Ex. 3.Change the words of italic type with their synonyms from your active