Port and starboard are nautical terms of orientation that deal unambiguously with the structure of vessels. Their structures are largely bilaterally symmetrical, meaning they have mirror-imageleft and right halves if divided sagittally. One asymmetric feature is that on ships where access is at the side, this access is usually only provided on the port side.
Side
Port and starboard unambiguously refer to the left and right side of the vessel, not the observer. That is, the port side of the vessel always refers to the same portion of the vessel's structure, and does not depend on which way the observer is facing. The port side is the side of the vessel which is to the left of an observer aboard the vessel and, that is, facing forward towards the direction the vehicle is heading when underway, and the starboard is to the right of such an observer. This convention allows orders and information to be given unambiguously, without needing to know which way any particular crew member is facing.
Etymology
The term starboard derives from the Old Englishsteorbord, meaning the side on which the ship is steered. Before ships had rudders on their centrelines, they were steered with a steering oar at the stern of the ship on the right hand side of the ship, because more people are right-handed. Since the steering oar was on the right side of the boat, it would tie up at the wharf on the other side. Hence the left side was called port. The Oxford English Dictionary cites port in this usage since 1543. Formerly, larboard was often used instead of port. This is from Middle Englishladebord and the term lade is related to the modern load. Larboard sounds similar to starboard and in 1844 the Royal Navy ordered that port be used instead. The United States Navy followed suit in 1846. Larboard continued to be used well into the 1850s by whalers. An Anglo-Saxon record of a voyage by Ohthere of Hålogaland used the word "bæcbord" for the left side of a ship. With the steering rudder on the starboard side the man on the rudder had his back to the bagbord side of the ship. The words for "port side" in other European languages, such as German Backbord, Dutch and Afrikaans bakboord, Spanish babor, and French bâbord, are derived from the same root.
Importance of standard terms
The navigational treaty convention, the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea—for instance, as appears in the UK's Merchant Shipping Regulations 1996 —sets forth requirements for maritime vessels to avoid collisions, whether by sail or powered, and whether a vessel is overtaking, approaching head-on, or crossing. To set forth these navigational rules, the terms starboard and port are absolutely essential, and to aid in in situ decision-making, the two sides of each vessel are marked, dusk to dawn, by navigation lights, the vessel's starboard side by green and its port side by red. Aircraft are lit in the same way.
