Daily Archives: December 11, 2025

The Past Simple tense is used in Maritime English just as in general English: to describe actions and events that were completed at a definite time in the past. This is particularly useful for reporting incidents, log entries, and recounting past voyages or maintenance work.
Formation of the Past Simple
The rules for forming the past simple tense remain the same as general English:
Regular Verbs: Add “-ed” to the base form (e.g., dock, docked; sail, sailed).
Irregular Verbs: These follow no specific pattern and must be learned individually (e.g., go becomes went; see becomes saw; put remains put).
Key Uses in a Maritime Context
In a shipping or seafaring context, the past simple is essential for clear communication, especially when language barriers exist and precision is critical, as emphasized by the IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP).
Examples of its use include:
Reporting past events: “The vessel arrived in port yesterday”.
Describing a sequence of actions: “The Captain first met his wife when he was eighteen. Three lifeboats were launched at once. They sailed as soon as the message was received.”.
Logbook entries: “We departed the port of [Port Name] at 0800 hours on [Date]” (using a verb like depart or leave, the latter being irregular: left).
Describing past states or habits (often with “used to”): “I used to work as an apprentice then”.
Examples in Sentences
Here are specific examples using maritime vocabulary:
“Captain Fokas went on board two hours ago”.
“The rescue team was monitored by the Mate”.
“We sailed to Brazil on my father’s yacht”.
“The Chief Engineer oversaw the repairs last week” (oversaw is the past simple of oversee).
“They shipped the cargo last month”.
Training materials for seafarers often include specific exercises for the past simple tense, recognizing its importance in professional communication.
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