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Wallenius Wilhelmsen
Wallenius Wilhelmsen is a Norwegian-Swedish provider of roll-on/roll-off shipping and vehicle logistics, headquartered in Oslo and formed in 2017 by combining the Wallenius and Wilhelmsen shipping families.
Warship
A warship is a ship built or adapted as a fighting unit for naval warfare, owned by a state's armed forces, ranging from patrol craft to aircraft carriers and submarines.
Wasco (sternwheeler)
The Wasco was a wooden sternwheel passenger and freight vessel built in 1887 at Hood River, Oregon, later renamed Bay City and serving Puget Sound ports until her 1924 abandonment.
Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is the largest ferry system in the United States, operating 21 ferries across Puget Sound since 1951 and carrying more than 20.1 million riders in 2025.
Wasp-class amphibious assault ship
Wasp-class amphibious assault ship (LHD), US Navy big-deck amphibious ships LHD 1-8 led by USS Wasp, commissioned 1989; ~40,000 tons, well deck for LCAC, AV-8B/F-35B capable, carries a 2,000-Marine MEU.
Watch system
A watch system divides a ship's day into duty periods called watches, with crew teams taking turns so the ship is manned continuously, traditionally in six four-hour watches.
Water taxi
A water taxi, or water bus, is a small passenger boat carrying people for hire across a harbor, river, or bay, on demand or on short fixed routes.
Watertight subdivision
Watertight subdivision is the division of a ship's hull into compartments separated by watertight bulkheads and decks, so that flooding after hull damage is confined and the ship stays afloat.
Wave-making resistance
Wave-making resistance is the part of a ship's total resistance caused by the gravity-wave pattern the hull generates and carries, which absorbs energy from the hull, appearing as drag.
Weather ship
A weather ship, also called an ocean station vessel, was a ship stationed at a fixed position in the ocean to make surface and upper-air observations for weather forecasting.
Welding in shipbuilding
Welding in shipbuilding is the fusion joining of steel plates and blocks that replaced riveting during World War II and remains every modern shipyard's core fabrication process.
Wetting the hull
Wetting the hull, more commonly called a wetting down or wetting-down party, is a naval celebration in which shipmates douse a newly promoted officer with water.
Whaleboat
A whaleboat is a light, open, double-ended rowing boat, pointed at both ends, developed in the 18th century to hunt whales and later adopted by navies as the naval whaler.
Whiskey-class submarine
The Whiskey-class submarine (Проект 613) was a Soviet diesel-electric attack submarine, the most produced submarine design of the Cold War, with 236 built from 1951.
White Ship disaster
The White Ship disaster was the sinking off Barfleur, Normandy, in 1120 that drowned William Adelin, heir of King Henry I, and about 300 nobles, triggering a succession crisis.
White Star Line
The White Star Line, formally the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, was a British shipping line best known for operating RMS Titanic, founded in 1845 and merged with Cunard in 1934.
Whydah Gally
The Whydah Gally was a slave ship captured by the pirate Samuel Bellamy in 1717 and wrecked off Cape Cod, the first pirate shipwreck positively identified.
Wickes-class destroyer
The Wickes-class destroyer was a class of 111 flush-deck US Navy destroyers built between 1917 and 1921, the first American warship class produced by mass production.
Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding
Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA is a Norwegian maritime holding company, parent of the shipping group founded in Tønsberg, Norway, in 1861 by Morten Wilhelm Wilhelmsen.
Wilkes Expedition
The Wilkes Expedition, formally the United States Exploring Expedition, was a U.S. Navy voyage of 1838 to 1842 commanded by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes that circumnavigated the globe.
William C. Webster
William C. Webster is an American naval architect and ocean engineer, professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1998.
William Denny and Brothers
William Denny and Brothers was a Scottish shipbuilding firm in Dumbarton, operating from 1844 until 1963 and known for scientific ship design and the Denny-Brown stabilizer.
William McMaster Murdoch
William McMaster Murdoch was a Scottish merchant navy officer who served as First Officer of the Titanic, gave the orders when it struck an iceberg, and died in the sinking.
William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie
William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, known as Lord Pirrie, was a Belfast shipbuilder and politician who ran Harland & Wolff for three decades and oversaw the Olympic-class liners.
Winch driver (dock worker)
A winch driver is a dockworker who operates the winch that hoists cargo between a ship's hold and the dock, guided by hand signals from a hatch tender.
Wind-assisted propulsion
Wind-assisted propulsion uses devices such as rotor sails, wing sails, or kites to add wind thrust to a ship that keeps its engine as its main means of propulsion.
Women and children first
Women and children first, known as the Birkenhead drill, is a maritime evacuation custom under which women and children board lifeboats before men when a ship sinks.
Women in piracy
Women in piracy, also known as female pirates, covers women raiders and commanders across history, from Sayyida al-Hurra to Ching Shih, who led history's largest pirate fleet after 1807.
Wonder of the Seas
Wonder of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International. Built in France, it was the world's largest cruise ship from 2022 until 2024.
Wreck of the Dunbar
The wreck of the Dunbar was the 1857 loss of a British clipper ship on cliffs at South Head, Sydney, drowning 121 of the 122 aboard.