Template talk:Infobox Commercial Ship

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[edit] Usage

This template is designed to contain information on non-military ships. It is a centralised version of the table that has been used for ships on Wikipedia for a long time now. It contains a number of rows that will appear regardless of whether anything is filled in for those rows and a number of rows that only appear if they actually contain something. The empty version of the table looks like this:

{{Infobox Commercial Ship|
|Ship name=
|Ship image=
|Ship flag=
|Ship completed=
|Ship status=
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship length=
|Ship beam=
|Ship draught=
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed=
|Ship crew=
|Ship capacity=
<!-- Optional fields -->
|Ship caption=
|Ship country=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship christened=
|Ship purchased=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|}}

Using this version of the table will result in the following default being created on the page where the template is used:

The rows that will always appear in the template are:

• Ship name
• Ship image
• Ship flag
• Ship completed
• Ship status
• Ship tonnage
• Ship length
• Ship beam
• Ship draught
• Ship propulsion
• Ship speed
• Ship crew

They are included as all ships, by definition, have those qualities. If they are empty the text rows default to "Unknown" and the image rows (Ship image and Ship flag) default to displaying Image:IIH.png as a placeholder.

The remaining rows in the table are optional and they only appear if they actually have something in them since not all ships possess these attributes. They are:

• Ship caption
• Ship country
• Ship ordered
• Ship builder
• Ship christened
• Ship purchased
• Ship in service
• Ship out of service
• Ship renamed
• Ship homeport
• Ship capacity
• Ship motto
• Ship nickname
• Ship honours

US and UK alternative spellings are available for the variables Ship draught, Ship armour and Ship honours. Simply alter the spelling of the variables to Ship draft, Ship armor and Ship honors respectively and the US spellings will come up rather than the UK spellings. Since Ship draught is a row that always appears in the table if neither variable contains any information the row will default to "Unknown" and the US spelling will be used.

A main configuration parameter is NavyColor which controls the color of the career and general characteristics title bars. The default color is "navy".

The usage of each row is as follows:

Mandatory

• Ship name — the name of the ship
• Ship image — a photo or any other image of the ship in question using standard MediaWiki image markup, which should not be wider than 300 pixels (include an alternate text for those who can't see the image—the name of the ship at least)
• Ship flag — the flag/ensign/jack the ship flew, again inserted using standard MediaWiki image markup
• Ship completed — the date the ship was completed
• Ship status — the current status of the ship if still extant or its final fate otherwise
• Ship tonnage —
• Ship length — the length of the ship
• Ship beam — the beam of the ship
• Ship draught — the amount of water the ship draws
• Ship propulsion — the propulsion method used for the ship including details, if appropriate and available, of engine-type, number of shafts and shaft horsepower
• Ship speed — the speed the ship was capable of
• Ship crew — the number of crew members serving on board the ship including a split into different organisations if appropriate and known
• Ship capacity — the amount and type of cargo that the ship can carry and the amount of stores that a warship carries

Optional

• Ship caption — a caption to the image of the ship in question (if appropriate—e.g. if there's more than one ship in the picture, or if the occasion or activity is noteworthy)
• Ship country — the country that the ship served, usually presented in brackets
• Ship ordered — the date the ship was first ordered
• Ship builder - the organisation that built the ship
• Ship christened — the date the ship was christened
• Ship purchased — the date the ship changed hands either by purchase or some other means like requisitioning, except for capture by enemy forces which is covered by another variable
• Ship in service — the date the ship came into service where it was not commissioned (for example ships of the Military Sealift Command of the United States Navy
• Ship out of service — the date the ship came out of service
• Ship renamed — the date the ship was renamed and what names it went under before and after the renaming
• Ship homeport — the home port of the ship
• Ship motto — any motto known for the ship (include English translation if necessary)
• Ship nickname — any nicknames known for the ship
• Ship honours — any honours and awards bestowed on the ship, such as campaign awards, unit commendations and prizes (like the Blue Ribband for liners)

To input information into the table simply insert it after the equals sign on each row as appropriate. If the ship is part of a large class of vessels and each of those vessels share common characteristics such as propulsion equipment then MediaWiki templates can be used to insert that information for each member of the class. Any unique features of a particular ship in the class can then be inserted after the template as appropriate.

For a table of the ensigns and jacks that can be used in the table see Wikipedia:WikiProject Ships/Ensigns.

[edit] Example of Usage

The markup below produces the table seen on the right of the page:

{{Infobox Commercial Ship|
|Ship name=RMS Queen Mary
|Ship image=[[Image:Queenmary-ship.jpg|300px]]
|Ship flag=[[Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|35px]] [[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|35px]]
|Ship completed=[[September 26]], [[1934]] <sup>(Maiden Voyage: [[May 27]], [[1936]])</sup>
|Ship status=Retired [[December 11]], [[1967]] 
|Ship tonnage=81,961 tonnes
|Ship length=1,019.4 ft (311 m) oa; 965 ft B.P.
|Ship beam=118.5ft (36.1 m)
|Ship draught=39 ft (12,00 m)
|Ship propulsion=160,000 shaft hp (119 MW) Parsons double reduction steam turbines; max. 200,000 shaft hp (149 MW) steam turbines, 4 shafts
|Ship speed=approximately 30 knots (56 km/h) - 29.5 knots (55 km/h) cruising in service; maximum sustained speed was 32.6 knots (60 km/h)
|Ship crew=1101
|Ship capacity=2139: 776 first (cabin) class, 784 tourist class, 579 third class)
<!-- Optional fields -->
|Ship caption=Arriving in New York Harbor, [[June 20]] [[1945]],</br>with thousands of U.S. troops
|Ship country= [[United Kingdom]]<br/>[[United States]]
|Ship ordered=[[April 3]], [[1929]]
|Ship builder=John Brown and Company ([[Clydebank]], [[Scotland]])
|Ship christened=[[September 26]], [[1934]]
|Ship purchased=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship homeport=[[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]], [[California]]
|Ship height=181 ft (55.17 m)
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|}}

RMS Queen Mary
Arriving in New York Harbor, June 20, 1945, with thousands of U.S. troops
Career United Kingdom United States
Ordered:	April 3, 1929
Builder:	John Brown and Company (Clydebank, Scotland)
Completed:	September 26, 1934 (Maiden Voyage: May 27, 1936)
Status:	Retired December 11, 1967
Homeport:	Long Beach, California
General Characteristics
Tonnage:	81,961 tonnes
Height:	181 ft (55.17 m)
Length:	1,019.4 ft (311 m) oa; 965 ft B.P.
Beam:	118.5ft (36.1 m)
Draught:	39 ft (12,00 m)
Propulsion:	160,000 shaft hp (119 MW) Parsons double reduction steam turbines; max. 200,000 shaft hp (149 MW) steam turbines, 4 shafts
Speed:	approximately 30 knots (56 km/h) - 29.5 knots (55 km/h) cruising in service; maximum sustained speed was 32.6 knots (60 km/h)
Crew size:	1101
Capacity:	2139: 776 first (cabin) class, 784 tourist class, 579 third class)

[edit] Opening discussion

Here is a message used to invite participants. Feel free to use it to invite others.

Hello. As you may know, there are a variety of infobox templates used for ocean liners; at least one of which is ill-suited to passenger vessels. As a consequence of a discussion with User:Ebyabe at User_talk:Ebyabe#RMS_Queen_Mary, Ebyabe has generously agreed to create a template for passenger vessels. It appears at Template:Infobox Commercial Ship. Its creator needs assistance with the fields for the template. For example, it will need a tonnage field, but would not need a displacement field. Should beam be moulded breadth, or extreme beam? Should length be pp, or oa? Given your interest in this area, would you be willing to particpate in the project? If so, go to Template talk:Infobox Commercial Ship and weigh in. It may be that different templates are needed for passenger ships (gt), freighters (dwt, net), containerships (TEU) and that one size will not fit all. Thanks for your interest.

Removed some of the obvious military stuff. Also changed the color of the headers to a lighter blue. It's mostly for the Career box, b/c when you put in countries in brackets to make them linkable, you can hardly see them against the dark blue. If another shade is preferable, I can change, this was just an initial attempt. Don't think it looks too bad, though. :) --Ebyabe 00:58, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fields for passenger vessels

What fields should be included?

• Gross tons (gt), rather than displacement? Add displacement when available?
• Launch or float-out date?

Most ships now are floated out of a drydock. Either date is months before completion date. Launch is often mistaken for date of entry into service.

• Entered service versus maiden voyage?
• Complement or crew?
• Passenger capacity
• Length oa or another measure, such as pp or wl? Or both/all when available?
• Beam or breadth or moulded breadth; or one figure for wl and another for extreme width?

What fields should be excluded?

• All specifically military fields, such as armour, armament, and electronics.
• Laid down

often unavailable

• commissioned

A few quick comments that may be of some use:

• Displacement will be VERY difficult to come by for all modern vessels. GRT is the common measure of a passenger ship's size.
• Launch Date is irrelavant with current building practices - I recommend removing the reference.
• Entered Service is usually a few months after delivery so will be difficult to obtain
• Suggest Crew Size as the correct modern nomenclature
• Length Overall would probably suffice and is generally easy to obtain
• The value quoted as Beam is normally Moulded Breadth but Beam will be understood by a wider audience.

• Missing Fields:
  • Total Installed Power (Most Cruise Ships are Diesel Electric)
  • Port of Registry
  • Route (for ferries) or Area of Service (for Cruise Ships)
  • Lanemetres of vehicle capacity (for Ferries)
  • Operator
  • Former Names
  • Former Owner/Operators
  • Sister Ships

Jmvolc 02:33, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

My thoughts on Jmvolc's suggestions:

• Eliminate displacement, substitute tonnage
• Lose launch date
• We need some date for completion-- completion, delivery or acceptance?
• Crew size instead of complement
• Capacity would allow entries as diverse as passengers, sheep, or both (and there were ships which carried both); TEU for containerships; vehicle capacity for ferries; bbl for tankers
• Length
• Beam-- entries into this field can specify if it is maximum or extreme. e.g. MS Freedom of the Seas
• Should propulsion be used vice installed power?
• Operator
• Other missing fields could be optional (would not appear unless filled in)

This format could be used for all merchant vessels, and is not so crowded with specialized information that it would overshadow the article text. Kablammo 17:52, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

• • • I would caution against attempting to make 1 template that could be used for all merchant vessels. Tankers need to be categorized by commodity and DWT, PCC's by Lanemetres fixed and hoistable, Container ships by DWT and TEU's, etc. whereas Cruise ships have no interest in DWT. Additionally, cargo vessels rarely have a route or an "area of operation" Let's keep this simple by focusing on passenger vessels. Jmvolc 21:14, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

That's fine by me. I was thinking there could be a base template, if you will, for elements common to all powered vessels; we could agree on that and supplement it for passenger ships, or just go right to the passenger vessel template and modify it later for others. Ebyabe, your idea the different background color is good-- that would tell us right away if someone has used the naval template for a commercial vessel. (The naval template has been used for a few ferries, which causes problems with "displacement".) Kablammo 21:33, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Sounds about right. We should prolly get the bugs ironed out of this before potentially spawning off other infoboxes. And trying to make this an infobox for too many differing ship types would make it unduly complicated. 'Specially for me; my programming skills lie more in logicking things out. I'll work on tweaks y'all have suggested. --Ebyabe 01:54, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Agreed, we should take it slow. Given the number of articles that may use such a template we have to get it right. Kablammo 02:02, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

My thoughts on the list from above:

"The rows that will always appear in the template are:"

• Ship name Sisterships ? Jmvolc 03:41, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
• Ship image
• Ship flag
• Ship laid down -- should not appear unless filled
• Ship launched -- change to completed
• Ship fate -- change to status which could include in-service, laid up, or scrapped
• Ship displacement -- change to tonnage
• Ship length
• Ship beam
• Ship draught
• Ship propulsion Total Installed Power (see above) Jmvolc 03:41, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
• Ship speed
• Ship crew

• add new mandatory field for capacity-- should always be known for a passenger ship

Other fields will show only if filled-- above will show regardless. Kablammo 19:33, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

We could use a template modeled on the Lloyd's Register of Ships categories. This is what I use to get information on the ships I have filled-in so far. We would have to modify is slightly to make it user-friendly, but that could be a start. Further, using LRS as a model means that we have a greater likelyhood of accessing the information for the fields. (Although I have come across LRS entries that were missing information).Gary Joseph 04:24, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Updated the template, and usage related stuff. I may have missed something here; if so, please feel free to correctify.

Wondering if any of the following fields should be removed from the template, as they seem military-ish? Lemme know and I'll do so:

• Ship purchased
• Ship in service
• Ship out of service
• Ship renamed (maybe not this one, it could occasionally apply to commercial)
• Ship reclassified (remove-- will only very rarely apply to passenger ship Kablammo 18:07, 11 February 2007 (UTC))
• Ship range (remove-- not really relevant unless used as transport Kablammo 18:07, 11 February 2007 (UTC))
• Ship endurance (remove-- not relevant unless used as transport)
• Ship test depth (remove Kablammo 18:07, 11 February 2007 (UTC))
• Ship boats (probably not needed Kablammo 18:07, 11 February 2007 (UTC))
• Ship motto
• Ship nickname
• Ship honours I like this one ... many ships are distinguished as being the first to ... or the fastests, etc. Jmvolc 03:41, 17 January 2007 (UTC)
• Ship notes (remove-- can go into text of article Kablammo 18:07, 11 February 2007 (UTC))
• Ship badge (remove Kablammo 18:07, 11 February 2007 (UTC))

--Ebyabe 19:55, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

As to sisterships-- that could appear if filled. Would it make more sense to have class? As to fields from classification societies-- are there any fields we should include?

There seems to be agreement on basic template, with one exception. I have suggested Propulsion as a field, Jmvolc prefers Installed power, and notes most ships now are diesel-powered. We need a neutral term to accommodate both current and historic vessels. Could we just use Power and leave it at that? Kablammo 18:07, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

The fields recommended for removal have been deleted, and the explanations and such have been taken out for them.

I don't really see why Propulsion wouldn't apply to diesel, though; isn't the word a generic term for that sort of thing? The compact OED defines it as - noun the action of propelling or driving forward.[1] But I can change it to whatever's agreed upon; 'tis fine by-eth me. :) --Ebyabe 21:24, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

I prefer Propulsion but Jmvolc does not. I came across one template that used both propulsion and power, with the method under propulsion, and its rated power under that field. As the template has to fit all we need to agree on a field that is useful for reciprocating steam, direct-drive or geared turbines, turbine-electric, and diesel-electric, and a way to list the rated power. I understand there is a difference between the power supplied by the prime mover (for example, the diesel engine) and the power delivered to the screws via electic motors, but I'm not sure the template fields need to provide that-- it may be a matter for the text to be inserted in those fields. But see how it is handled in RMS Queen Mary 2 and RMS Mauretania (1906) as examples; separating power and propulsion seems to work there Kablammo 21:46, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ferry templates

Template:WAFerry to Template:Infobox Ferry seem to overlap each other and possible this template. Would it be possible to use this template for the Ferry articles? --Dual Freq 01:49, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

There is overlap and we probably should combine the discussions in one place.Kablammo 17:53, 5 January 2007 (UTC)