Port and starboard - wikipedia Port and starboard Image from the Bayeux Tapestry showing a longship with a steering oar on the starboard side Diagram showing the schematic view of a ship 's position lights. Port and starboard are nautical and aeronautical terms of orientation that deal unambiguously with the structure of vessels and aircraft. Their structures are largely bilaterally symmetrical, meaning they have mirror - image left and right halves if divided long - ways down the middle. To understand which is which, when a person is facing the bow on a vessel or aircraft, that is, forward towards the direction the vehicle is heading when underway, the port side is the left - hand side and the starboard side is the right - hand side. However, port and starboard never change ; they are unambiguous references that are not based on the relative directions of an observer, just like the cardinal directions of east and west do n't change no matter the direction a person faces. Contents 1 Etymology 2 The importance of these standard terms 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Etymology The term starboard derives from the Old English steorbord, 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. Formerly, larboard was used instead of port. This is from Middle - English ladebord 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. The importance of these standard terms The navigational treaty convention, the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea -- for instance, as appears in the Merchant Shipping ( Distress Signals and Prevention of Collisions ) Regulations of 1996 ( and comparable US documents from the US Coast Guard ), -- 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. See also Glossary of nautical terms Anatomical terms of location, another example of terms of directionality that do not depend on the location of the observer for things that are bilaterally symmetrical Handedness Laterality Proper right and proper left Reflection symmetry Sinistral and dextral Direction ( disambiguation ) References Jump up ^ Grape, Wolfgang ( 1994 ). The Bayeux Tapestry : Monument to a Norman Triumph. Art and Design Series. Munich, DEU : Prestel. p. 95. ISBN 978 - 3791313658. Retrieved February 2, 2017. ^ Jump up to : NOS Staff ( December 8, 2014 ). `` Why Do Ships use `` Port '' and `` Starboard '' Instead of `` Left '' and `` Right ? '' ``. NOAA National Ocean Service ( NOS ) Ocean Facts. Washington, DC : U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ). Retrieved February 2, 2017 -- via OceanService.NOAA.gov. ^ Jump up to : RMG Staff ( February 2, 2017 ). `` Port and Starboard : Why do Sailors say ' Port ' and ' Starboard ', for `` Left '' and `` Right ? '' ``. Discover : Explore by Theme. Greenwich, England, UK : Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved February 2, 2017 -- via RMG.co.uk. Jump up ^ Administration, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric. `` Unlike left and right, port and starboard refer to fixed locations on a vessel ''. oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ Norie, John William ; Hobbs, J.S. ( 1847 ) ( 1840 ). Sailing directions for the Bay of Biscay, including the coasts of France and Spain, from Ushant to Cape Finisterre ( `` A new ed., rev. and considerably improved '' ed. ). C. Wilson. p. 1. OCLC 41208722. Retrieved 7 February 2010. An order, recently issued by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, states, that in order to prevent mistakes, which frequently occur from the similarity of the words starboard and larboard, in future, the word port is to be substituted for larboard, in all Her Majesty 's ships or vessels. Jump up ^ George Bancroft ( February 18, 1846 ). `` Port and Starboard : General Order, 18 February 1846 ''. General Orders. Washington, DC : US Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command ( NHHC ). Retrieved February 2, 2017 -- via History.Navy.mil. ^ Jump up to : MCA Staff ( 2004 ) ( 1996 ). The Merchant Shipping ( Distress Signals and Prevention of Collisions ) Regulations 1996 ( PDF ). Southampton, ENG : Crown Department of Transport, Maritime and Coastguard Agency ( MCA ). Retrieved 2 February 2017. External links The dictionary definition of bæcbord at Wiktionary The dictionary definition of larboard at Wiktionary The dictionary definition of starboard at Wiktionary The dictionary definition of port at Wiktionary Parts of a sailing ship Aftercastle Afterdeck Anchor Anchor windlass Apparent wind indicator Beakhead Bilge Bilgeboard Bitts Boom brake Bow Bowsprit Capstan Cathead Centreboard Chains Cockpit Crow 's nest Daggerboard Deck Figurehead Forecastle Gangway Gunwale Head Hull Jackline Jibboom Keel Keel ( Canting ) Kelson Leeboard Mast Orlop deck Poop deck Prow Quarter gallery Quarterdeck Rudder Ship 's wheel Skeg Stem Stern Sternpost Strake Taffrail Tiller Top Transom Whipstaff Winch Aircraft components and systems Airframe structure Aft pressure bulkhead Cabane strut Canopy Cruciform tail Dope Empennage Fabric covering Fairing Flying wires Former Fuselage Hardpoint Interplane strut Jury strut Leading edge Lift strut Longeron Nacelle Rib Ring tail Spar Stabilizer Stressed skin Strut T - tail Tailplane Trailing edge Triple tail Twin tail Vertical stabilizer V - tail Y - tail Wing root Wing tip Wingbox Flight controls Aileron Airbrake Artificial feel Autopilot Canard Centre stick Deceleron Dive brake Electro - hydraulic actuator Elevator Elevon Flaperon Flight control modes Fly - by - wire Gust lock Rudder Servo tab Side - stick Spoiler Spoileron Stabilator Stick pusher Stick shaker Trim tab Wing warping Yaw damper Yoke Aerodynamic and high - lift devices Active Aeroelastic Wing Adaptive compliant wing Blown flap Channel wing Dog - tooth Droop Flap Gouge flap Gurney flap Krueger flap Leading edge cuff LEX Slats Slot Stall strips Strake Variable - sweep wing Vortex generator Vortilon Wing fence Winglet Avionic and flight instrument systems ACAS Air data computer Airspeed indicator Altimeter Annunciator panel Attitude indicator Compass Course deviation indicator EFIS EICAS Flight management system Glass cockpit GPS Heading indicator Horizontal situation indicator INS Pitot - static system Radar altimeter TCAS Transponder Turn and slip indicator Vertical Speed Indicator Yaw string Propulsion controls, devices and fuel systems Autothrottle Drop tank FADEC Fuel tank Gascolator Inlet cone Intake ramp NACA cowling Self - sealing fuel tank Splitter plate Throttle Thrust lever Thrust reversal Townend ring Wet wing Landing and arresting gear Aircraft tire Arrestor hook Autobrake Conventional landing gear Drogue parachute Landing gear Landing gear extender Oleo strut Tricycle landing gear Tundra tire Escape systems Ejection seat Escape crew capsule Other systems Aircraft lavatory Auxiliary power unit Bleed air system Deicing boot Emergency oxygen system Flight data recorder Entertainment system Environmental control system Hydraulic system Ice protection system Landing lights Navigation light Passenger service unit Ram air turbine Weeping wing Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Port_and_starboard&oldid=856188434 '' Categories : Aeronautics Nautical terminology Orientation ( geometry ) Hidden categories : CS1 : Julian -- Gregorian uncertainty All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Български Deutsch Español 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Русский Simple English Türkçe Українська 中文 7 more Edit links This page was last edited on 23 August 2018, at 13 : 33 ( UTC ). 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Question: what is the port side of a boat
Answer: the left-hand side