Skip to main content

Story: Marine invaders

Trawler sea chest

Image
Trawler sea chest

A sea chest is a recess in a ship’s hull that houses pipes to take in seawater. Water is pumped in for cooling engines, washing decks and as ballast to stabilise the vessel. A sea chest has a grille to keep out large items, but this can also stop smaller organisms from being flushed out.

Using this item

Cawthron Institute

by Tim Dodgshun

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Christina Troup, Marine invaders – Reaching New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8663/trawler-sea-chest (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Christina Troup, published 2 March 2009.