Athwartships is a nautical term meaning from side-to-side across a vessel, oriented at right angles (perpendicular) to the ship's centerline or fore-and-aft line. It describes a transverse position or direction, such as cargo, seating, or movement spanning from port to starboard.

Key Aspects of Athwartships:
Definition: Across the ship, perpendicular to the keel.

Usage: Used in shipping for stowing cargo, in navigation to describe object positioning, and in naval architecture to describe structural framing.

Opposite: Fore-and-aft (longitudinal).

Example: "The benches were placed athwartships" means they ran from one side of the boat to the other.

It is commonly used in both sailing and maritime logistics to indicate transversal orientation.