Convoy is a term originating from the French convoi. The concept is usually used to name the set of vehicles that move in a group to support each other. For example: “The convoy of trucks crossed the desert in five days”, “The owner of the bar was terrified to see how a convoy of motorcyclists stopped at the door”, “The president’s car will be guarded by a convoy that includes helicopters”.
According to abbreviationfinder.org, the formation of a convoy is usually justified for security reasons . Suppose an important political leader needs to move in the middle of a war zone. If he travels only with his car, it is possible that his path may be interrupted or he may have a seizure. On the other hand, if he travels in a convoy (surrounded by three other vehicles and four motorcycles, and escorted in the air by a helicopter), his chances of defending himself against an attack will be much greater.
The convoy can also be formed to traverse terrain with natural difficulties. For example: a group of tourists plans to cross a desert area, where there are no service stations or any kind of infrastructure; For this reason, the travelers decide to form a convoy and leave in a caravan, with five cars in a row, thanks to which if one suffers a mechanical problem, the rest can stop and contribute to the repair.
On the other hand, convoy can be used as a synonym for train (a means of transport that brings together several wagons), although this is not so common in today’s everyday speech: “The convoy arrived at the station half an hour late”, “There were missing four kilometers to reach its destination when the convoy stopped due to a mechanical problem”, “The poor condition of the road prevented the convoy from advancing”.
The term also finds its use outside the mainland, since marine convoy is used to name the group formed by warships that escort merchant ships (any vessel, except pleasure boats, that is not part of the Navy; on the other hand, the fundamental meaning of merchant ship refers to one that transports merchandise or passengers).
The concept of marine convoy can be understood as a synonym for preserves. The use of the word convoy, in this case, serves to name the type of cargo carried by the ship; In this way, it is possible to speak of a silver convoy or troop convoy, among others.
Let us see below some expressions that contain the term convoy, always in the context of the maritime field:
* half convoy: is made up of well-armed merchant ships coming together to offer mutual defense and have a common goal ;
* navigate in convoy: refers to the grouping of merchant ships to advance through the sea following the orders of the same commander, who is in charge of the warships that must escort them;
* give convoy: the action of escorting, protecting and accompanying one or more boats that do not have enough weapons to stay safe, or that do not have any type of weapon in their possession. A warship can give a convoy to a merchant ship, for example;
* abandon or abandon the convoy: When a group of warships meets enemies whose strength far exceeds them, they are said to forsake or abandon the convoy when they fail to escort and protect the vessels they had in their care. This action can also be carried out by merchant ships, even going against the commander’s orders, if they believe that only in this way can they maintain their integrity in a very dangerous confrontation.
