<P> A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an aeroplane . Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads . </P> <P> The word bulki meant "cargo" in Old Norse . Sometime in the 15th century sailors and builders in Europe realized that walls within a vessel would prevent cargo from shifting during passage . In shipbuilding, any vertical panel was called a "head". So walls installed abeam (side - to - side) in a vessel's hull were called "bulkheads ." Now, the term bulkhead applies to every vertical panel aboard a ship, except for the hull itself . </P>

What is the wall of a ship called