CONTAINER SHIP – a ship designed to handle containerised cargo. A fully cellular container ship is one that carries no cranes and is reliant on shorebased cranes for loading and discharging. Container ships’ hulls are divided into cells accessible through large hatches into which the containers fit. Specialized types of container ships are the LASH and SeaBee, which carry floating containers (or “lighters,”) and RoRo ships, which may carry containers on truck trailers.
DEADWEIGHT (DWT) – A common measure of ship carrying capacity, equalling the number of tonnes of cargo, stores and bunkers that the ship can transport. It is the difference between the number of tonnes of water a vessel displaces ‘light’ and the number of tons it displaces when submerged to the ‘deep load line’. A ship’s cargo capacity is less than its total deadweight tonnage. The difference in weight between a vessel when it is fully loaded and when it is empty (in general transportation terms, the net) measured by the water it displaces. This is the most common, and useful, measurement for shipping as it measures cargo capacity and is usually used when referring to liquid and dry bulk ships.
DRY CARGO – Merchandise other than liquid carried in bulk.
DRY CARGO SHIP – Vessel that carries all merchandise, excluding liquid in bulk.
IMO – International Maritime Organization: Formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), was established in 1958 through the United Nations to coordinate international maritime safety and related practices.
OFF-HIRE or DOWNTIME – When a ship is temporarily out of operation, in accordance with the terms of the relevant charterparty, with a loss of agreed hire as a result.
ORE CARRIER – A large ship designed to be used for the carriage of ore. Because of the high density of ore, ore carriers have a relatively high centre of gravity to prevent them from rolling heavily at sea with possible stress to the hull.
SPOT (VOYAGE) – A charter for a particular vessel to move a single cargo between specified loading port(s) and discharge port(s) in the immediate future. Contract rate (spot rate) covers total operating expenses, i.e., bunkers, port charges, canal tolls, crew’s wages and food, insurance and repairs. Cargo owner absorbs, in addition, any expenses specifically levied against the cargo.