Operations Vocabulary

Shipping Terms

Complete maritime shipping vocabulary reference with searchable terms used in operations, compliance, and port logistics.

Showing 25 of 392 terms

Term	Description
CONFERENCE	An affiliation of shipowners operating over the same route(s) who agree to charge uniform rates and other terms of carriage. A conference is 'closed' if one can enter only by the consent of existing members of the conference. It is 'open' if anyone can enter by meeting certain technical and financial standards. Conference members are common carriers.
CONGESTIONS	Port/berth delays
CONSIGNEE	The person to whom cargo is consigned as stated on the bills of lading.
CONSIGNOR	The person named in the bill of lading as the one from whom the goods have been received for shipment.
Construction unit	Equipped to assist during offshore construction and maintenance work.
CONTAINER	A van, flatrack, open top trailer or other similar trailer body on or into which cargo is loaded and transported without chassis aboard ocean vessels.; a large rectangular or square container/box of a strong structure that can withstand continuous rough handling from ship to shore and back. It opens from one side to allow cargo to be stacked and stowed into it.
CONTAINER SHIP	A ship constructed in such a way that she can easily stack containers near and on top of each other as well as on deck. A vessel designed to carry standard intermodal containers enabling efficient loading, unloading, and transport to and from the vessel. Oceangoing merchant ship designed to transport a unit load of standard-sized containers 8 feet square and 20 or 40 feet long. The hull is divided into cells that are easily accessible through large hatches, and more containers can be loaded on deck atop the closed hatches. Loading and unloading can proceed simultaneously using giant traveling cranes at special berths. Container ships usually carry in the range of 25,000 to 50,000 deadweight tons. Whereas a general-cargo ship may spend as much as 70 percent of its life in port loading and discharging cargo, a container ship can be turned around in 36 hours or less, spending as little as 20 percent of its time in port. This ship type is the result of American design innovation. 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.
CONTRACT OF AFFREIGHTMENT (COA)	A service contract under which a ship owner agrees to transport a specified quantity of fuel products or specialty products, at a specified rate per ton, between designated loading and discharge ports. This type contract differs from a spot or consecutive voyage charter in that no particular vessel is. specified.
CPI	Consumer Price Index.
CREW	The personnel engaged on board ship, excluding the master and officers and the passengers on passenger ships.
CREW LIST	List prepared by the master of a ship showing the full names, nationality, passport or discharge book number, rank and age of every officer and crew member engaged on board that ship. This serves as one of the essential ship's documents which is always requested to be presented and handed over to the customs and immigration authorities when they board the vessel on arrival.
CROSS	TRADES - Foreign-to-foreign trade carried by ships from a nation other than the two trading nations.
CRUDE OIL WASHING	A technique of cleaning tanks in oil tankers.
Cubic capacity	The most important commercial measurement when the intrinsic weight of the cargo is so low that the ship becomes full without being loaded to the cargo line. Is expressed in cubic metres or cubic feet.
DANGEROUS CARGO	All substances of an inflammable nature which are liable to spontaneous combustion either in themselves or when stowed adjacent to other substances and, when mixed with air, are liable to generate explosive gases or produce suffocation or poisoning or tainting of foodstuffs.
DANGEROUS LIQUIDS	Liquids giving off inflammable vapors.
DAVITS	Two radial cranes on a ship which hold the lifeboats. They are constructed in such a way as to lower and lift the lifeboats the easiest way possible and are also unobstructed in case of an emergency.
DBP	Digital Bunker Price
DEADFREIGHT	Space booked by shipper or charterer on a vessel but not used. Freight compensation for less utilization of carrying capacity as agreed.
DEADFREIGHT FACTOR	Percentage of a ship's carrying capacity that is not utilized.
DEADWEIGHT(DWT) /DWAT/DWCC	A common measure of ship carrying capacity. The number of tons (2240 lbs.) of cargo, stores and bunkers that a vessel can transport. It is the difference between the number of tons of water a vessel displaces 'light' and the number of tons it displaces 'when submerged to the 'deep load line'.' A vessel'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.
DECK GANG	The officers and seamen comprising the deck department aboard ship. Also called deck crew, deck department, or just deck.
DECK HOUSE	Small superstructure on the top deck of a vessel which contains the helm and other navigational instruments.
DECK LOG	Also called Captain's Log. A full nautical record of a ship's voyage, written up at the end of each watch by the deck officer on watch. The principal entries are: courses steered; distance run; compass variations, sea and weather conditions; ship's position, principal headlands passed; names of lookouts, and any unusual position, principal headlands passed; names of lookouts, and any unusual happenings such as fire, collision, and the like..
DECK OFFICER	As distinguished from engineer officer, refers to all officers who assist the master in navigating the vessel when at sea, and supervise the handling of cargo when in port.