Short maritime terms glossary - part 2

CABLE SHIP - A specially constructed ship for the laying and repairing of telegraph and telephone cables across channels, seas, lakes, and oceans.

CABOTAGE - The carriage of goods or passengers for remuneration taken on

at one point and discharged at another point within the territory of the

same country.

CABOTAGE POLICIES - Reservation of a country's coastal (domestic) shipping for its own flag vessels.

CAORF - Computer-Assisted Operations Research Facility: A MarAd R&D facility located at U. S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, New York.

CARGO HANDLING - The act of loading and discharging a cargo ship.

CARGO PLAN - A plan giving the quantities and description of the various grades carried in the ship's cargo tanks, after the loading is completed.

CARGO PREFERENCE - Reserving a portion of a nation's imports and exports to national-flag vessels.

CARGO RETENTION CLAUSES - Clauses introduced by charterers based on shortage of delivered cargo because of increased oil prices.

CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA ACT - A law enacted in 1936 covering the transportation of merchandise by sea to or from ports of the United States and in foreign trades.

CARRIERS - Owners or operators of vessels providing transportation to shippers. The term is also used to refer to the vessels.

CATAMARAN - A double or treble-hulled vessel constructed in wood, aluminum or reinforced glass fibre and is also composed of two or three hulls diagonally joined together by various methods. Normally no ballast is needed to counteract the center buoyancy since it enjoys good stability at sea.

CATUG - Short for Catamaran Tug. A rigid catamaran tug connected to a barge. When joined together, they form and look like a single hull of sa ship; oceangoing integrated tug-barge vessels.

CATWALK - A raised bridge running fore and aft from the midship, and

also called "walkway". It affords safe passage over the pipelines and other

deck obstructions.

CBF - Cubic feet

CBM - Cubic metres

CCC - Commodity Credit Corporation.

CCF - Capital Construction Fund: A tax benefit for operators of U. S.-built, U. S.-flag ships in the U. S. foreign, Great Lakes, or noncontiguous domestic trades, by which taxes may be deferred on income deposited in a fund to be used for the replacement of vessels.

CDS - Construction Differential Subsidy: A direct subsidy paid to U. S. shipyards building U. S.-flag ships to offset high construction costs in American shipyards. An amount of subsidy (up to 50 percent) is determined by estimates of construction cost differentials between U. S. and foreign yards.

CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRY - A document specifying the nation registry of the vessel.

C & F - Cost and Freight

C & I - Cost and Insurance

CHANDLER - A person who deals in the selling of provisions, dried stores, etc.

CHARTERER - The person to whom is given the use of the whole of the carrying capacity of a ship for the transportation of cargo or passengers to a stated port for a specified time.

CHARTER RATES - The tariff applied for chartering tonnage in a

particular trade.

CHARTER PARTY - A contractual agreement between a ship owner and a cargo owner, usually arranged by a broker, whereby a ship is chartered (hired) either for one voyage or a period of time.

Chemical tanker - Specially designed for the transport of chemicals.

CHIEF ENGINEER - The senior engineer officer responsible for the satisfactory working and upkeep of the main and auxiliary machinery and boiler plant on board ship.

CHIEF MATE - The officer in the deck department next in rank to the master; second in command of a ship. He is next to the master, most especially in the navigation and as far as the deck department is concerned. The chief mate assumes the position of the Master in his absence.

C. I.F. - Cost, Insurance and Freight: Export term in which the price quoted by the exporter includes the costs of ocean transportation to the port of destination and insurance coverage.

CLASSIFICATION SOCIETY - Worldwide experienced and reputable societies. which undertake to arrange inspections and advise on the hull and machinery

of a ship. A private organization that supervises vessels during their construction and afterward, in respect to their seaworthiness, and the placing

of vessels in grades or "classes" according to the society's rules for each particular type. It is not compulsory by law that a shipowner have his vessel built according to the rules of any classification society; but in practice, the difficulty in securing satisfactory insurance rates for an unclassed vessel makes it a commercial obligation.

CLEAN SHIP - Refers to tankers which have their cargo tanks free of traces of dark persistent oils which remain after carrying crudes and heavy fuel oils.

COA - Contract of affreightment

COASTWISE - Domestic shipping routes along a single coast.

CODE OF LINER CONDUCT (UNCTAD)- A convention drafted under the auspices of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development which provides that all shipping traffic between two foreign countries is to be regulated as far as the quantities of shipments are concerned on the following percentages -- 40% for owners of the country of origin, 40% for owners of country of destination, and 20% for owners of the country which is neither the origin nor the destination.

COGSA - Carriage of Goods by Sea

COLLIER - Vessel used for transporting coal.

COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM - Electronic system commonly used to prevent collisions in inland navigable waterways.

COLREG - Convention on International Regulations for Preventing Collisions

at Sea.

COMBI - Combination passenger/cargo vessel; a vessel specifically designed to carry both containers and conventional cargoes.

Combined ships - Ships which can carry both liquid and dry bulk cargoes.

COMMISSION - See "Brokerage"

COMMON CARRIER - Holds himself out for hire to the general public. Must post rates and cannot discriminate against customers whose cargo he is equipped to carry.

COMPLEMENT - The number of officers and crew employed upon a vessel for its safe navigation and operation.

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.

Construction unit - Equipped to assist during offshore construction and maintenance work.

CONSIGNOR - The person named in the bill of lading as the one from whom the goods have been received for shipment.

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.

C/P - Charter Party

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.

DEADFREICHT - Space booked by shipper or charterer on a vessel but

not used

DEADFREIGHT FACTOR - Percentage of a ship's carrying capacity that is

not utilized.

DEADWEIGHT/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.

DECKHAND - Seaman who works on the deck of a ship and remains in the wheelhouse attending to the orders of the duty officers during navigation and manoeuvering. He also comes under the direct orders of the bosun.

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.

DECK HOUSE - Small superstructure on the top deck of a vessel which contains the helm and other navigational instruments.

DEEP SEA TRADES - The traffic routes of both cargo and passenger vessels which are regularly engaged on the high seas or on long voyages.

DEEP STOWAGE - Any bulk, bagged or other type of cargo stowed in single hold ships.

DEMISE CHARTER - See Bareboat Charter.

DEMURRAGE - A fee levied by the shipping company upon the port or supplier for not loading or unloading the vessel by a specified date agreed upon by contract. Usually, assessed upon a daily basis after the deadline.

DESPATCH - Time saved, reward for quick turnaround - in dry cargo only

DEVIATION - Vessel departure from specified voyage course

DISABLED SHIP - When a ship is unable to sail efficiently or in a seaworthy state as a result of engine trouble, lack of officers or crew, damage to the hull or ship's gear.

DISCHARGES - An essential document for officers and seamen as it serves an official certificate confirming sea experience in the employment for which he was engaged.

DOD - Department of Defense.

DOE - Department of Energy

DOMESTIC OFFSHORE TRADES - Domestic shipping routes serving Alaska and non-continental U. S. States and territories.

DOT - Department of Transportation.

DOUBLE BOTTOM - General term for all watertight spaces contained between the outside bottom plating, the tank top and the margin plate. The double bottoms are sub-divided into a number of separate tanks which may contain boiler feed water, drinking water, fuel oil, ballast, etc.

DRAFT - The depth of a ship in the water. The vertical distance between the waterline and the keel, in the U. S. expressed in feet, elsewhere in meters.

Drilling unit - Fitted with drilling rig (oil derrick with rotary drill and a mud pumping system), drilling for petroleum.

Drill Ship -: Regular ship shaped vessel, production ship. Positioned by anchors or dynamic positioning. Has its own propulsion machinery.

DRY CARGO - Merchandise other than liquid carried in bulk.

DRY CARGO SHIP - Vessel which carriers all merchandise, excluding liquid

in bulk.

DRY DOCK - An enclosed basin into which a ship is taken for underwater cleaning and repairing. It is fitted with water tight entrance gates which when closed permit the dock to be pumped dry.

DUAL PURPOSE SHIP - Specially constructed ship able to carry different types of cargoes such as ore and/or oil.

DUNNAGE - A term applied to loose wood or other material used in a ship's hold for the protection of cargo.

DWT - Deadweight tons.