Maritime concepts

Question 1

Aframax

Answer 1

Tanker carrying around 0.5 million barrels of oil, but usually applied to any tanker of 80,000–120,000 dwt (name derived from old AFRA chartering range).

Question 2

Auxiliary engines

Answer 2

Small diesel engines on the ship used to drive alternators providing electrical power. They generally burn diesel oil. Ships generally have between three and five, depending on electricity requirements.

Question 3

Ballast

Answer 3

Sea water pumped into carefully located ballast tanks, or cargo spaces, when the ship is not carrying cargo, to lower the ship in the water so that the propeller is sufficiently submerged to perform efficiently.

Question 4

Berth

Answer 4

Designated area of quayside where a ship comes alongside to load or discharge cargo.

Question 5

Bulk carrier

Answer 5

Single-deck ship which carries dry cargoes such as ore, coal, sugar or cereals. Smaller vessels may have their own cranes, whilst larger sizes rely on shore based equipment.

Question 6

Bare boat charter

Answer 6

Similar to a lease. The vessel is chartered to a third party who to all intents and purposes owns it for the period of the charter, provides the crew, pays operating costs (including maintenance) and voyage costs (bunkers, port dues, canal transit dues, etc.), and directs its operations.

Question 7

Bunkers

Answer 7

Fuel oil burned in ship’s main engine (auxiliaries use diesel)

Question 8

Capesize

Answer 8

Bulk carrier too wide to transit the Panama Canal. Usually over 100,000 tonnes deadweight, but size increases over time, currently 170,000–180,000 dwt.

Question 9

Charterer

Answer 9

Person or company who hires a ship from a shipowner for a period of time (time charter) or who reserves the entire cargo space for a single voyage (voyage charter).

Question 10

Classification society.

Answer 10

Organization, such as Lloyd’s Register, which sets standards for ship construction; supervises standards during construction; and inspects the hull and machinery of a ship classed with the society at regular intervals, awarding the ‘class certificate’ required to obtain hull insurance. A ship with a current certificate is ‘in class’.

Question 11

Container

Answer 11

Standard box of length 20 or 40 ft, width 8 ft and height 8 ft 6 in. High cube containers are 9 ft 6 in. high, and container-ships are usually designed to carry some of these.

Question 12

Container-ship

Answer 12

Ship designed to carry containers, with cell guides in the holds into which the containers are lowered. Containers carried on deck are lashed and secured.

Question 13

Compensated gross ton (cgt)

Answer 13

Measure of shipbuilding output based on the gross tonnage of the ship multiplied by a cgt coefficient reflecting its work content (see Appendix B).

Question 14

Deadweight (dwt)

Answer 14

The weight a ship can carry when loaded to its marks, including cargo, fuel, fresh water, stores and crew.

Question 15

Freeboard

Answer 15

Vertical distance between waterline and top of hull.

Question 16

Freight rate

Answer 16

Amount of money paid to a shipowner or shipping line for the carriage
of each unit of cargo (lonne, cubic metre or container load) between named ports.

Question 17

Freight alt kinds (FAK)

Answer 17

The standard rate charged per container, regardless of what commodity it is carrying, e.g. FAK rate of $1500 per TEU.

Question 18

FEU

Answer 18

Forty-foot container (see TEU).

Question 19

Gas tanker

Answer 19

Ship capable of carrying liquid gas at sub-zero temperatures. Cargo is kept cold by pressure, insulation, and/or refrigeration of ‘boil-off gas’ which is returned to the cargo tanks (see Chapter 14).

Question 20

Gross ton (gt)

Answer 20

Internal measurement of the ship’s open spaces. Now calculated from a formula set out in the IMO Tonnage Convention.

Question 21

Handy bulker

Answer 21

Bulk carrier at the smaller end of the range of sizes associated with this type of ship, typically up to 30,000–35,000 tonnes deadweight. Most have their own cargo-handling gear.

Question 22

ice class 1A

Answer 22

Ship certified to transit ice of 0.8 m thickness.

Question 23

IMO

Answer 23

International Maritime Organization, the UN agency which is responsible for
maritime regulations.

Question 24

Lay-up

Answer 24

This describes a ship that has been taken out of service because freight rates are too low to cover its operating and maintenance costs Not a well-defined condition, it often just means that the ship has not moved for, say, 3 months.

Question 25

Lashing

Answer 25

Used with twist-locks to stop containers moving in heavy seas. Lashing wires may be secured, for example, from the top corners of the first tier and bottom corners of the second tier.

Question 26

LIBOR

Answer 26

London Inter-bank Offered Rate, the interest rate at which banks raise funds on the eurodollar market.

Question 27

Lightweight (light displacement tonnage, lwt)

Answer 27

Weight of a ship’s hull, machinery, equipment and spares. This is the basis on which ships are usually sold for scrap, e.g. $200 per lwt.

Question 28

MARPOL

Answer 28

International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (see Chapter 16).

Question 29

Off-hire

Answer 29

Time, usually measured in days, during which charter hire payments are suspended because the vessel is not available to trade, for example because of a breakdown or routine repair time.

Question 30

Operating costs (OPEX)

Answer 30

Expenses involved in the day-to-day running of the ship and incurred whatever trade the ship is engaged in. These include crew wages and expenses, victuailing, stores, spares, repairs and maintenance, lubricants, and insurance.

Question 31

P&l club

Answer 31

Mutual society which provides third party insurance to ship owner members.

Question 32

Panamax

Answer 32

Bulk carrier which can transit Panama Canal where the lock width of 32.5 m is the limiting factor. Vessels of 60,000–75,000 tonnes deadweight fall into this category. ‘Panamax’ is also used to refer to tankers of 60,000–70,000 dead- weight.

Question 33

Reefer

Answer 33

Insulated cargo ship for carrying refrigerated food, either frozen or chilled.

Question 34

Reefer container

Answer 34

Insulated container for carrying refrigerated cargo. Some have integral electric refrigeration plant run from a plug on the ship or shore facility. Others receive cold air from central refrigeration unit on ship.

Question 35

Seller’s commission

Answer 35

Fee or commission payable by a seller of a vessel to the broker(s) who has secured her sale.

Question 36

Service agreement

Answer 36

Agreement between container line and shipper to provide freight transport on specified terms.

Question 37

Shipbroker

Answer 37

Individual with current market knowledge who acts as intermediary between buyers and sellers in return for a percentage commission on the transaction. There are several types of these – for example, chartering brokers deal with cargo; sale and purchase brokers buy and sell ships; newbuilding brokers place con- tracts for new ships.

Question 38

SOLAS

Answer 38

Safety of Life at Sea Convention. Important convention setting out the safety regulations with which all merchant ships must comply (see Chapter 16).

Question 39

Special survey

Answer 39

Mandatory examination of the ship’s hull and machinery carried out every five years, or on a rolling basis, by the classification society with which the vessel is classed.

Question 40

Spot rate

Answer 40

Negotiated rate per unit (tonne, cubic metre, etc.) of cargo paid to the shipowner to carry specific cargo between two ports, say US Gulf to Japan. Voyage costs are paid by the shipowner.

Question 41

String (of container-ships)

Answer 41

The number of container-ships needed to maintain a regular service on a specific route (‘loop’). For example, a string of four ships is needed to run a transatlantic loop.

Question 42

Suezmax

Answer 42

Tanker able to transit Suez Canal fully loaded; carries about 1 million barrels of oil. Tankers of 120,000–200,000 dwt are grouped into this category.

Question 43

Tanker

Answer 43

Ship designed for the carriage of liquid in bulk with cargo space consist- ing of several tanks. Tankers carry a wide variety of products, including crude oil, refined products, liquid gas and wine. Parcel tankers have a separate pump and cargo lining for each tank so that many cargo parcels can be carried separately in the ship.

Question 44

TEU

Answer 44

Twenty-foot equivalent unit (a 40 ft container is 2 TEU).

Question 45

Time charter

Answer 45

A transportation contract under which the charterer has the use of the vessel for a specific period. A fixed daily or monthly payment is made for the hire of the vessel, for example $20,000 per day. Under this arrangement, the owner manages the day-to-day running of the ships, and pays the operating and capital costs. The charterer pays fuel, port charges, loading/discharging fees and other cargo-related costs, and directs the ship operations.

Question 46

Time charter equivalent

Answer 46

The spot freight rate (e.g. $20 per tonne for a 40,000 tonne cargo) converted into a daily hire rate for the voyage (e.g. $20,000 per day) by deducting voyage costs from the gross freight and dividing by the days on the voyage, including necessary ballast time.

Question 47

Tonne

Answer 47

Metric ton, equivalent to 1,000 kilograms or 2,240 lbs.

Question 48

Twist-lock

Answer 48

Devices used to join and lock containers to those above and below them by clamping the adjacent corner castings together. ‘Cones’ fit into apertures in the corner castings and turn to lock them in place. Used with lashing wires and bars.

Question 49

VLCC

Answer 49

Very large crude carrier, generally carries about 2 million barrels of oil, but all tankers over 200,000 dwt are grouped into this category.

Question 50

Voyage costs

Answer 50

The cost of fuel, port expenses and canal costs which are specific to the voyage. On a voyage charter where the ports are specified they are generally included in the negotiated spot rate and paid by the shipowner. On a time charter where the ports are not known in advance they are paid by the charterer.