| Term |
Description |
| Air Draft | the distance from the water line to the highest point on the vessel. |
| Anchor | heavy object used to moor a ship to the sea bottom, typically having a metal shank with a pair of curved, barbed flukes. |
| Anchorage | a place where ships may anchor safely. |
| Barge | flat-bottomed inland cargo vessel for canals and rivers usually without own propulsion for the purpose of transporting goods. |
| Beam | 1. a ship's breadth at its widest point.
2. the side of a ship. |
| Berth | 1. a ship's place at a wharf or dock. 2. a fixed bunk on a ship or train. |
| Break Bulk Cargo | general cargo conventionally stowed as opposed to unitised, containerised and Ro-Ro cargo. |
| Broker | person who acts as an agent or intermediary in negotiating contracts. |
| Bulk Cargo | unpacked, homogeneous cargo poured loose in a certain space of a vessel or container (e.g. oil and grain). |
| Bulk Carrier | single deck vessel designed to carry homogeneous, unpacked dry cargoes such as grain, iron ore and coal. |
| Bulk Container | a container designed for the carriage of free-flowing dry cargoes. |
| Bunker | (tank) spaces on board a vessel to store fuel. |
| Bunkers | quantity of fuel on board a vessel. |
| Buoy | an anchored float serving as a navigation mark or for mooring. |
| Cabotage | transport of goods between two ports or places located in the same country. |
| Call | the visit of a vessel to a port. |
| Canal | an artificial waterway allowing the passage of vessels inland. |
| Cargo | goods carried commercially on a ship, aircraft, or truck. |
| Charter Contract | a contract in which the shipowner agrees to place his vessel or a part of it at the disposal of a third party, the charterer, for the carriage of goods for which he receives a freight per tonne cargo, or to let his vessel for a definite period or trip for which a hire is paid. |
| Charterer | the legal person who has signed a charter contract with the owner of a vessel and thus hires or leases a vessel or a part of the capacity thereof. |
| Coaster | a small ship trading between coastal ports. |
| Containerised Cargo | cargo stored in containers, usually manufactured or partly manufactured goods. |
| Crane | a tall machine used for moving heavy objects by suspending them from a projecting arm. |
| Deadweight | the cargo-carrying capacity of a cargo ship including fuel, freshwater and stones, etc. |
| Dock | an enclosed area of water in a port for the loading, unloading and repair of ships. |
| Draft | the vertical distance between the waterline and the underside of the keel of the vessel. |
| Dredging | the cleaning out the bed of a harbour, river, etc. |
| Dry Bulk | unpacked, homogeneous dry cargo poured loose in a certain space of a vessel or container (e.g. grain). |
| Ensign | flag declaring a ship's country of registry. |
| Estuary | the tidal mouth of a large river. |
| Feeder | a vessel normally used for local or coastal transport (for carriage of cargo and/or containers) to and from ports not scheduled to be called by the main (ocean) vessel, directly connecting these ports to the main (ocean) vessel. |
| FEU | forty foot unit container. |
| FFG | freight facilities grant; a UK grant which helps offset the capital cost of creating new freight-handling facilities and improving and investing in the rehabilitation of existing ones. it is available for freight movements by inland waterways, coastal and short-sea shipping. see the grants section on www.freightbywater.org for more information. |
| Floating Dock | a floating structure which can be partially submerged to enable vessels to enter and to leave and which can be raised for use as a dry dock. |
| Freight Forwarder | the party arranging the carriage of goods including connected services and/or associated formalities on behalf of a shipper or consignee. |
| General Cargo | cargo, consisting of goods, unpacked or packed (e.g. in cartons, crates, bags or bales, often palletised). general cargo can be shipped either breakbulk or containerised. |
| Handling Service | service concerning the physical handling of cargo. |
| Harbour | place of shelter for vessels. most of the time used as an indication for the geographical location. |
| Heavy Lift Vessel | a vessel specially designed and equipped for the carriage of heavy cargo. |
| Hydrography | the science of surveying and charting bodies of water. |
| Jetty | a landing stage or small pier. |
| Keel | a lengthwise structure along the base of a ship, in some vessels extended downwards as a ridge to increase stability. |
| Knot | unit of measurement for the speed (of a vessel) equal to a nautical mile (= 1852 metres) per hour. |
| Laden | heavily loaded or weighed down. |
| Lift-On Lift-Off Vessel | vessel of which the loading and discharging operations are carried out by cranes and derricks (i.e. not a Ro-Ro). |
| Lighterage | the carriage of goods within a port area by a barge (e.g. from a vessel to a quay). |
| Liner | a large container-carrying ship belonging to a line, or company, which follows a particular scheduled route. |
| Liner Service | the connection through vessels between ports within a trade. |
| Liquid Bulk | unpacked, homogeneous liquid cargo poured loose in a certain space of a vessel or container (e.g. oil). |
| LOA | maximum length of a vessel. |
| Loch | a lake. |
| Lock | a space, enclosed at the sides by walls and at each end by gates, by which a vessel can be floated up or down to a different level. |
| Moor | make fast (a boat) by attaching it by cable or rope to the shore or to an anchor. |
| Mooring | 1. a place where a boat is moored. 2. the ropes or cables by which a boat is moored. |
| Multi-Purpose Vessel | vessel designed for the carriage of different types of cargo: general, bulk, heavy and/or containerised cargo. |
| NAABSA | not always afloat but safely aground. |
| Narrowboat | boat designed to fit narrow canals. |
| Nautical Mile (n.m.) | a unit used in measuring distances at sea, equal to 1,852 metres (approximately 2,025 yards). |
| Navigation Authority | a company or statutory body which is concerned with the management of a navigable canal or river. |
| Pier | a structure leading out to sea and used as a landing stage for boats. |
| Pilotage | the use of fixed visual references on the ground or sea by means of sight or radar to guide oneself to a destination, sometimes with the help of a map or nautical chart. |
| Pontoon | 1. a flat-bottomed boat or hollow metal cylinder used with others to support a temporary bridge or floating landing stage. 2. a bridge or landing stage supported by pontoons. |
| Port | a harbour. |
| Port of Call | place where a vessel actually drops anchor or moors during a certain voyage. |
| Port of Discharge | the port where the cargo is actually discharged (unloaded) from the sea (ocean) going vessel. |
| Procurement | the activities which ensure the availability of the material and or services in the desired quantity, quality, place and time from the supplier. |
| Quay | a platform lying alongside or projecting into water for loading and unloading ships. |
| Reefer Cargo | cargo requiring temperature control, usually cooling. |
| Reefer Container | a thermal container with refrigerating appliances (mechanical compressor unit, absorption unit, etc.) to control the temperature of cargo. |
| River | a large natural flow of water traveling along a channel to the sea, a lake or another river. |
| Ro-Ro | referring to a ship in which vehicles are driven directly on at the start of the voyage and driven off at the end of it. |
| Slipway | a slope leading into water, used for launching and landing boats and ships or for building and repairing them. |
| Stevedore | a person employed at a dock to load and unload ships |
| Tanker | a vessel designed for the carriage of liquid cargo in bulk and cement. |
| Terminal | a location on either end of a transportation line including servicing and handling facilities (e.g. wharf, quay, etc). |
| TEU | twenty foot unit container. |
| Tidal Basin | a basin accessible or navigable only at high tide. |
| Tide | the alternate rising and falling of the sea due to the attraction of the moon and sun. |
| Tonnage | cubic capacity of a merchant vessel. |
| Tramp | a vessel not operating under a regular schedule. |
| Tug | a small, powerful boat for towing larger boats and ships, especially in harbour. |
| Vessel | a ship or large boat. |
| VHF | very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. |
| Waterway | a river, canal or other route for travel by water. |
| Wharf | a level quayside area to which a ship may be moored to load and unload |
| Wharfage | the fee charged for the use of a wharf for mooring, loading or discharging a vessel or for storing goods. |
