This glossary of maritime terms is offered as an aid to better understanding what is meant by those who make their living from ports and ships.
LLOYD’S REGISTER OF SHIPPING – Well-known British classification society.
LNG – Liquefied Natural Gas.
LNG CARRIER – Liquefied natural gas carrier, perhaps the most sophisticated of all commercial ships. The cargo tanks are made of a special aluminium alloy and are heavily insulated to carry natural gas in its liquid state at a temperature of -2,850F. The LNG ship costs about twice as much as an oil tanker of the same size.
LOAD FACTOR – Percentage of cargo or passengers carried e.g. 4000 tons carried on a vessel of 10,000t capacity has a load factor of 40%.
LOAD LINE – The line on a vessel indicating the maximum depth to which that vessel can sink when loaded with cargo. Also known as Marks.
LOADED LEG – Subdivision of a ship’s voyage during which the ship is carrying cargo.
LOF – Lloyds Open Form
LOI – Letter of Indemnity
LOLL – the state of instability caused when a ship is top heavy or has too much water such as from flooding below decks
LONGSHOREMAN – dock labourers employed to work cargo on ships – see also Stevedore.
LO-LO – Lift on, lift off; a container ship in which containers are lifted on or off by crane as opposed to Ro-Ro.
LONG TON (LT) – 1,016.05kg or 2,240 pounds.
LOOKOUT – A member of the crew stationed on the forecastle, bridge, or in the case of sailing vessels, the crow’s nest at the top of one of the main masts. His duty it is to watch for any dangerous objects or for any other vessels approaching .
LPG – Liquefied Petroleum Gas, or a carrier of LPG.
LUMPSUM FREIGHT – Money paid to shipper for charter of a ship (or portion) up to stated limit irrespective of quantity of cargo.
MAIN DECK – The main continuous deck of a ship running from fore to aft; the principle deck; the deck from which the freeboard is determined.
MANIFEST – A document containing a full list of the ship’s cargo, extracted from the bills of lading.
MANNING SCALES – The minimum number of officers and crewmembers that can be engaged on a ship to be considered as sufficient hands with practical ability to meet every possible eventuality at sea.
MARITIME LIEN – A claim attached to the res, i.e., the ship, freight, or cargo.
MARPOL – The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from
Ships, s modified by the several Protocols. Part of the IMO.
MASTHEAD LIGHT – A white light positioned over the fore and aft centreline of the vessel.
MITB – Maritime Industry Training Board.
MLA – Maritime Law Association.
MOA – Memorandum of agreement
MODU – Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit.
MOORING LINE – A cable or line used to tie up a ship.
MORTGAGE – Loan issued against some security.
M/T – Metric tonnes (2,250 lbs).
MULTIPURPOSE SHIP – Any ship capable of carrying different types of cargo which require different methods of handling. There are several types of ships falling into this category, for example, ships which can carry roll on/roll off cargo together with containers. Ships that are designed to carry both dry, loose cargo and cargo in containers.
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