SHIP TALK: A GLOSSARY OF SHIPPING AND MARITIME TERMS

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 and is one of the essential ship's documents presented to the customs and immigration authorities on arrival at a new port.
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.
DEADWEIGHT (DWT) – A common measure of ship carrying capacity, equalling the number of tonnes of cargo, stores and bunkers that the ship can transport. It is the difference between the number of tonnes of water a vessel displaces 'light' and the number of tons it displaces when submerged to the 'deep load line'. A ship'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 and is usually used when referring to liquid and dry bulk ships.

DAVITS – Two radial cranes on a ship which hold the lifeboats, which are used to lower and lift lifeboats.

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 manoeuvring.

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.

FORCE MAJEURE – Clause limiting responsibilities of charterers, shippers and receiver of cargo

FORECASTLE – The raised part of the forward end of a ship's hull, taking its name from the days of sailing ships where the forecastle was effectively a 'castle' on the ship's prow used for defending the ship. On some ships this area may be used for crew accommodation or quarters but on most new ships the space is used for the storage of paints, tackle, deck and engine stores, tarpaulins, etc.

LASH – Lighter aboard ship: A barge carrier designed to act as a shuttle between ports, taking on and discharging barges.
LASH SHIPS – LASH stand for Lighter Aboard Ship. It is a specialized container ship carrying very large floating containers, or 'lighters'. The ship carries its own heavy-duty crane for loading and discharging the lighters over the stern. The lighters each have a capacity of about 400 tons and are stowed in the holds and on deck. While, the ship is at sea with one set of lighters, further sets can be made ready. Loading and discharge are rapid at about 15 minutes per lighter, no port or dock facilities are needed, and the lighters can be grouped for pushing by towboats along inland waterways.
LAY-BY – ships that are laid up usually waiting for cargo or a charter, often outside a port.
LAY-UP – Temporary cessation of trading of a ship by a shipowner during a period when there is a surplus of ships in relation to the level of available cargoes. This surplus, known as over-tonnaging, has the effect of depressing freight rates to the extent that some shipowners no longer find it economical to trade their ship, preferring to lay them up until there is a reversal in the trend.