SHIPTALK: A GLOSSARY OF SHIPPING AND MARITIME TERMS

Manifest: The ship captain’s list of individual goods that make up the ship’s cargo.
Marine surveyor: Person who inspects a ship hull or its cargo for damage or quality.
Master: The officer in charge of the ship. "Captain" is a courtesy title often given to a master.

Manifest: The ship captain’s list of individual goods that make up the ship’s cargo.
Marine surveyor: Person who inspects a ship hull or its cargo for damage or quality.
Master: The officer in charge of the ship. "Captain" is a courtesy title often given to a master.
Maritime: (adjective) Located on or near the sea. Commerce or navigation by sea. The maritime industry includes people working for transportation (ship, rail, truck and towboat/barge) companies, freight forwarders and customs brokers; stevedoring companies; labor unions; chandlers; warehouses; ship building and repair firms; importers/exporters; pilot associations, etc.
Marshaling yard: This is a container parking lot, or any open area where containers are stored in a precise order according to the ship loading plan. Containers terminals may use a grounded or wheeled layout. If the cargo box is placed directly on the ground, it is called a grounded operation. If the box is on a chassis/trailer, it is a wheeled operation.
Mean Low Water (MLW): Lowest average level water reaches on an outgoing tide.
Mean High Water (MHW): Highest average level water reaches on an outgoing tide.
Mooring dolphin: A cluster of pilings to which a boat or barge ties up.
Motor ship (MS) or Motor vessel (MV): A ship propelled by internal-combustion engines.
NVOCC: A non-vessel-owning common carrier that buys space aboard a ship to get a lower volume rate. An NVOCC then sells that space to various small shippers, consolidates their freight, issues bills of lading and books space aboard a ship.
Ocean carrier: Diesel-fueled vessels have replaced the old steamships of the past, although many people still refer to modern diesel ships as steamships. Likewise, the person who represents the ship in port is still often called a steamship agent. (See: steamship agent)
On-dock rail: Direct shipside rail service. Includes the ability to load and unload containers/breakbulk directly from rail car to vessel.
On-terminal rail: Rail service and trackage provided by a railroad within a designated terminal area.
Operating port: At an operational port like Charleston, South Carolina, the port authority builds the wharves, owns the cranes and cargo-handling equipment and hires the labor to move cargo in the sheds and yards. A stevedore hires longshore labor to lift cargo between the ship and the dock, where the port’s laborers pick it up and bring it to the storage site. (See landlord port.)
Piggyback: A rail transport mode where a loaded truck trailer is shipped on a rail flatcar.
Pilot: A licensed navigational guide with thorough knowledge of a particular section of a waterway whose occupation is to steep ships along a coast or into and out of a harbor. Local pilots board the ship to advise the captain and navigator of local navigation conditions (difficult currents; hidden wrecks, etc.).
Port: This term is used both for the harbor area where ships are docked and for the agency (port authority), which administers use of public wharves and port properties.
Port-of-call: Port at which cruise ship makes a stop along its itinerary. Calls may range from five to 24 hours. Sometimes referred to as "transit port" and "destination port."
Project cargo: The materials and equipment to assemble a special project overseas, such as a factory or highway.