Maritime

Maritime terms

1. Accessorial Charges Charges in addition to the base tariff rate or base contract rate, e.g., bunkers, container, currency, destination/delivery.
2. All Clear Tow boating term meaning that boat and/or tow is clear of obstructions.
3. Amp Reading Taken from the engine room log, the amp readings should be recorded several times a day.
4. An Easy Distant Off Maintain a comfortable distance off the bank. (Maintain adequate room for maneuvering)
5. Arrival Notice A notification by carrier of ship’s arrival to the consignee, the Notify Party.
6. Arrival Post A signboard approximately one mile above and below the lock.
7. Ascending Going upstream against the current.
8. Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Is defined to include the main channel, all alternative channels, and all adjoining bays and sounds, regardless of depth. See Treas. Regs. 48.4042-1(g)(6).
9. Auxiliary Lock A smaller secondary lock adjacent to the main lock.
10. Bar 1. Historically, the partition separating the general public from the space occupied by the judges, lawyers and other participants in a trial. 2.
11. Bareboat Agreement Generally, a contractual agreement in which the lessor (owner of the vessel) does not pay operating expenses.
12. Barge A category of vessel designed as non-self-propelled units for the carriage of cargo on the weather deck or in holds or in tanks.
13. Bill of Lading (B/L) (B/L) A document that establishes the contract for shipment between a shipper and a transportation company.
14. Bond A long-term debt instrument with the promise to pay a specified amount of interest and to return the principal amount on a specified maturity date.
15. Bow Front of barge or boat.
16. Break up Tow To disassemble tow (take apart).
17. Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) (BAF) A charge sometimes added to steamship freight rates; justified by higher fuel costs.
18. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) (COGSA) U.S. federal codification passed in 1936 which standardizes and sets limitations on a carrier’s liability under carrier’s bill of lading. U.S.
19. Chem Barge (liquid cargo) Used to transport chemicals and oil.
20. Coast Guard Number The official number assigned to a particular vessel by the U S Coast Guard at the time of registration by the Coast Guard.
21. Commercial waterway transportation The term “commercial waterway transportation” means any use of a vessel on any inland or intracoastal waterway of the United States In the business of…
22. Commodity Descriptions The first two digits of the Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center (WCSC) publication codes correspond with the Lock Performance Monitoring System (LPMS)…
23. Consignee A person or company to whom commodities are shipped.
24. Consolidator A firm which groups together shipments from different companies into a single shipment.
25. Container In the Exchange Administrator program, an object that contains other objects. For example, the Recipients container is composed of recipient objects.
26. Cover Barge A barge having hatch covers over its compartments and used for various dry bulk cargoes that need weather protection such as grain, tinplate, paper, etc.
27. Customs Broker A person or firm, licensed by the treasury department of their country when required, engaged in entering and clearing goods through Customs for a client…
28. Date for Filing Return The date for filing the return of the tax imposed by this section for any calendar quarter shall be the last day of the first month following such quarter.
29. Deep-Draft Ocean-going Vessels (Explanation below is from Treasury Regulations §48.4042-3) In general: Under section 4042(c)(1), there is no tax imposed by section 4042(a) if: the…
30. Demurrage A penalty charge against shippers for delaying a shipment/container at port of loading or destination beyond the allowed free time.
31. Dock Receipt A form used to acknowledge receipt of cargo and often serves as basis for preparation of the ocean bill of lading.
32. Double Lockage When a towboat with barges must breakup the tow, and push half of the tow into the lock chamber, lock that part through and then enter the remaining…
33. Downbound Traffic that moves in a downstream direction. For waterways without a characteristic monodirectional flow, “downbound” means in a southerly or…
34. Draft A signed, written order by which one party (the drawer) instructs another party (the drawee) to pay a specified sum to a third party (the payee), at sight…
35. Dry Dock A large platform capable of lifting a vessel out of the water for repairs and maintenance.
36. Forty-Foot Equivalent Units (FEU) (FEU) Refers to the standard container size of 40 feet. Two 20–foot containers or TEU’s equal one FEU.
37. Free Time That amount of time that a carrier’s equipment may be used without incurring additional charges.
38. Freight Forwarder A person whose business is to act as an agent on behalf of the shipper to arrange transportation services.
39. Full Container Load (FCL) (FCL) A container that is loaded and unloaded entirely under the risk and account of a single shipper or consignee.
40. Fully Found Agreement Defined in general as, a contractual agreement in which the lessor (owner of the vessel) pays operating expenses such as salary for the crew (including…
41. Gage (Gauge) A scale graduated in tenths of a foot which indicates the water level or river Stage.
42. Generator Fuel Exclusion The number of gallons of fuel that are exempt from tax due to usage in the generators.
43. Generator Fuel Rate The rate of fuel the generator uses in an hour.
44. Generator Operating Hours The number of hours the generator is used per month/day/week.
45. Grass Line Manila or natural rope of any description.
46. Guard Wall The riverward wall of a lock that prevents boats from being drawn into the dam.
47. Guide Wall (Long-Wall) To assist pilots in tow alignments prior to lock chamber entry and is at least as long as the lock chamber.
48. Handy Line (Heaving line) Small line used to throw between barges, boat and/or shore, connected to a face line, in order to pull together.
49. Head Log The heavily reinforced section at each end of the barge and in the bow of the towboat to take the pressure of pushing the tow.
50. Headline The title of an article or story.
51. Heater Fuel Exclusion The number of gallons that are exempt form tax due to usage in the heaters. (* Note: This is only calculated when the propulsion engines and propulsion…
52. Heater Fuel Rate The number of gallons of fuel used by the heaters in an hour. (Note: Does not apply when heaters are electric)
53. Hopper Barge An open compartment barge used for dry bulk cargo that doesn’t require protection from the weather, such as pipe, scrape, coal, ore, etc.
54. Ice Pier A heavily constructed shield of concrete piling to shelter a bridge, pier, etc. To brace against large amounts of ice in the river.
55. In-transit Merchandise Merchandise coming into the United States from a foreign country and shipped to a foreign country without having been entered as an import.
56. Inbound Traffic moving from one waterway into another where the destination is on the subject waterway.
57. Inland or intracoastal waterway of the United States The term “inland or intracoastal waterway of the United States” means any inland or intracoastal waterway of the United States which is described in…
58. Integrated Tow A tow using semi-rake and box barges in combination so the full will appear to be one barge.
59. Jack Staff A vertical pole erected at the head of tow directly ahead of towboat. The flag windsock, or peep light aids pilot to align the tow in river navigation.
60. Jockey Line Lashing (rope or wire lines) used to prevent lateral movement between barges.
61. Jumbo Barge A barge that is 35 feet wide by 195 or 200 feet ling and may also be either a hopper or cover-type barge.
62. Keel The main support of a vessel frame, extending from bow to stern. The part of the vessel that’s in the water.
63. Kick Line A line used to hold stern of towboat while backing in order to kick the head out into the stream.
64. Kill out Tow (Kill Her Out) To back up with towboat until headway is stopped.
65. Knockout Single To uncouple the barges from the towboat and lay along side the barge(s) during lockage. Also called a “set over single”.
66. Kort Nozzle A funnel shaped structure built around the propellers of towboats to concentrate the water flow to and from the propellers.
67. Land (mooring) Tying off tow and/or boat to landing area.
68. Land Wall A concrete wall that is part of the lock on the landward side.
69. Lash/Seabee Barge Is defined as a barge, usually flat-bottomed and rectangular in structure, designed to be lightered aboard a mother ship.
70. Lashing A rope or wire that is used to secure two barges together.
71. Lateral Coupling Coupling where bow and stern of barges meet, left to right.
72. Lead Barges The head or first barge(s) of tow.
73. Lead Line Small line, manila or sash cord, to measure depth of water.
74. Leaving line Lines that are left on barges when dropped off to fleet operation.
75. Left Bank The left descending bank of a river. It is marked by red buoys, white or red lights and red reflectors.
76. Less-than-Container-Load (LCL) (LCL) The quantity of freight which is less than that required for the application of a full container load rate.
77. Levee A natural or man-made barrier that helps keep rivers from overflowing their banks. See dike.
78. Light Boat A towboat without a tow.
79. Lighter Aboard Ship (LASH) ships (LASH) It is a specialized container ship carrying very large floating containers, or "lighters.
80. Line Haul The movement of freight over the main route of a transportation line. Not a switching service confined to a small area.
81. Liquid Fuel Any liquid fuel including gasoline, diesel fuel (even dyed), special motor fuel, or bunker C residual fuel oil.
82. Lock The apparatus which permits a vessel to move from one level of water to another. Consists of enclosed gates which lower and raise water.
83. Lock Cell The chamber of a lock.
84. Lock Gates A large movable, structured barrier used to hold back the water in a lock chamber.
85. Lock Line Used to hold barges during the raising or lowering of water in a lock.
86. Lock Traffic Lights Red, yellow and green lights located at both ends of a lock to control traffic.
87. Log Book This term refers to the official register kept by the master or captain of a boat or ship which records daily events.
88. Loose Head Light boat (boat without tow) getting underway.
89. Low Water Dam A low level dam designed to hold back head waters so as to maintain depth in a certain area. The dam may be visible at the low water stage.
90. Mainline Tows Tows that regularly run up and down the principle waterways as opposed to working in a smaller geographical area.
91. Make Up Tow Assemble barges into a tow.
92. Monkey Line Small hand line used by lock personnel to throw down or bring up a lock line.
93. Mooring The act of securing a vessel.
94. Mooring Cell (Dolphin) A river front structure generally comprised of steel piling or wooden piles for securing barges.
95. Mule Train Tying barges end to end with loose lines in order to maneuver them through heavy ice.
96. Net Ton 2,000 pounds.
97. Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) (NVOCC) A cargo consolidator in ocean trades that will buy space from a carrier and re-sell it to smaller ship¬pers.
98. Ocean Transportation Intermediary License A document issued by the Federal Maritime Commission indicating that a person or company has authorization to act as a Freight Forwarder or…
99. Operating Hours The hours in the month the vessel is operated.
100. Outbound Traffic moving from one waterway into another where the origin is on the subject waterway.