Transportation — page 2 of 2

Transportation terms

101. Outer Lock Wall The wall on the river side of a lock.
102. Pallet A small portable platform for holding material for storage or transportation.
103. Passenger Vessels Are defined as vessels used primarily for the transportation of persons; commercial vessels transporting property in addition to transporting passengers…
104. Peep Light A small, low intensity, (normally blue) light mounted on the jack staff used by the pilot for tow alignment at night.
105. Pelican Hooks Hinged hook generally on the end of a ratchet located on front of barge and connected to a caval which allows chain linked lines to be locked into mooring…
106. Person See Persons
107. Pike Pole A long pole, with a hook on one end, used for pulling in a line or object that is out or reach. Sometimes marked and used for measuring water depth.
108. Piling A single pole or group of poles placed together at the edge of the water in order to tie tows, barges or boats at the waters edge.
109. Port An implanted device through which blood may be withdrawn and drugs may be infused without repeated needle sticks. Also called port-a-cath.
110. Propulsion Fuel The fuel used in the propulsion engines of a vessel.
111. Rake An amount of money taken out of every pot by the dealer. This is the cardroom's income.
112. Ratchets A heavy tool with coarse-screw threads used for tightening up wire lashings which hold barges of a tow together.
113. Rearrange Tow To shift barges in a tow.
114. Receipts Collections from the public and from payments by participants in certain social insurance and other Federal programs.
115. Rigging Wire cables, chain length, ratchets and other miscellaneous gear used for securing barges in a tow.
116. Right Bank The right descending bank of a river on which black buoys, green or white lights, and white or silver reflective material are maintained.
117. Scrap Barge A barge to be cut up for its value as scrap metal.
118. Screws The “ propellers” of a towboat.
119. SEABEE Sea-barge, a barge carrier design similar to "LASH" but which uses rollers to move the barges aboard the ship; the self-propelled loaded barges are…
120. Seaway Bill This document serves to provide the terms and conditions of carriage and acts as a receipt of goods tendered to the carrier.
121. Set Over Single To uncouple the barges from towboat and lay along side the tow during lockage. Also called a knockout single.
122. Shipments Traffic moving from one location to another where the origin is within the limits of the subject port.
123. Shipper The consumer or business providing goods for shipment. A NVOCC also is a shipper in relationship to a VOCC.
124. Single Zero Wheel - See European Wheel.
125. Sooging Scrubbing or washing down any part of the towboat.
126. Spar Barge A barge retired from active service and used to anchor other barges or a fleet of barges.
127. spike 1. An inflorescence in which the main axis is elongated and the flowers are sessile. 2.
128. Splitting on the Heads When a towboat is faced up to the center of two strings of barges.
129. Spring Line (Backing Line) A line, used in mooring, to hold the boat from running upstream. The lines cross one another.
130. Standard Barge A barge that is 26 feet wide by 175 feet long and may be either an open or closed barge.
131. Starboard the right side of a boat or ship.
132. Stern The back of the towboat or barge. (Bow is the front)
133. Stern Line A long line that secures the tow from the stern (back) of the vessel.
134. Strung Out Barges placed end to end in a straight line, or in tandem.
135. Surcharge An extra charge applied to the premium by an insurance company, usually applied as a result of at-fault accidents or moving violations.
136. Tank Barge Type of barge used for liquid cargo such as gas, oil, molasses, etc.
137. tariff A tax on products imported from foreign countries.
138. Tax Ratio The time the vessel is in taxable waters. (Inland Waterways System – 27 waterways) Usually expressed in percentage of time.
139. Taxable Fuel The number of gallons used by the vessel while traveling in taxable waters (Inland Waterway System) Formula – Total fuel consumed minus exempt fuel…
140. Taxable Person The person liable for the tax are the persons operating the vessel in which the propulsion fuel is consumed.
141. Terminal Handling Charge (THC) (THC) A charge made for a service performed in a carrier’s terminal area.
142. Timberhead One or two upright mushroom-shaped pins on the head and stern of barge used for the coupling or barges for end-to-end towing.
143. Tons The tonnage figures provided throughout the Waterborne Commerce of the United States, WCUS, Parts 1-5 represent short tons (2000 pounds).
144. Toothpick Steel bar, about 3 feet long, placed in ratchet ends to keep wire from turning when tightening ratchets.
145. Top Around The turning of a tow from upbound to downbound, either intentionally or unintentionally.
146. Tow One or more barges (or other floating vessels) in a group and pushed by a towboat.
147. Tow Knees Heavy steel fixtures on the bow of towboats to enable them to push against the stern of barges.
148. Tow Line Normally, a lashing (line or rope) from the forward head of one barge to the after head of a barge along side.
149. Towboat/Push Boat Self-propelled vessel designed to tow/push barges and pontoons. The hull is usually rectangular in plan and has little freeboard.
150. Tugboat Self-propelled vessel with a V-shaped bow designed for the towing (and pushing) of ships or other floating structures such as barges in ports/harbors.
151. Turn A Tow When a towboat meets another towboat (belonging to the same company and proceeding in the opposite direction) and exchanges its entire tow, and returns in…
152. Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) (TEU) The standard measurement of containerized cargo. One TEU generally represents a single container measuring 20 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8.5 feet high.
153. Unit Tow An integrated tow consisting of bow, center, and stern sections, generally in the liquid cargo trade.
154. Upbound Traffic that moves in an upstream direction. For waterways without a characteristic monodirectional flow (e.g.
155. Vessel A series of xylem elements whose function is to conduct water and nutrients in plants.
156. Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (VOCC) (VOCC) A common carrier that operates, for all or part of its common carrier service, a vessel in a service between a port in the United States and a port in a…
157. Wheel Short for Roulette Wheel.
158. Wicket A rectangular, heavily constructed slab of wood and steel hinged in a counter-balance way so as to be lying flat on the river bed when down, and when…
159. Winch A drum that can be rotated so as to exert a strong pull while winding in a line.
160. Wing Tanks The void area of a barge between the cargo hold and barge exterior.
161. Wires A short length of wire rope of varying sizes used to couple barges within a tow.
162. Yawl A small oar-propelled open boat or skiff carried on board towboats for use as a utility or safety boat.