Shipping ( Bulk Carriers) - Common Technical Terms

“back haul cargoes” : Cargoes transported against the standard flow of traffic, i.e. loading in a port situated in what is usually a discharge area, and discharging in a port situated in
what is usually a loading area
“ballast day(s)” : Day(s) on which a vessel performs a voyage without cargo on board
“Baltic Dry Index” : Daily index that measures the cost of booking cargoes on 24 key dry bulk routes
“bareboat charter” : A charter contract where the vessel is chartered out without crew for a specific period of time and where the operating costs of it are borne by the charterer
“bulk cargo” : Cargoes that are shipped loose in the holds of a vessel without mark and count. Examples include cement, coal, grain, lumber, minerals, ores etc.
“bulk carrier” : A vessel designed to carry dry bulk cargo. Depending on carrying capacity, such vessels can transport cargoes of as low as 10,000 dwt to more than 200,000 dwt
“bunkers” : Fuel, consisting of heavy fuel oil and diesel oil burned in the vessel’s engine
“Calendar days” : An indicator of the size of the fleet over a period. Calendar days are defined as the total number of days in a period during which each vessel in the fleet was in the shipowner’s possession including off hire days associated with major repairs, drydockings or special or intermediate surveys
“charter” : A contract for the commercial leasing of a vessel or space on a vessel
“charterer” : A person, firm or company hiring a vessel for the carriage of goods or other purposes
“charter-hire” : The revenue earned by a vessel pursuant to a time charter
“charter party” : A contract between a shipowner and charterer for the charter of a vessel
“contract of affreightment” or “COA” : The same as voyage charters but are for two or more shipments over an agreed period of time. This could be over a number of months or years “dry bulk cargo” : Cargo that is not liquid and normally does not require temperature control
“drydocking” : A vessel placing in a dock or slipway for inspection, maintenance and/or repair of underwater parts
“dwt” or “deadweight tonnes” : The unit of measurement of the maximum weight capacity of a vessel, which is the total weight the vessel can carry, including cargoes, bunkers, water, stores, spare parts, crew, etc. at a specified draft. One dwt equals 1,000 kilogrammes
“flag state” : The country in which a vessel is registered. A vessel is generally required to fly the sole flag of a registered country
“freight” : The revenue earned by a vessel pursuant to a voyage charter or contract of affreightment
“grt” or “gross registered tonnage” : Measure of the overall volume of a vessel determined in accordance with the National or 1969 International Tonnage Regulations
“Handysize” : A dry bulk carrier of 10,000 to 39,999 dwt which is commonly equipped with cargo gear such as cranes. This type of vessel carries principally minor bulk cargoes and
limited quantities of major bulk cargoes. It is well-suited for transporting cargoes to ports that may have draft restrictions or are not equipped with gear for loading or
discharging cargoes
“Handymax” : A dry bulk carrier of 40,000 to 59,999 dwt used to carry either minor bulk or major bulk cargoes
“major bulk” : Dry bulk cargoes consisting of iron ore, coal and grain
“mdwt” : Million of deadweight tonnage
“minor bulk” : Dry bulk cargoes such as forest products, iron and steel products, fertilisers, agricultural products, minerals and petcoke, bauxite and alumina, cement, other construction
materials and salt
“newbuilding” : A vessel which is under construction
“off hire” : Period during which a vessel is temporarily unable to operate under the terms of its charter, resulting in loss of income under the charter party
“operating costs” : The costs of technical operations of vessels including the costs of lubricants, spare parts, repairs and maintenance, crewing costs and insurance costs (but excluding capital costs and voyage costs)
“Panamax” : A dry bulk carrier of 60,000 to 84,999 dwt with breadth not exceeding 32.2 metres which permits it to transit, when fully loaded, the Panama Canal. Panamax vessels are primarily used to transport major bulks, although they can be used to transport certain minor bulks such as fertilisers, ores, petcoke and salt
“P&I” : Protection and indemnity. This denotes the insurance coverage taken by a vessel’s owner or charterer against third party liabilities such as oil pollution, cargo damage, crew injury or loss of life, etc.
“spot charter” : Immediate or ad hoc charter, when a vessel happens to be at or in the vicinity of the port of loading. Normally for short duration to cover the intended voyage
“spot market” : The market for immediate chartering of a vessel, usually
for a single cargo or short-term trading
“tanker” : A vessel designed for the carriage of liquid cargo in bulk such as crude oil, products or chemicals
“time charter” : Charter for an agreed period of time where the ship owner is paid on a per day basis and is responsible for operating the vessel and paying the operating costs while
the charterer is responsible for paying the voyage costs and bears the risk of any delays at port or during the voyage except where caused by a defect of the vessel
“tug” or “tugboat” : A vessel with powerful propulsion engines designed for towage and easy manoeuvrability. Normally used for berthing and unberthing operations
“vessel operating expenses” : Consists of crew expenses, insurances, spare parts, stores and lubricating oils, vessel repairs and surveys (including drydock costs) and other costs
“voyage charter” : Charter under which a ship owner is paid freight on the basis of the weight of cargo moved from a load port to a discharge port and is responsible for paying both operating costs and voyage costs
“voyage costs” : Bunker costs, port charges and canal dues (or tolls) incurred during the course of a voyage
“Voyage days” : A measure of the number of days in a period during which vessels actually generate revenues. Voyage days are defined as the calendar days net of off hire days
associated with major repairs,