Elements of Shipping

Management
- Ship’s Tonnages

- Ajith V A
MBA ITLM
IMU Cochin
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TONNAGE

▸Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship.

▸A commonly defined measurement system is important; since a ship’s

registration fee, harbour dues, safety and manning rules etc., are based on its
gross tonnage (GT) or net tonnage (NT).

▸The Tonnage Convention 1994 (1969) was adopted at a conference held

under the auspices of the IMO to introduce a universally recognized system for
measuring the tonnage of ships.

▸“Tonnage” specifically refers to a calculation of the volume or cargo volume

of a ship.

▸Tonnage should not be confused with Displacement which refers to the

loaded or empty weight of the vessel itself.
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Tonnage measurements :

There are five kinds of tonnage in use in the shipping

business.
They are:
▸ Deadweight
▸ Cargo,
▸ Gross,
▸ Net and
▸ Displacement Tonnages
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Lightweight tonnage

▸ Lightweight tonnage is best described as the weight of the ship when it was built
in the shipyard including all framing, machinery, decking etc.

▸It does not include the weight of any consumables such as fuel, water, oil or
supplies.
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Deadweight tonnage

▸It is a measure of how much weight a ship can safely carry.

▸It is the sum of the weight of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions,
passengers and crew.
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Cargo tonnage

▸It is the goods or produce transported for commercial gain by the ship.

▸Cargo tonnage is expressed in terms of a weight or measurement.

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Gross registered tonnage

▸Gross tonnage applies to vessels, not to cargo.

▸Gross tonnage (GT) is a function of the volume of ship's all enclosed spaces (from
keel to funnel) measured to the outside of the hull framing.
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Net registered tonnage

▸Net tonnage (NT) is based on a calculation of the volume of all cargo spaces of
the ship.

▸It indicates a vessel’s earning space and is a function of the molded volume of all
cargo spaces of the ship.
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Displacement tonnage

▸The displacement tonnage of a ship is the ship's weight.

▸The name reflects the fact that it is measured indirectly, by first calculating the
volume of water displaced by the ship, and then calculating the weight of that water.
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Standard Displacement tonnage

▸Standard displacement tonnage is basically same as displacement tonnage with

one minor difference.

▸When calculating standard displacement tonnage, you subtract the weight of any
fuel and potable water carried on board the ship.
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