SHIP MEASUREMENT

Archimedes’ principle: a ship displaces a weight of water that is equal to its own weight. Therefore, a
vessel will experience an upthrust that is equal to the weight of the displaced water.
When buoyancy is equal to gravity the vessel will float.
By displacement it is meant the weight of a vessel and her contents or the weight of the displaced
watermass.
Gross tonnage equals the entire volume of the enclosed spaces of a ship.
Net tonnage can be calculated by deducting the spaces that are not used for cargo from the gross tonnage.
Habour dues that must be paid are often calculated according to the net tonnage.
Deadweight is weigh of all the contents of the vessel, i.e. cargo, bunkers (fuel, lubricating oil, ballast
water, fresh water, potable water), equipment and stores.
Cargo carrying capacity
- by bale space is meant the volume of the cargo holds that can be used for general cargo.
- by grain space is meant the volume of the cargo holds that can be used for bulk cargo.
- by oil space is understood 98% of the total volume of the wet bulk tanks. The remaining of 2% which is
called ullage is used to allow for the expansion of the oil.
SHIP’S DIMENSIONS
Length over all LOA is the total length of the vessel.
Length between perpendiculars LPP is measured between the fore perpendicular fpp, and the aft
perpendicular app.
The construction waterline CWL or Summerline is the line to which the ship may be loaded in summer.
The foreperpendicular is the vertical line through the intersection of the CWL and the stem.
The aft perpendicular goes through the rudderstock.
So the length between perpendiculars is the length between the intersection of the construction waterline
and the stem and the line that goes through the rudderstock.
Moulded breath is the horizontal distance between the insides of the moulds.
Moulded depth is the vertical distance between the inside of the moulds.
Beam is the extreme breadth of the vessel.
Draft is the distance from the bottom of the keel to the surface of the water.
Airdraft is the distance from the waterline to the highest point of the vessel.
Freeboard is the distance between deck line and waterline.
Underkeel clearance is the distance between keel and the seabed.

EXERCISES
i. Give the nouns and verbs derived from the adjectives below following the pattern:

ADJECTIVE NOUN VERB

long length to lengthen
wide
deep
high
broad
strong
thick

ii. Find synonyms for the following words:

mariner
mercantile
municipal
restricted
clearance
to proceed
embankment
draft
dues
iii. Fill in the blanks with appropriate words:
1. A ship…………………………….a weight of water that is equal to its own weight.
2. Therefore a vessel will experience an…………………….that is equal to the……………………of
the displaced water.
3. When……………….is equal to………………………the vessel will float.
4. By displacement is meant the…………………..of a vessel and her contents, or the
……………….. of the………………………… water mass.
5. Gross tonnage equals the entire volume of the………………spaces.
6. Net tonnage can be calculated by…………………the spaces that are not used for cargo from
the……………….tonnage.
7. Harbour………………..that must be paid are often calculated according to the net tonnage.
8. By deadweight is understood the weight of the vessel’s…………………., consisting of:
………………………………………………………………………..
9. ……………….is the total length of the vessel.
10. ………………….is measured between the fpp and the app.
11. The………………..is the line to which the ship may be loaded in summer.
12. The fpp is the vertical line through the…………………………..of the cwl and
the……………………
13. The app goes through the……………………………
14. Horizontal distance between the insides of the…………………………………
15. Vertical distance between the insides of the……………………………
16. By beam is meant the extreme……………………….of the vessel.
17. Distance from the bottom of the keel to the………………………….of the water.
18. Distance from the waterline to the……………………………………………
19. Distance between……………………………..and waterline.
20. Distance between keel and……………………………………………

iv. Identify the following:

v. Give the nautical term for each of the following:

floor
wall
stairs
hall
ceiling
window
right
left
forward
behind
kitchen
dining-room
bedroom

vi. Explain the following abbreviations:

LOA
LPP
FPP
APP
UKC
GRT
CWL
DWT

vii. Did you know that…?

The word "ton" comes from the English "tun" meaning cask or barrel. To the English, it meant a wine
barrel with a capacity of about 252 gallons 1. When Parliament imposed duties on the wine entering England
in these barrels, the duty imposed on each tun eventually led to the use of tunnage in describing a ship’s
capacity to carry such barrels. The original use of tun meant a barrel of a particular size, the space that such
a barrel would occupy, and a ship’s capacity to carry a given number of such barrels. Tun was originally a
figure for space-not weight. By law, Parliament fixed the tun at 252 gallons. Since this fixed tun weighed
an average of 2,240 pounds2, it brought into existence the weight term "long ton."

A long ton is used throughout the shipping business. It is not to be confused with the familiar ton of 2,000
pounds, the short ton, used so widely in the US in relation to so many things other than ships and shipping.
The metric ton is 1,000 kilograms, the equivalent of 2,204.6 pounds. Tonnages normally refer to the long
ton of 2,240 pounds.

viii. Translate the following into English:

1. Clădirea în care lucrez în prezent este cea mai înaltă din oraş- are 54 etaje. Birourile companiei
noastre se află la etajul 20.
2. În tinereţe fusese un bărbat înalt şi frumos.
3. Când se răceşte de obicei uleiul se îngroaşă.
4. Ai idee ce deschidere are acest pod?
5. Va trebui să obţinem toate documentele de lichidare vamală înainte de plecarea în voiaj.
6. Am primit deja permisiunea de plecare din port?
7. Nu am avut timp să scriu tot proiectul, dar vă pot prezenta o schiţă.
8. Taxa de ancoraj este destul de ridicată în această regiune.

1
A gallon is a unit for liquid measure (4.5 liters)
2
A pound is a unit of weight (453.5 grams)