Aframax American Freight Rate Association.
Term for a tanker of approximately 80,000 - 105,000 dwt.
Agency An organization working on behalf of a principal. Company who represents/acts on behalf of another entity.
Asset Play An object, or company with assets that are not believed to be accurately reflected in its price, making it an attractive buy or play.
Bareboat charter
A charter in which the bare ship is chartered without crew; the charterer, for a stipulated sum taking over the vessel for a stated period of time, with a minimum of restrictions; the charterer appoints the master and the crew and pays all running expenses.
Bulk carrier

Ship specifically designed to transport vast amounts of cargoes such as sugar, grain, wine, ore, chemicals, liquefied natural gas; coal and oil. See also LNG Carrier, Tanker, OBO Ship.

Capesize vessel
Dry bulk carrier of 80,000-200,000 dw
Charter Party

A contractual agreement between a ship owner and a cargo owner, usually arranged by a broker, whereby a ship is chartered (hired) either for one voyage or a period of time.

Classification Society The professional organizations which class and certify the strength and seaworthiness of vessel construction. Class and certification issued to each vessel may be required for insurance purposes. Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and Lloyds Register of Shipping are two of the most well known classification societies in the world today.
Containership A ship constructed in such a way that she can easily stack containers near and on top of each other as well as on deck. A vessel designed to carry standard intermodal containers enabling efficient loading, unloading, and transport to and from the vessel.
Demurrage A fixed sum, per day or per hour, agreed to be paid for the detention of the vessel under charter at the expiration of laytime allowed.
Draft The depth of a ship in the water. This distance is measured from the bottom of the ship to the surface of the water. Draft marks are cut into or welded on the surface of a ship's plating. They are placed forward and aft on both sides of the hull and also amidships. At the midships draft we will also find the authorized Load Line markings which designate maximum drafts allowed for vessels under various conditions
DWT Deadweight tons. A common measure of ship carrying capacity. The number of tons of cargo, stores and bunkers that a vessel can transport. It is the difference between the number of tons of water a vessel displaces "light" and the number of tons it displaces "when submerged to the 'deep load line'." A vessel's cargo capacity is less than its total deadweight tonnage.
financial projects Financial structure set up to support or finance the physical project based on long-term bareboat chartering.
Handynax Dry bulk carrier of 35/50,000 tons d.w. which is popular for full efficiency ,flexibility and low Draft , drawing less than 12 metres or 39 feet .
IMO International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency that issues international trade standards for shipping.
IRR IRR for a project er is the interest rate that makes net present value of all cash flow equal zero.
Laycan Laydays/Cancelling (date): Range of dates within the hire contract must start.
Limited partnership (KS) A limited partnership (KS) is an enterprise where at least one partner has unlimited liability for the company's total obligation, while the liability for each of the other partners is limited to a fixed amount.
Liner Service

Vessels operating on fixed itineraries or regular schedules and established rates available to all shippers. The freight rates which are charged are based on the shipping company's tariff or if the company is a member of a liner conference, the tariff of that conference.

Lloyd's Register Of Shipping British classification society.
LNG

Liquefied Natural Gas, or a carrier of LNG.

Manifest

A document containing a full list of the ship's cargo, extracted from the bills of lading.

Det Norske Veritas

Norwegian classification society.

OBO ship Oil/Bulk/Ore carrier . A multipurpose ship that can carry ore, heavy dry bulk goods and oil. Although more expensive to build, they ultimately are more economical because they can make return journeys with cargo rather than empty as single-purpose ships often must.
Oil Tanker

A ship designed for the carriage of oil in bulk, her cargo space consisting of several or many tanks. Tankers load their cargo by gravity from the shore or by shore pumps and discharge using their own pumps.

Operating Ratio A comparison of a carrier's operating expense with its net sales. The most general measure of operating efficiency
Ore Carrier

A large ship designed to be used for the carnage of ore. Because of the high density of ore, ore carriers have a relatively high center of gravity to prevent them being still when at sea, that is, rolling heavily with possible stress to the hull.

Overtonnaging

A situation where there are too many ships generally or in a particular trade for the level of available cargoes.

Panamax-tonnage The largest bulk carrier which can pass through the Panama Canal fully loaded (approximately 80,000 dwt)
PCC Pure car carrier
Shipbroker A person/company who on behalf of shipowner/shipper negotiates a deal for the transportation of cargo at an agreed price.
Shipbrokers are also active when shipping companies negotiate the purchasing and selling of ships, both second-hand tonnage and newbuilding contracts.
Ship management Technical management and operations of ships, including crew and maintenance
Spot Market for vessels that are not employed on time charter or Contract of Affreightment
Panamax A tanker whose dimensions enable her to transit the Panama Canal where lock width is the determining factor. Ships are approximately 55,000 to 79,999 dwt.
Suezmax The maximize size ship that can sail through the Suez canal generally considered to be between 120,000-199,999 DWT depending on ships dimensions and draft.
RO/RO ship

Freight ship or ferry with facilities for vehicles to drive on and off (roll-on roll-off)
Timecharter
 The hiring out of a vessel complete with crew for a period of time. The hirer (time charterer) pays for voyage related costs, and pays the ship owner a charter hire of a specific amount per day or specific sum per dwt per month, i.e. time charter rate
ULCC Ultra Large Crude Carrier. Tanker of 320,000+ dwt.
VLCC Very Large Crude Carrier.Tanker between 200,000 and 320,000 dwt.
VLGC Very Large Gas Carrier. Tanker with a capacity of over 70,000 m3 for carrying gas.
Volatility A statistical measure of the tendency of a market or security to rise or fall sharply within a period of time
Voyage charter The transportation of cargo from port(s) of loading to port(s) of discharge.
Payment is normally per ton of cargo, and the ship owner pays for bunker, port and canal charges etc.