Common Terms in Shipping
Asia Pacific Shipping operates across shipowning, chartering, vessel operations and technical ship management. This glossary provides a practical reference to common terms used in our business and in the wider maritime industry, covering areas such as tanker and dry bulk shipping, vessel operations, chartering, maritime safety, regulatory compliance and fleet development. This is a non-exhaustive guide intended to help visitors better understand the terminology used throughout the ASP website.
If you come across a term or abbreviation on our website that you are unfamiliar with or would like further clarification on, please contact us at email: contact@aspshipping.vn.
| S/N | Term | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annual Survey (AS) | A survey carried out by the classification society each year to verify that a vessel continues to comply with applicable class requirements. |
| 2 | Bareboat Charter (BBC) | A charter arrangement in which the charterer generally takes responsibility for the vessel's operation, crewing, maintenance and insurance during the charter period. |
| 3 | Bulk Carrier | A merchant vessel designed primarily to carry unpackaged dry bulk cargoes such as coal, grain and mineral products. |
| 4 | Charterer | A company or party that hires a vessel or part of its carrying capacity for the transportation of cargo. |
| 5 | Chartering | The commercial activity of employing vessels under arrangements such as spot voyages, time charters or pool structures. ASP provides vessels through these commercial arrangements. |
| 6 | Chemical Tanker | A tanker designed and equipped to transport liquid chemical cargoes in accordance with applicable safety and regulatory requirements. |
| 7 | Classification Society (Class) | An independent organisation that establishes and verifies technical standards for the construction and maintenance of ships. |
| 8 | Deadweight (DWT) | The total weight a vessel can safely carry, including cargo, fuel, fresh water, stores, crew and other variable weights. |
| 9 | Draught / Draft | The vertical distance between the waterline and the lowest point of a vessel's hull. |
| 10 | Dry Bulk | Cargo transported in large unpackaged quantities, such as coal, grain, ore and other dry commodities. |
| 11 | ETA | Estimated Time of Arrival — the expected time when a vessel will arrive at a specified location. |
| 12 | ETD | Estimated Time of Departure — the expected time when a vessel will depart from a specified location. |
| 13 | Flag State | The country under whose laws a vessel is registered and whose maritime administration has regulatory responsibility for the vessel. |
| 14 | Gross Tonnage (GT) | A measure of the total enclosed volume of a ship, used for regulatory and administrative purposes. |
| 15 | ISM Code (ISM) | The International Safety Management Code, establishing an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships and pollution prevention. |
| 16 | IMO | International Maritime Organization, the United Nations specialised agency responsible for the safety, security and environmental performance of international shipping. |
| 17 | IMO Type 2 | A classification applied to chemical tankers designed to carry certain hazardous chemical cargoes subject to specified containment and safety requirements. |
| 18 | ISM Document of Compliance (DOC) | A document issued under the ISM framework confirming that a company complies with applicable safety management requirements. |
| 19 | LPG | Liquefied Petroleum Gas, primarily consisting of propane, butane or mixtures of these gases and transported in specialised gas carriers. |
| 20 | LPG Carrier | A vessel designed to transport liquefied petroleum gas in specialised cargo containment systems. |
| 21 | LR2 | A tanker size category generally referring to Large Range 2 product tankers, commonly used for transportation of refined petroleum products. |
| 22 | MARPOL | The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. |
| 23 | MR / MR2 | Medium Range tanker categories commonly used for product and oil/chemical tanker operations. ASP's fleet includes MR2 oil/chemical tankers. |
| 24 | Newbuilding | A vessel being constructed at a shipyard under a newbuilding contract. |
| 25 | NOx | Nitrogen oxides emitted from marine engines and other combustion equipment. |
| 26 | NOx Tier III | An IMO emission standard establishing stringent limits for nitrogen oxide emissions from applicable marine engines. |
| 27 | Pool | A commercial arrangement in which vessels are operated within a common commercial structure, with revenues and/or results shared according to agreed terms. ASP identifies pool structures as a preferred business model for its fleet. |
| 28 | Port of Call | A port where a vessel stops during a voyage to load or discharge cargo, take on supplies, conduct operations or for other purposes. |
| 29 | Product Tanker | A tanker designed primarily to transport refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. |
| 30 | Scrubber (EGCS) | Exhaust Gas Cleaning System used to reduce certain pollutants from a vessel's exhaust gases. ASP's recent MR2 tankers are equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems. |
| 31 | SDWT | Summer Deadweight — the vessel's deadweight capacity at its assigned summer load line. |
| 32 | SOLAS | International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, establishing minimum safety standards for ships. |
| 33 | Spot Voyage | A voyage charter arrangement in which a vessel is employed for a specific voyage at an agreed freight rate. |
| 34 | STCW | International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. |
| 35 | Tanker | A merchant vessel designed to transport liquid cargoes in bulk, including petroleum products, crude oil or chemicals. |
| 36 | Technical Management | Management of a vessel's technical condition, maintenance, safety, regulatory compliance and operational readiness. |
| 37 | Time Charter (TC) | A charter arrangement in which a vessel is hired for a specified period at an agreed rate, with the owner generally retaining responsibility for technical management and crew. |
| 38 | TMSA | Tanker Management and Self Assessment, an OCIMF framework used by tanker operators to assess and improve safety management and operational performance. |
| 39 | Vessel | A ship used for commercial transportation or other maritime purposes. |
| 40 | Voyage Charter (VC) | A charter arrangement under which a vessel is employed to carry cargo between specified ports for a particular voyage. |
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