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A Guide to Understanding Ship Weight and Tonnage

Measurements
by B E N DI N S MOR E on MA Y 1 6 , 2 01 1

Do you know the difference between Net Tonnage and Lightweight Tonnage? By my count there
are at least six different ways a vessels tonnage is measured in regards to ships, MODUs, and
other types of commercial vessels (Displacement T onnage, Standard Displacement
T onnage, Deadweight T onnage, Lightweight T onnage, Gross Registered T onnage,
and Net Registered T onnage).
If youre a little confused about what all these different units of measurement mean, heres a
quick guide to help straighten you out the next time someone asks you how much your ship
weighs.

What is Displacement Tonnage:

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Displacement tonnage is nothing more than the total weight of the volume of water a ship

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displaces when it is sitting in the water.

at the top of the page):

Imagine you had a large bucket filled to the brim with water. Now, suppose you gently placed a
basketball in the bucket causing some of the water in the bucket to spill out. Once the basketball
had stabilized and was freely floating in the bucket, the weight of the water that was displaced
is equal to the displacement (or weight) of the basketball.

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Standard displacement tonnage is basically the same thing 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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What is Deadweight Tonnage:

Deadweight tonnage is the weight (in tons) of all the cargo, fuel, dry provisions, supplies, etc.
carried on board the ship. In other words, it is the displacement tonnage of the vessel minus
the lightweight tonnage (see lightweight tonnage below). Deadweight tonnage is a good
indication for ship owners and clients of how much revenue the vessel is capable of generating.

R E A DE R C O M M E N T S
What is Lightweight Tonnage:

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Tonnage Measurem ents
Marijan Toncic on A Guide to Understanding Ship
Weight and Tonnage Measurem ents

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Lightweight tonnage is best described as the weight of the ship when it was built in the shipyard

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including all framing, machinery, decking, etc. However, lightweight tonnage does not include

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the weight of any consumable such as fuel, water, oil, or supplies.

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What is Gross Registered Tonnage:

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Gross registered tonnage is a measurement of volume of all enclosed spaces on a ship with 100

To search, ty pe and hit enter

cubic feet = to one ton. For instance, if the total cubic volume of all the enclosed spaces on a ship

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cubic feet = to one ton. For instance, if the total cubic volume of all the enclosed spaces on a ship
were 340,000 cubic feet, the gross registered tonnage will most likely be 3400 gross tons
(340,000 cu. feet/100 cu feet/ton = 3400 Gross Tons).
Gross Tonnage or Gross Tons is what youll see most often on official ship documents and
certificates, but youll also set net tons and deadweight tons (expresses DWT) used from time
to time.

What is Net Registered Tonnage:

Net registered tonnage is also a measurement of volume however you only consider the volume
of actual cargo storage areas when dividing the cubic volume in feet by 100 to get your
tonnage. This includes any tanks, cargo holds, etc. that are normally used for transporting
cargo.

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1. Cadet Shipping Experience on the Great Lakes: Day 17

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{ 21 com m ents read them below or add one }

Israel

January 2 9 , 2 01 2 at 4 :2 8 am

Hello good day sir/madam,please am so impress with your explanation on

tonnage,but there one thing am searching for which i ve not yet found,please can you send me
or paste it on your site,the formular for calculating the quantity of cargo in a tank by
measurement either in cubic feet or cubic meter,and why is that density and specific gravity is
always apply when calculating fluid like crude oil and diesel?thanksisrael
R EP L Y

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RHAIT ABDELAZIZ

March 1 2 , 2 01 2 at 1 0:4 9 am

Good work
Teacher of navigation and ship satbility
Thank you
R EP L Y

manish

Decem ber 6 , 2 01 3 at 2 :4 0 am

Hello sir/madam
Am business man, and I have just started deals in shipping line, for buying ships, vessels,
Barge, passengers ships Etc, on scrape / Demolition basis,,
What I want to know from maritime n readers, where or how i can get Right Weight for
ships, or on which websites,
Because i have been cheated ones by some Brokers, and i made some Losses,
they confused me with (DWT) deadweight tons,
So i request to all of U, to how do i get the right values/ Weight of ship before i makes any
new Deal in this fild, thanks
R EP L Y

SHIV KUMAR KANSAL

March 1 3 , 2 01 2 at 1 :04 am

Very useful information.

R EP L Y

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Samy youssef

Septem ber 2 3 , 2 01 2 at 9 :4 3 pm

what is the difference between the ship displacement and the ship total mass? and is
there any empirical formula to calculate the ship total mass from its displacement
R EP L Y

Mark

April 1 1 , 2 01 3 at 1 1 :56 pm

Can somebody tell me why, pray tell, there are no stats published for the displacement
of commercial vessels only naval vessels? I only see stats for DWT or GT. Nothing on how
heavy the ship itself is.
I want to compare the actual total plimsoll line weight of a ship like the Emma Maersk vs the
weight of ship like an aircraft carrier.
Thank you.
R EP L Y

Nik

July 2 2 , 2 01 3 at 1 1 :55 am

can u write some note or extra information about element of shipping?

R EP L Y

Kim Huon

August 6 , 2 01 3 at 1 2 :4 4 pm

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Hello my name is Kim I work at the Inland Waterway Transport Department.

It is complicated for a measurement of a ship. When I go down to survey a ship.
I am not sure how to calculate the GT and DWT. The Displacement is OK because of
L, B, d, and the Block Coefficient. So I need the help so much. Thank you.
Best regards
R EP L Y

manish

Decem ber 6 , 2 01 3 at 2 :55 am

How to calculate weight of a empty ship? Help Please?

I am supposed to find the weight of an empty ship for a class, but the only information im
given is the ships Gross Register Tonnage, Net Register Tonnage, Deadweight, Cargo
Capacity, Length, Breadth, and Depth. I tried wikipedia but didnt understand what they were
saying. Please help
R EP L Y

raji manish

May 1 5, 2 01 4 at 5:1 5 am

Hello sir / madam

Pls let me know how to get a light ship weight of vessel, ship,barges etc.
Because am always getting confusion when i read (DWT)
I am new in this field for scraping /demolition ship
Now always when I ask any one for the ship details, and actul weight(Leigh ship weight ) they
send me DWT weight.
So I dont know how to get a light ship weight

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R EP L Y

Marijan Toncic

Septem ber 2 6 , 2 01 4 at 5:57 pm

Hi Raji,
Ask them for a stability tables or trim tables, there should be the figure of Light Ship
Weight. This is the weight of the ship taken from the figures when building the ship in the
shipyard. If the classification society which control the ship construction is fair, they must
collect all the platings and all other materials built in the ship with all the measurements
and also weight. At the end all the parts are summed together and you get the final weight
of the ship. This may be also calculated from the Displacement tables. The Displacement
(D) is calculated out of the mean draft and you get the present full weight of the ship. You
subtract all the remaining on board: possible water in different tanks, fuel in the fuel tanks
and daily tanks in the engine room, possible lubrication oil, any remaining of cargo, any
tools, paint etc in the ship stores. When you subtract all the known weights you finally can
calculate also a Deadweight constant, subtract also this one and probably you will be very
close to the real weight of remaining hull weight.
For a DW constant you will do the best figure if you get one of the last Draft surveys when
the ship were engaged in a charter but this is usually done for bulk carriers and tankers but
not for a general, cellular or similar linear ships. If you need more help and Ill be close on
holidays I may show you practical when you are going to dill a new buy.
If you have a scanned documents you may send me free for a review and I may also give to
my students for a practical evaluation and send you back the best findings.
By and good luck.
Marijan
R EP L Y

Henry Lee

July 2 9 , 2 01 4 at 4 :4 9 am

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After an extended period of getting confused by all these terms, I finally understand
the difference between them. Great illustration and explanation!
R EP L Y

Adegoke Gbadebo

August 1 1 , 2 01 4 at 4 :4 2 am

Which tonnage should i consider while negotiating for obsolute ship for scrap
purchase
R EP L Y

Chris

August 2 7 , 2 01 4 at 1 2 :2 7 am

Hi,
Great explanations.
I have a ship to scrap in United Arab Emirates
GT :268
NT: 80
DWT : 396
You can contact me at chris@arabiayachting.com
R EP L Y

Ben Dinsmore

August 2 9 , 2 01 4 at 2 :4 3 pm

Thanks for stopping by my maritime blog Mr. Chris and good luck scrapping your
ship!
R EP L Y

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Chris

August 2 7 , 2 01 4 at 1 2 :2 7 am

Hi,
Very clear
I have a ship to scrap in United Arab Emirates
GT :268
NT: 80
DWT : 396
You can contact me at chris@arabiayachting.com
R EP L Y

Ben Dinsmore

August 2 9 , 2 01 4 at 2 :4 3 pm

Thanks for stopping by my maritime blog Mr. Chris and good luck scrapping your
ship!
R EP L Y

Hector Roberts

August 2 9 , 2 01 4 at 1 0:02 am

Thank you very much for your information. I am a Senior Tonnage Surveyor for the
Panama Canal, and sometimes it is very difficult to explain to others some terms. This
simplifies a lot much explaining.
R EP L Y

Ben Dinsmore

August 2 9 , 2 01 4 at 2 :4 1 pm

Thank you Hector! How are things going with the expansion of the Panama canal?
R EP L Y

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ardi

Septem ber 5, 2 01 4 at 1 0:51 pm

nice article, thankyou!!!!

R EP L Y

Prince

Decem ber 1 7 , 2 01 4 at 8:08 am

Very Useful..Thanks
R EP L Y

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