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Maritime & Shipping vocabulary · Ship Types & Ship Structure

Vessel

Meaning in maritime & shipping, with examples

/ˈvesəl/nounCore term

In maritime & shipping, vessel means: A ship or large boat. In official documents, contracts and radio calls it is the standard word for any craft that travels on water.

In Turkish: gemi, tekne, deniz aracı

How it is used

More formal than 'ship' and used constantly in port documents, charter parties, the COLREGs and VHF calls. People talk about the vessel name, vessel type and vessel particulars, and port staff say 'the vessel is alongside'.

Example sentences

  1. The vessel is expected to arrive at the pilot station at 0600 local time.

  2. Please send us the vessel particulars before we confirm the berth.

Common collocations

  • vessel particulars
  • vessel name
  • merchant vessel
  • fishing vessel
  • vessel traffic service (VTS)
  • container shipA cargo ship designed to carry standard steel containers, stacked in cell guides in the holds and in rows on deck. Its capacity is measured in TEU.
  • bulk carrierA ship built to carry unpacked dry cargo, such as grain, coal, iron ore or fertiliser, loose in its holds.
  • tankerA ship designed to carry liquids in bulk in its tanks, such as crude oil, oil products or chemicals.
  • hullThe main watertight body of a ship, including its bottom and sides but not the masts, superstructure or equipment on deck.
  • flag stateThe country in which a ship is registered and whose flag it flies. Its laws apply on board, and it issues the ship's statutory certificates or authorises others to issue them.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Ship Types & Ship Structure

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