Reference

A shared vocabulary for vessel decisions.

Working definitions for terms that recur across vessel sale, purchase, charter and technical evaluation, grouped for quick reference.

Transaction and chartering

S&P: Sale and purchase brokerage.
Fixture: Agreed charter transaction, normally subject to documented terms.
Charter party: Contract governing vessel hire.
Time charter: Hire for an agreed period.
Bareboat charter: Hire with substantial operating possession transferred to the charterer.
Spot: Near-term, short-duration market requirement.
Position list: Available vessels, locations and dates circulated to the market.
Mandate: Authority to act for a principal.
MOA: Memorandum of Agreement for sale and purchase.
Subjects: Conditions that must be lifted before a deal is fully binding.
Data room: Controlled repository of transaction documents.
KYC: Know-your-customer identity and risk checks.

Class: Classification status with a recognized society.
Flag: State of vessel registration.
LOA: Length overall.
Beam: Maximum width.
Draft: Vertical distance below the waterline.
DWT: Deadweight carrying capacity.
GT: Gross tonnage: a dimensionless convention-based index of enclosed volume, not weight.
GRT: Gross register tonnage: an older volumetric measure based on register tons, not interchangeable with modern GT.
BHP/kW: Engine power.
Bollard pull: Measured static pulling capability of a tug.
DP1/DP2/DP3: Dynamic-positioning equipment classes. DP1 has no single-fault redundancy requirement; DP2 is designed around a defined single-fault criterion; DP3 adds physical separation and survivability requirements, subject to the applicable class rules.
FiFi: Fire-fighting notation or capability.