Glossary of Shipping Terms (E - L)
| E&P FORUM | The Oil Industry International Exploration and Production Forum (London). Statoil, Norsk Hydro and Saga Petroleum are full Norwegian members, while OLF is associated member. |
| EBRD | European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. |
| ECE | Economic Commission for Europe, Geneva (UN) |
| ECJ | European Court of Justice (EU) |
| ECLA | Economic Commission for Latin America, UN-body under ECOSOC. |
| ECMT | European Conference of Ministers of Transport |
| ECOSOC | Economical and Social Council of the United Nations, New York - UN's main body for economic questions. The regional commissions - ECLA, ESCAP, ECA, etc. - answer to ECOSOC. |
| ECSA | East Coast South America |
| ECSA | European Community Shipowners' Association (Brussels) |
| ECSC | European Coal and Steel Community |
| ECU | European Currency Units. A financial unit used for EU accounting. |
| EEA | European Economic Area |
| EFTA | European Free Trade Association of Non-common Market Countries. |
| EIB | European Investment Bank |
| ELA | Euzko Langilleen Alkartsuna - Spanish-Basque trade union. |
| EMA | European Monetary Agreement |
| EMIF | European Maritime Industries Forum |
| EMU | Economic Monetary Union |
| ESA | EFTA Surveillance Authority. |
| ESC | European Shippers' Council (Hague) |
| ESCAPE | Economic and Social Commission for Asia and South Pacific - under ECOSOC. |
| EUROS | Planned shipregister in the EU. |
| EXIMBANK | Export-Import Bank of the United States to promote American exports. |
| Exploration Well | Hole drilled during the search for new oil reserves. |
| FACS | Federation of American Controlled Shipping - organization for US companies with ships under FOC, mainly the Liberian. |
| FAO | UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (Rome) |
| FASA | Federation of Asian Shipowners' Associations |
| Feeder Vessel | A short-sea vessel used to fetch and carry goods and containers to and from deep sea vessels. |
| FENSO | Federation of Norwegian Ships Officers organizations (NMB in Norwegian) |
| FEU | Forty-foot Equivalent Unit (same as two TEU). |
| FIATA | Federation Internationale des Associations de Transifaires et Assimiles (Zurich) - International association of forwarding agents. |
| FIO | Free in and Out - charterer pays for loading/discharging. |
| Fishing | The work of removing a Fish. |
| Fixture | Successful conclusion of negotiations between shipowner and charterer, normally with the aid of a shipbroker. |
| Flag discrimination | National legislation reserving cargo for own ships. |
| Flag of convenience (FOC) | Term used by labour organizations about countries allowing unlimited registration of foreign-owned ships in order to achieve low wage levels and low or no taxation payable to the flagstate. Some FOC- flagstates had previously very lax control routines, or no control at all, concerning the vessels' technical standard and their seaworthiness. |
| Flaring | The burning of non-commercial oil and gas on the production platform or vessel. |
| Flexible Joint - or Ball-joint | The bottom part of the Marine Riser construction, utilized during drilling from floating rig or vessel. Allows a certain angle deviation when the vessel or rig is positioned. |
| Flo-flo-ship | Special ship which may be submerged to allow cargo to be floated on or off, i.e. jack-up platforms which may be carried "piggy-back"-fashion on a flo-flo-ship. |
| FMC | Federal Maritime Commission - American independant control authority regulating liner services to the USA. |
| FOB | Free on Board - seller is responsible for delivering cargo to the port, paying also for the loading. |
| FOC | Flag of Convenience |
| FONASABA | Federation of National Associations of Shipbrokers and Agents |
| Force Majeure | A clause limiting responsibility for charterer, shipper or receiver of cargo. |
| FR | Finlands Rederiförening - the Finnish Shipowners' Association. |
| Free pratique | Ship inspected and cleared by the health authorities of a country. |
| Fund Convention | See Oil spill compensation. |
| Gas Lift | The technique of mixing gas into the oil flow in order to enhance the flow. |
| Gas tanker | Special ship for the transportation of condensed (liquid) gases. The most important cargoes are: -LNG - Liquefied Natural Gas (mostly methane). -LPG - Liquefied Petroleum Gas (propane, butane). -Ammonia. -Ethylene. On board, gases are kept liquid with highly effective insulation (thermosbottle-principle), by high pressure or by low temperature. LNG-ships must be able to carry cargoes with temperatures as low as -163°C. |
| GATS | General Agreement on Trade in Services - part of GATT - concerns trading in services, incl. shipping. |
| GATT | General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Geneva). |
| GBS | Gravity Base Structure |
| GCBS | General Council of British Shipping - the amalgamation of the former BSF - British Shipping Federation - and the UK Chamber of Shipping, established 1976. |
| General cargo | Goods unpackaged or packaged, but not shipped in bulk. |
| GEOROT | Geographical Rotation - sequence in which ship calls at ports on her itinerary. |
| GIS | German International Shipregister |
| GL | Germanischer Lloyd - German classification society. |
| GMDSS | Global Maritime Distress and Safety System |
| Grain Cap | Grain Capacity - a ship's grain-carrying capacity. |
| Gross Tonnage GT | (0.2+0.02·log10V)·V, where V is the volume in cubic metres of all enclosed spaces on board. |
| Handymax | Dry bulk vessel of approximately 35,000 - 50,000 dwt. |
| Handysize | Dry bulk vessel or product tanker, 15,000 - 50,000 dwt. |
| Heavy Grain | Grain filling the ship to full deadweight capacity. |
| Hire-purchase Charter-Party | C/P where the charterer gets ownership of the vessel at the conclusion of the C/P. |
| HR | Hellenic Register of Shipping - Greek classification society. |
| HSS | Highspeed Sea Service - fast ferry concept with double- or multihulled vessels with carrying capacity of up to 1500 passengers and around 400 cars. |
| IACS | International Association of Classification Societies |
| IADC | International Association of Drilling Contractors (Houston/Amsterdam) |
| IAPH | International Association of Ports and Harbours. |
| IBIA | International Bunker Industry Association (Kingston on Thames). |
| IBRD | International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Washington) - the World Bank. |
| ICC | International Chamber of Commerce |
| ICFTU | International Confederation of Free Trade Unions |
| ICHCA | International Cargo Handling Co-ordination Association (London) |
| ICOTAS | International Committee on the Organization of Traffic at Sea (London) |
| ICPL | International Committee on Passenger Lines (for the CENSA-countries). |
| ICS | International Chamber of Shipping (London) |
| IFC | International Finance Corporation |
| IFSMA | International Federation of ShipMasters Association (London) |
| ILA | International Law Association |
| ILO | UN's International Labour Organization (Geneva) |
| IMB | International Maritime Bureau - bureau established by the ICC to combat fraud in the shipping industry. |
| IMDG | International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code - rules for the labelling of dangerous goods at sea. |
| IMEC | International Maritime Employers' Committee |
| IMIF | International Maritime Industry Forum - a forum for banks and shipbuilders with the purpose of solving problems in connection with surplus tanker tonnage. |
| IMO | International Maritime Organization (London) - UN's maritime authority. |
| IMPA | International Pilots' Association |
| IMU | International Maritime Union (Latin-American seamen's union with US affiliations.) |
| INMARSAT | International Maritime Satellite Organization (London) |
| INSROP | International Northern Sea Route Programme - comprehensive, multi-national, multi-disciplinary five-year research programme investigating commercial navigation through the North-East Passage. |
| INTERCARGO | International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (London) - Opposite number to INTERTANKO. |
| Intermodal transport | Carriage of goods employing various modes of transport, i.e. sea/land, rail/sea, etc., between sender and receiver. Also called Multimodal Transport. |
| INTERTANKO | International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Oslo) |
| IOE | International Organization of Employers |
| IOPC | International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund |
| IOPP | International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate |
| ISF | International Shipping Federation (London) - cooperation of maritime employers' associations. |
| ISM | International Safety Management Code |
| ISMA | International Ship Managers' Association |
| ISO | International Standards Organization (London) |
| ISOA | International Support Vessels Owners' Association (London) |
| ITF | International Transport Workers' Federation (London) |
| Itinerary | List of a ship's ports of call. |
| ITOPF | International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd. (London) - manages TOVALOP and cooperates closely with CRISTAL. |
| ITS | International Tanker Service - planned cooperation in the market between independent tanker owners. |
| IWA | International Wheat Agreement |
| Jackup | Movable installation consisting of a large deck with legs which may be jacked up. During operation, the legs are resting on the seabed, and the vessel "jacked up", leaving the deck in secure position high above the surface of the sea. When moved, the legs are retracted and the installation floates. Usually not equipped with own propulsion machinery. (Max. water depths 110 to 120 metres.) Normally used as a drilling rig. |
| JARC | Jones Act Reform Coalition |
| JETTISON | The act of throwing goods or pumping cargo overboard to lighten a ship to improve stability in an emergency. |
| Joint service | Two or more shipping companies jointly operating a service. |
| JR | Jugoslav Register - Yugoslav classification society. |
| KFK | Koordinerende forskningskomité (Norway) - Coordinating Research Committee. |
| KGS | Kilogram(s) |
| Knot | Measure of speed for ships, i.e. one nautical mile (1,852 metres) per hour. |
| Kommandittselskap (K/S) | Limited partnership. A form of shipfinancing very popular in Norway before the tax reform in 1991. Now almost obsolete. |
| KPI | Kesatuan Pelant Indonesia - Indonesian seamen's union. |
| KR | Korean Register of Shipping Yusung P O Box 29 Taejon Korea Phone +82 42 862 6001 Fax +82 42 862 6011 Telex KRSHO K45501 Korean Ship Classification Society |
| KT | Knot: Measure of speed of a ship, equal to one nautical mile (6,080 feet or 1,852 meters) per hour |
| KTM | Keel to Top of Mast - the height from the keel to the highest point of a ship, normally the top of the mast. |
| KTM | Keel to Top of Mast: Distance from the keel of the Vessel to the top of the mast, also referred to as Airdraft, which indicates the clearance needed for the Vessel to pass under air structures above the waterways. |
| L/C | Letter of Credit or Laydays/Canceling: See LAYCAN |
| L3C | Last Three Cargoes |
| LA | Los Angeles |
| LAFTA | Latin America Free Trade Association |
| Lanemetre | Used particularly in connection with the transportation of trailers. One lanemetre is one metre of deck, with a width of 2.5 to 3.0 metres.The capacity of ships built for the transportation of new automobiles is normally expressed by the number of cars carried, or by the area of deckspace, in square metres. |
| LASH | Lighter Aboard Ship, i.e. ships which can carry lighters "piggy-back" fashion. |
| LASH | Lighter Aboard Ship (barge carriers) |
| LAT | Latitude or Lowest Astronomic Tide: see Chart Datum |
| LAYCAN | Laydays/Canceling: A spread of dates - e.g.: "Laydays 1st September/Canceling 15th September," between which dates a vessel is to present for loading. Too early and she will probably have to wait. Too late and she risks being canceled by the charterers. |
| LB | Long Beach or Lower Buchanan |
| LBP | Length Between Perpendiculars: The length of the vessel measured between the forward part of the stern to the after part of the rudder post. |
| LCL | Less than Container Load |
| LD | Load |
| LDD | Leaded |
| LDT | Light Displacement Tonnage |
| Leasing | When a ship is leased, the owner may in fact utilize it as in a bareboat or hire-purchase-C/P, but without entering into a charter-party-contract. The price is agreed between the shipping company (lessee) and the vessel's legal owner - the leasing company (lessor). The agreed fee will normally give the lessor a return on the investment with a profit during the leasing period. When the agreed period expires, the lessee may extend the leasing, but at a reduced fee (e.g. 1/12 of previous fee), or purchase the vessel at its estimated value. |
| LGM | Lawful General Merchandise |
| LIFO | Liner In Free Out |
| Liner | Vessel serving a regular defined route or trade, following a published sailing schedule. |
| Liner conference | Two or more shipping companies operating a service in common between designated areas. Conference partners agree special freight rates and terms for the trade, in order to stabilize market and service. |
| Liner service | Cargoships operating regular schedules between advertised ports. |
| LIST | The leaning of the vessel to the port or starboard. |
| LLA | Long Length Additional |
| LLMC | International Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims |
| LMMA | London Maritime Arbitrators Association, London |
| LNG | Liquefied Natural Gas |
| LOA | Length Over All: The extreme length of the vessel measured from the foremost part to the aftermost part of the hull. |
| LOC (L/C) | Letter of Credit or Letter Of Compliance (depending on context) |
| LOF-90 | Lloyd's Open Form - standardized salvage contract. |
| LOF-95 | Lloyd's Open Form - standardized salvage contract. Current version is called LOF-95. Effective January 1 1995. Revised and updated version of the LOF-90, and reflects changes resulting from the UK Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Pollution) Act 1994. Other changes have also been incorporated in this new LOF-95. |
| LOFR | Letter Of Financial Responsibility |
| LOG | An apparatus for measuring the speed of a vessel through the water. or An entry made in a log book to record any event or occurrence during the logging period. |
| LOI | Letter of Indemnity: A guarantee issued by the receiver named in the Bill of Lading, Holding the carrier harmless if he is ordered to release the cargo without presentation of original Bill of Lading. |
| LOLO | Lift On/Lift Off |
| LOLO | Lift On/Lift Off: A term describing the method of loading and discharging cargo by ship or shore gear. |
| Lo-lo-ship | Lift on-lift off-ship. Containers or other goods are lifted on board and ashore by cranes. |
| LONG | Longitude |
| LORI | Letter Of Response Intention |
| LOT | Load On Top: The concept of allowing hydrocarbon material recovered during tank washing to be commingled with the next cargo. Procedure:L O T is the shipboard procedure of collecting and settling water and oil mixtures, resulting from ballasting and tank cleaning operations (usually in a special slop tank or tanks), and subsequently loading cargo on top of and pumping the mixture ashore at the discharge port. Practice: L O T is the act of commingling on-board quantity with cargo being loaded. |
| LOU | Letter of Undertaking: A guarantee issued by a P & I Club or insurer, in cases where a vessel is involved in an accidents or damage to cargo. The LOU guarantees settlement of any proven claims, thus allowing the vessel to sail without unnecessary delays. |
| LPG | Liquefied Petroleum Gas |
| LPOC | Last Port Of Call |
| LR | Lloyd's Register of Shipping - British classification society. |
| LR | Lloyd's Register of Shipping 100 Leadenhall Street London ECA3A 3BP England Phone +44 171 709 9166 Fax +44 171 488 4796 Telex 888379 LR LON G British Ship Classification Society |
| LS | Lump Sum |
| LS & D | Landing, Storage and Delivery |
| LSC | Liberian Shipping Council |
| LSWR | Low Sulphur Waxy Residue |
| LT (L/T) | Long Ton: A ton of 2,240 pounds, equivalent to 1,016 metric tons (M/T) or Liner Terms: The responsibility and cost of loading, carrying and discharging cargo is that of the carrier, from the moment the goods are placed alongside the carrying vessel in readiness for loading, until discharged alongside at their destination. Time spent cargo-handling is also at the carrier's risk. |
| LTS | LayTime Saved: Dispatch to be paid for laytime saved. |
| LW | Low Water |
| LWONT | Low Water Ordinary Neap Tides |
| LWOST | Low Water Ordinary Spring Tides: A measure of water depth at the low water mark on ordinary (i.e.: not exceptional) Spring tides. See Chart Datum and MLWS. |