Berth: The area allotted to accommodate a vessel alongside a wharf, or the area in which a vessel swings when at anchor.

Breakbulk: Non-containerized general cargo. Examples include iron, steel, machinery, linerboard, woodpulp and yachts.

Chart Datum: A plan below which the tide will seldom fall. The Canadian Hydrographic Service has adopted the plane of Lowest Normal Tides (LNT) as chart datum. To find the depth of water, the height of tide must be added to the depth shown on the chart. Tidal heights preceded by a (-) must be subtracted from the charted depth. Note: United States tidal datum is Mean Low Water and can differ from Canadian datum by as much as 1.50 metres.

Charter Party: The contract of hire for a ship.

Consolidated Freight Station or Container Freight Station (CFS): Location on terminal grounds where stuffing and stripping of containers is conducted.

Container: A 20, 35, 40 or 45 foot box which can be handled interchangeably among trucks, railcars, barges and ocean going vessels.

Container On Flat Car (COFC): A container placed directly on a railroad flatcar without chassis.

Customs Broker: Performs duties related to documentation, cargo clearance, coordination of inland and ocean transportation, dockside inspection of cargo, etc. Employed by the importer.

Deadweight Tonnage (DWT): Maximum weight including cargo, ballast, and stores that can be loaded into a vessel.

Displacement: The total weight of the vessel, ie the amount of water the vessel will displace.

Dock: A structure built along or at an angle form a navigable waterway so that vessels may lie alongside to load and discharge cargo.

Dry Bulk: Minerals or grains stored in loose piles moving without mark or count. Examples are potash, salts, sugar, and aggregate.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): The exchange of information through an electronic format.

Feeder Service: Ocean transport system involving use of centralized ports to assemble and disseminate cargo to and from ports within a geographic area. Commodities are transported between major ports, then transferred to feeder vessels for further transport to a number of additional ports.

Forwarder: Consultant in logistics and international traffic. The forwarding agent assists the exporter in finding the most economic and efficient methods of transporting and storing cargo.

Gantry Crane: Track-mounted crane utilized in the loading and unloading of breakbulk cargo, containers and heavy lifts.

Gross Tonnage: The capacity of the vessel calculated by approved formula. The gross tonnage is a figure representative of the volume of the enclosed space in cubic metres (1969 Tonnage Convention).

Hopper Car: A freight car used for handling dry bulks, with an openable top and one or more openings on the bottom through which the cargo is dumped.

Interchange: Point of entry/exit for trucks delivering and picking up containerized cargo. Point where pickups and deposits of containers in storage area or yard are assigned.

Intermodal: Relating to cargo which can be handled interchangeably among different transportation modes, i.e. truck, rail, ocean and air.

Kilogram: 1000 grams. 1000 kilograms=1 tonne.

LCL: Less than container load.

Length Overall (LOA): Linear measurement of a vessel from bow to stern.

Lift On-Lift Off (LO/LO): Cargo handling technique involving transfer of commodities to and from the ship using shoreside cranes or ship's gear.

Liner Service: Sailings between specified ports on a regularly scheduled basis.

Liquid Bulk: Cargo which is transported and stored in liquid form, other than in a drum or similar vessel.

Longshoremen: Individuals who perform services under the direction of a terminal operator or stevedoring company such as operating equipment, rigging cargo or administrative tasks associated with the loading or unloading of a vessel.

Long Ton: A long ton equals 2240 pounds or 1016 kilograms.

Marshaling Yard: Any open area for assembly of cargo for export or placement of imported cargo awaiting inland transport.

Mean Low Water (MLW): Lowest average level water reaches on an outgoing tide.

Mean High Water (MHW): Highest average level water reaches on an outgoing tide.

Tonne or Metric Tonne: 2204.6 pounds.

Motor Ship (MS) or Motor Vessel (MV): A ship propelled by internal-combustion engines.

On-Dock Rail: Direct shipside rail service. Includes the ability to load and unload containers/breakbulk directly rom rail car to vessel.

On-Terminal Rail: Rail service and trackage provided within a designated terminal area.

Reefer: Refrigerated cargo, whether breakbulk or containerized. Also refers to a ship's capability to handle such cargo, and storage areas, containers, etc., used to store and transport them.

Roll on-Roll off (RO/RO): Transportation mode utilizing ramp equipped vessels where wheeled equipment and cargo on flatbeds can be driven on or off.

Rubber-Tired Gantry (RTG): Traveling crane used for the movement and positioning of containers in a container field. RTG's may also be used for loading and unloading containers from rail cars.

Short Ton: A short ton equals 2,000 pounds or 907 kilograms.

Steamship Line: Organization that operates ocean carriers/vessels to transport cargo.

Stevedore: Agency retained by the vessel operator or agent to determine the method cargo is to be loaded/discharged and to provide the necessary equipment and labour to execute the handling and supervise the actual handling process.

Shipper: Organization responsible for the packaging and shipping of a commodity.

Stripping: The process of removing cargo from a container, or the process for pumping the last of the cargo from a liquid bulk carrier.

Stuffing: The process of packing a container with loose cargo prior to inland or ocean shipment.

Toplift: A piece of equipment similar to a forklift that lifts from above rather than below. Used to handle containers in the storage yard to and from storage stacks, trucks and railcars.

Trailer On Flat Car (TOFC): A container placed on a chassis which is in turn placed on a railroad flat car.

Tramp ship: Any ship other than a liner (see above) that generally operates a charter party and can call at any port for cargo.

Transit Shed: Located dockside, these buildings are used for temporary storage of commodities just before export and immediately following import.

Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU): A unit of measurement equal to the space occupied by a standard twenty foot container. Used in stating the capacity of container vessel or storage area. One 40 ft. Container (FEU) is equal to two TEU's.