Deadweight tonnage

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As weight is added to a ship, it submerges. Maximum DWT is the amount of weight a ship can carry without riding dangerously low in the water.

Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight, abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) is a measure of how much mass or weight of cargo or burden a ship can safely carry.^[1][2][3] Deadweight tonnage was historically expressed in long tons^[4] but is now largely replaced internationally by tonnes.^[5] Deadweight tonnage is not a measure of the ship's displacement and should not be confused with gross register or net tonnage.

Scale for a 6000 tonne DWT ship.

Deadweight tonnage is the sum of the weights or masses of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers and crew.^[1]

The term is also often used to denote maximum deadweight. This is the deadweight tonnage when the ship is fully loaded, so that its Plimsoll line is at the point of submersion.

[edit] See also

Nautical portal

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Gilmer, Thomas C. (1975). Modern Ship Design. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-399-1. 
• Hayler, William B. (2003). American Merchant Seaman's Manual. Centreville, Maryland: Cornell Maritime Press. ISBN 0-87033-549-9. 
• Turpin, Edward A.; William A. McEwen (1980). Merchant Marine Officers' Handbook, 4th edition. Centreville, Maryland: Cornell Maritime Press. ISBN 0-87038-056-X.