GLOBAL GARLAND, A 575-foot Panamanian-flagged cargo ship with a capacity of 32,115 deadweight tons, spent the week moored to the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal 3 taking on a load of approximately 5.3 million board feet of debarked logs for export to China.
In 1303, King Edward I of England imposed a tax on all imports brought into that country by sea based on a ship’s burthen.
Burthen — a term used to express a ship’s tonnage or carrying capacity — was determined by the number of tuns of wine she could carry in her holds, 1 tun being a wine cask with a capacity of 105 gallons.
In 1347, King Edward III imposed an additional tax of 3 shillings on each tun of imported wine known as tunnage.
From these taxing terms evolved the present-day terminology that is used to describe a ship’s cargo capacity and weight.
Gross tonnage is the total internal volume of a vessel from the keel to the funnel.
One gross ton is equal to a volume of 100 cubic feet, which, if filled with water, would weigh about 2,800 kilograms, or 2.8 tonnes.
Net tonnage is the volume of cargo the vessel can carry.
It is derived by subtracting the volume of all spaces that will not hold cargo: engine room, bridge, crew spaces, etc.
Although there can be variations depending on which port or country is doing the calculations, it represents the volume of the ship available for transporting freight or passengers.
Deadweight tonnage (DWT) is a unit of measure that denotes how much weight a ship can carry.
Deadweight tonnage can be expressed in long tons or metric tonnes and is obtained by combining the weight of cargo, fuel, fresh water and ballast, stores, passengers and crew.
Oil tankers in the Puget Sound are limited to 125,000 DWT.
However, in other parts of the world, oil tankers of 500,000 DWT or larger are not uncommon.
Tonnage measurements are now governed by the International Maritime Organization headquartered in London.
The IMO, among its other responsibilities, promotes cooperation between governments and the shipping industry by creating standards to facilitate trade among seafaring nations.
A commonly defined measurement system is important because a ship’s registration fee, harbor dues, tug and pilot boat fees and numerous other assessments are based on a vessel’s gross tonnage or net tonnage.
Platypus placings
Platypus Marine Inc., the full-service shipyard, yacht-repair facility and steel-boat manufacturer on Marine Drive in Port Angeles, has Michael Lisa in the Rubb Building.
She is a 58-foot steel commercial fishing vessel that personnel are sponsoning (industry jargon for increasing the width of a vessel).
Increasing the vessel’s beam will increase her stability and load-carrying capacity.
Michael Lisa will also have a bulbous bow attached and a new wheelhouse installed.
Platypus also has Sea Lion in the Commander Building.
She is an 87-foot Coast Guard patrol boat that is homeported in Bellingham.
I understand one of her engines malfunctioned and the specialists at Platypus removed it, sent it out to be rebuilt and have reinstalled it.
Sea Lion should be back in the water next week.
Harbor happenings
On Wednesday, Tesoro in Port Angeles Harbor bunkered STI Brooklyn, a 600-foot petroleum products carrier that is flagged in the Marshall Islands.
On Thursday, Tesoro provided bunkers to Lake St. Clair, a 607-foot bulk carrier that was formerly known as Federal Miramichi.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the area’s waterfronts and boat yards.
Items and questions involving boating, marina and industrial activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. News announcements about boating groups, including yacht clubs and squadrons, are welcome as well.
Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
