Maritime Glossary
Source-cited definitions for shipping, engineering, navigation, and regulatory terminology. Confidence-scored and verified against primary IMO, IHO, and industry sources.
- Gangwayaccommodation ladder · brow
- A gangway is the walkway or ladder that provides safe access for people between a ship and the shore, or between a ship and another vessel, when the ship is berthed or alongside. Its use and watch are also part of ship security.
- seamanshipsafetyporthigh confidence
- General AverageGA
- General average is an ancient principle of maritime law under which all parties in a sea venture (ship and cargo owners) share proportionally any loss or expense deliberately incurred to save the whole venture from a common peril.
- legalcommercialinsurancehigh confidence
- Global Maritime Distress and Safety SystemGMDSS
- The GMDSS is the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, an internationally agreed set of radio equipment and procedures that automates the sending and receiving of distress alerts at sea, so that help can be summoned quickly wherever a ship is.
- safetynavigationregulationhigh confidence
- Gross TonnageGT
- Gross tonnage (GT) is a dimensionless measure of a ship's total internal volume, calculated by an IMO formula. Despite the word 'tonnage' it is not a weight; it is the figure used to size regulatory, safety and commercial requirements.
- vessel-measurementsregulationhigh confidence