A Guide to Understanding Ship Weight and

Tonnage Measurements
by : Ben Dinsmore

Do you know the difference between Net Tonnage and Lightweight Tonnage? By my count
there are at least six different ways a vessel’s “tonnage” is measured in regards to ships,
MODUs, and other types of commercial vessels (Displacement Tonnage, Standard
Displacement Tonnage, Deadweight Tonnage, Lightweight Tonnage, Gross Registered
Tonnage, and Net Registered Tonnage).

If you’re a little confused about what all these different units of measurement mean, here’s a
quick guide to help straighten you out the next time someone asks you “how much your ship
weighs”.

What is Displacement Tonnage:

Displacement tonnage is nothing more than the total weight of the volume of water a ship
“displaces” when it is sitting in the water.

Imagine you had a large bucket filled to the brim with water. Now, suppose you gently placed a
basketball in the bucket causing some of the water in the bucket to spill out. Once the basketball
had stabilized and was freely floating in the bucket, the weight of the water that was “displaced”
is equal to the “displacement” (or weight) of the basketball.

What is Standard Displacement Tonnage:

Standard displacement tonnage is basically the same thing as “displacement tonnage” with one
minor difference. When calculating standard displacement tonnage, you subtract the weight of
any fuel and potable water carried on board the ship.

What is Deadweight Tonnage:

Deadweight tonnage is the weight (in tons) of all the cargo, fuel, dry provisions, supplies, etc.
carried on board the ship. In other words, it is the “displacement tonnage” of the vessel minus the
“lightweight tonnage” (see lightweight tonnage below). Deadweight tonnage is a good
indication for ship owners and clients of how much revenue the vessel is capable of generating.
What is Lightweight Tonnage:

Lightweight tonnage is best described as the weight of the ship when it was built in the shipyard
including all framing, machinery, decking, etc. However, lightweight tonnage does not include
the weight of any consumable such as fuel, water, oil, or supplies.

What is Gross Registered Tonnage:

Gross registered tonnage is a measurement of volume of all enclosed spaces on a ship with 100
cubic feet = to one ton. For instance, if the total cubic volume of all the enclosed spaces on a ship
were 340,000 cubic feet, the gross registered tonnage will most likely be 3400 gross tons
(340,000 cu. feet/100 cu feet/ton = 3400 Gross Tons).
Gross Tonnage or “Gross Tons” is what you’ll see most often on official ship documents and
certificates, but you’ll also set “net tons” and “deadweight tons” (expresses DWT) used from
time to time.

What is Net Registered Tonnage:

Net registered tonnage is also a measurement of volume however you only consider the volume
of actual cargo storage areas when dividing the cubic volume in feet by 100 to get your
“tonnage”. This includes any tanks, cargo holds, etc. that are normally used for transporting
cargo.