Maritime ERP stands for maritime enterprise resource planning. It is software designed specifically for shipping companies to connect operational and business workflows such as commercial operations, technical management, planned maintenance, procurement, finance, compliance, safety and reporting. Unlike generic ERP software, maritime ERP is built around vessel operations, ship-to-shore workflows, voyage activity, maritime procurement and fleet reporting.

Why it matters: Maritime ERP helps shipping companies move away from disconnected systems, spreadsheets and manual reconciliation by giving teams a more connected operational picture.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software: A Practical Guide for Ship Owners and Operators.

Ship management software is a broad term for systems used to manage vessel operations, maintenance, safety, compliance, procurement, finance, reporting, or commercial activity. Some ship management software focuses on one area, such as planned maintenance. Other platforms connect several workflows across ship and shore.

Why it matters: The term is broad, so buyers need to understand whether a system manages one function or connects the wider business.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software: A Practical Guide for Ship Owners and Operators

Connected ship management means managing fleet operations through systems and workflows that share information across departments. It connects areas such as technical management, procurement, finance, compliance, commercial operations and reporting.

Why it matters: Shipping workflows are connected in real life. When systems are not connected, people have to bridge the gaps manually.

Related guide: Why Fragmented Systems Fail in Modern Shipping Operations

Fragmented systems are separate tools, spreadsheets, databases and manual processes used to manage different parts of shipping operations without a reliable shared view across the business. Each system may work individually, but the gaps between them create manual work, duplicated data and weaker visibility.

Why it matters: Fragmentation makes it harder to understand what is happening across the fleet, even when the data exists somewhere.

Related guide: Why Fragmented Systems Fail in Modern Shipping Operations

Integration is the connection between software systems or data sources so information can move between them. In shipping, integrations may connect maritime ERP, PMS, procurement, finance, compliance, vessel reporting, routing, weather, banking, crewing or analytics systems.

Why it matters: Good integration is not just moving data. It preserves context and supports the workflow.

Related guide: Integrations in Shipping: Connecting External Data Without Losing Control

Workflow integration connects the process around the data, not just the systems. For example, a maintenance job may connect to a spare part, requisition, purchase order, invoice, cost record, and compliance evidence.

Why it matters: Data transfer is useful, but connected workflows are what reduce chasing, rekeying, and manual reconciliation.

Related guide: Integrations in Shipping: Connecting External Data Without Losing Control

Fleet visibility means having a clear, reliable and connected view of what is happening across vessels, operations and supporting business functions. It includes vessel position and voyage status, but also technical status, procurement, finance, compliance, safety and reporting.

Why it matters: Fleet visibility is not just seeing vessels on a map. It is understanding what is happening across the fleet and what it means.

Related guide: Fleet Visibility in Shipping: What It Means and Why It Matters

Operational control means having enough reliable information, structure and visibility to manage fleet activity with confidence. It depends on connected data, clear workflows, trusted reporting and timely decisions across ship and shore.

Why it matters: Control is what allows shipping companies to act before small issues become bigger operational, financial or compliance problems.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software; Fragmented Systems; Fleet Visibility

A ship-to-shore workflow is any process where information, decisions or actions move between the vessel and shore-based teams. Examples include vessel reporting, maintenance updates, spare parts requests, document distribution, compliance evidence, and procurement approvals.

Why it matters: Many shipping processes start onboard but need shore-side support, approval, reporting or analysis.

Related guide: Noon Reporting; Technical Management; Document Management

Technical management is the process of maintaining vessel condition, reliability, safety and compliance across a fleet. It includes planned maintenance, defect management, inspections, spare parts, technical records, dry dock planning, class-related work, technical documentation and ship-to-shore coordination.

Why it matters: Technical management affects vessel readiness, safety, cost, compliance and commercial performance.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping: Keeping Vessels Running Without Losing Control

Planned maintenance is scheduled maintenance carried out to keep vessel equipment safe, reliable and compliant. It may be based on time intervals, running hours, condition, inspection schedules or manufacturer recommendations.

Why it matters: Planned maintenance helps reduce unexpected failures, support compliance and create a reliable maintenance history.

Related guide: Planned Maintenance Software for Ships

PMS stands for planned maintenance system. It is software used to schedule, track and record vessel maintenance, work orders, running-hour tasks, defects, equipment history and maintenance evidence.

Why it matters: A PMS gives technical teams structure, but it may need to connect with procurement, finance, compliance and reporting for wider operational control.

Related guide: PMS vs Maritime ERP: What Shipping Companies Need to Know

Running hours are the recorded operating hours of machinery or equipment. Maintenance may be triggered after a set number of running hours rather than by calendar date.

Why it matters: Running-hour maintenance helps align maintenance with actual equipment use rather than time elapsed.

Related guide: Planned Maintenance Software for Ships

A defect is an issue, fault or abnormal condition identified onboard or during inspection. Defects may require investigation, maintenance, spare parts, supplier support or corrective action.

Why it matters: Defects reveal where technical reality is interrupting the maintenance plan. Tracking defects properly helps identify recurring problems and risk.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping

Corrective maintenance is maintenance carried out to fix a fault, defect or failure after it has been identified. It differs from planned preventive maintenance, which is scheduled before a problem occurs.

Why it matters: Corrective maintenance can affect cost, vessel readiness and compliance if it becomes too frequent or poorly controlled.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping

Preventive maintenance is planned work carried out to reduce the risk of failure. It may include inspections, servicing, lubrication, testing, replacement or adjustment.

Why it matters: Preventive maintenance helps keep vessels reliable and reduces the chance of avoidable breakdowns.

Related guide: Planned Maintenance Software for Ships

Asset hierarchy is the structured breakdown of a vessel into systems, subsystems, equipment, and components. It helps link maintenance, defects, spare parts, documents, history, and cost to the right asset.

Why it matters: If the asset hierarchy is weak, maintenance history, reporting, spare parts and fleet comparisons all become harder to trust.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping

Critical equipment is equipment whose failure could affect safety, compliance, vessel operation or commercial performance. Critical equipment usually requires stronger maintenance control, monitoring, and evidence.

Why it matters: Identifying critical equipment helps teams prioritise maintenance and manage risk before problems grow.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping

Spare parts are replacement parts held onboard or procured to support maintenance, repairs,  and vessel operation. They may be linked to specific equipment, maintenance jobs, or defects.

Why it matters: Maintenance planning only works if required parts are available, ordered, or visible in the procurement process.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping; Maritime Procurement

Dry docking is the planned period when a vessel is taken out of the water for inspection, maintenance, repair, cleaning, class work or upgrade activity. Dry dock planning may involve technical, procurement, finance, compliance and project coordination.

Why it matters: Dry docking is one of the most complex technical planning activities in ship management — and one of the clearest tests of how well connected the operational picture is.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping

The main classification society survey, typically carried out every five years, that a vessel's dry dock schedule is built around.

Why it matters: This is the primary driver of when a scheduled dry dock happens — not charter party timing or crew rotation.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping; Flag, Class, and Insurance

A classification society survey carried out partway through the special survey cycle, covering a narrower scope than the full special survey.

Why it matters: Missing or poorly evidenced intermediate survey items can compound into bigger findings at the next special survey.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping

The certificate confirming a vessel's freeboard and hull condition meet the required standard, verified and renewed as part of the dry dock and special survey process.

Why it matters: It's a concrete example of how a class-driven survey event (dry dock) produces a specific statutory certificate — the two are often discussed separately when they're really one connected process.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping; Documents, Safety and Audit Readiness

Maritime procurement is the process of sourcing, approving, purchasing and delivering the goods and services needed to support vessels and fleet operations. It can include spare parts, consumables, repairs, technical services, dry dock items and operational supplies.

Why it matters: Procurement affects vessel readiness, maintenance completion, cost control and operational continuity.

Related guide: Maritime Procurement: From Email Chains to Operational Control

A requisition is a formal request for goods or services. In shipping, requisitions often begin onboard or within technical teams and may relate to spare parts, maintenance, defects, or vessel operations.

Why it matters: A good requisition carries the context procurement needs: vessel, urgency, equipment, quantity, reason and delivery requirement. Without it, each request becomes a small investigation.

Related guide: Maritime Procurement: From Email Chains to Operational Control

RFQ stands for request for quotation. It is a request sent to suppliers asking them to provide price, availability, lead time and commercial terms for required goods or services.

Why it matters: RFQs need structure so supplier responses can be compared properly and purchasing decisions are traceable. Without structure, comparisons happen in spreadsheets and context is lost.

Related guide: Maritime Procurement: From Email Chains to Operational Control

A purchase order, or PO, is a formal document issued to a supplier confirming what has been ordered, at what price and under what terms. It usually follows requisition, RFQ, and approval steps.

Why it matters: The purchase order creates a financial and operational commitment. It should link back to the vessel need and cost context that originated the request.

Related guide: Maritime Procurement: From Email Chains to Operational Control

An approval workflow is the process used to review and approve a request, purchase, invoice, document, or action. It may involve technical, procurement, finance, or management teams.

Why it matters: Approvals need context. A cost decision is stronger when it connects to vessel need, urgency, asset, supplier and budget - not just a number in an email.

Related guide: Maritime Procurement: From Email Chains to Operational Control

Supplier management is the process of maintaining supplier records, performance information, pricing, approvals, contracts, and purchasing history.

Why it matters: Supplier performance affects cost, reliability, delivery, maintenance completion, and vessel readiness. Without visibility, performance stays anecdotal.

Related guide: Maritime Procurement: From Email Chains to Operational Control

Invoice matching is the process of comparing a supplier invoice against purchase orders, delivery records, or receipts before payment.

Why it matters: Matching helps finance confirm that the invoice reflects what was ordered, delivered, and approved - and gives cost the operational context to be understood properly.

Related guide: Maritime Procurement: From Email Chains to Operational Control

Procurement conducted outside the approved workflow — often justified by urgency — bypassing negotiated framework pricing.

Why it matters: A single instance looks trivial in isolation. At fleet scale, if even a small percentage of procurement volume routinely bypasses process, the aggregate margin erosion and audit trail gaps become a material share of total OPEX. Port agent–mediated procurement (provisions, minor spares, husbandry services) is a particularly exposed category, since each individual invoice can look reasonable on its own. 

Related guide: Maritime Procurement: From Email Chains to Operational Control

Vessel cost refers to costs allocated to a specific vessel. These may include maintenance, spare parts, repairs, supplies, port costs, crew-related costs, fuel, services, and compliance-related expenditure.

Why it matters: Vessel cost visibility helps operators understand the financial impact of operational activity and where spend is increasing or repeating.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

Cost allocation is the process of assigning cost to the correct vessel, voyage, department, asset, supplier, project or activity.

Why it matters: Accurate cost allocation helps finance and management understand what is driving spend, not just how much was spent.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

Maritime compliance means meeting the legal, regulatory, safety, environmental, class, customer and operational requirements that apply to vessels and shipping companies.

Why it matters: Compliance now depends heavily on operational data, vessel performance, evidence quality, reporting consistency and audit readiness — not just the existence of a submitted report.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today: From Reporting Requirements to Operational Reality

Safety of Life at Sea — the umbrella international safety convention, organised into numbered chapters covering construction and stability (II-1/II-2), navigation (V), dangerous goods (VII, which makes the IMDG and IBC Codes mandatory), and — via Chapter IX and Chapter XI-2 — the codes that make ISM and ISPS mandatory rather than merely advisory.

Why it matters: SOLAS is the reason ISM and ISPS exist as hard requirements rather than best practice — worth knowing when a customer asks "why is this mandatory." 

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

Marine Pollution convention, organised into six annexes, each targeting a different pollution source. Annex I (oil pollution — the Oil Record Book, bilge water discharge limits that tighten in Special Areas) and Annex VI (air emissions — sulphur/NOx limits, Emission Control Areas, and the CII/EEXI regime) carry the most day-to-day operational weight for bulk, tank, and gas operators. 

Why it matters: MARPOL Annex VI is the specific instrument behind the CII and EEXI entries below — the connection is often missing when these are explained as standalone acronyms. 

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

The International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, made mandatory under SOLAS Chapter VII, governing the carriage of dangerous goods by sea. 

Why it matters: Relevant across bulk, tank, and gas segments wherever dangerous or hazardous cargo is carried. 

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

The International Bulk Chemical Code, made mandatory under SOLAS Chapter VII specifically for chemical tankers.

Why it matters: Directly relevant to Shipnet's chemical tanker customer base — a code that a dry bulk-focused glossary would reasonably omit, but a tank-segment one shouldn't.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

CII stands for Carbon Intensity Indicator. It is a measure used to assess the carbon intensity of a vessel’s operation based on fuel consumption, distance and cargo carried.

Why it matters: CII links operational performance with environmental compliance, making fuel use, voyage activity, speed and efficiency part of the regulatory picture.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

EEXI stands for Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index. It relates to the energy efficiency of existing ships and may require technical or operational adjustments to meet the required standard.

Why it matters: EEXI connects technical vessel characteristics with regulatory performance expectations.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan — the documented plan a vessel must maintain and update, including a mandatory corrective action plan if CII ratings fall too low for too long.

Why it matters: SEEMP is where a poor CII rating turns into a formal, evidenced obligation rather than just a number on a report.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

EU ETS stands for European Union Emissions Trading System. For shipping, it introduces a financial cost linked to greenhouse gas emissions from covered maritime activity.

Why it matters: EU ETS connects emissions performance with direct financial exposure, making operational data a financial as well as environmental concern.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

MRV stands for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification. In shipping, it refers to the collection, reporting and verification of emissions and voyage-related data.

Why it matters: MRV depends on accurate, consistent and traceable operational data at source. Inconsistent data creates compliance risk at the reporting stage.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

TMSA3 stands for Tanker Management and Self Assessment, version 3. It is a framework used in tanker operations to assess and improve safety management and operational performance.

Why it matters: TMSA3 connects management systems, safety performance, risk control and continuous improvement.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

The International Safety Management Code, made mandatory under SOLAS Chapter IX — an international framework for safe ship management and pollution prevention, requiring a documented Safety Management System (SMS) and a Designated Person Ashore (DPA). 

Why it matters: ISM shapes safety management systems, procedures, responsibilities, audits and evidence — and, specifically, its Element 10 is what makes a documented PMS mandatory rather than optional.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

The shore-based person required under the ISM Code to provide a direct link between the company and vessels on safety and pollution-prevention matters, with direct access to the highest level of management. 

Why it matters: A required element of the safety management system that's easy to reference without ever naming — worth having as its own entry since ISM audits check for this role specifically.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

The ISPS Code is the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code. It provides a framework for ship and port security.

Why it matters: ISPS connects vessel security, procedures, records, responsibilities, and compliance evidence.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

Audit readiness means being prepared to show evidence of compliance, control, procedure and completed activity when required.

Why it matters: Audit readiness depends on reliable records, controlled documents, traceable evidence and connected workflows. The risk is usually not that evidence is missing, but that it takes too long to find.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today; Document Management in Shipping

A corrective action is an action taken to address a problem, non-conformity, audit finding, defect or risk.

Why it matters: Corrective actions need clear ownership, deadlines, evidence and completion tracking. Ones that sit in email or spreadsheets are harder to prove closed.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

A noon report is a daily report sent from a vessel to shore, usually around midday. It typically includes position, speed, distance, fuel consumption, weather, ETA and operational status over the previous 24 hours.

Why it matters: Noon reports are a key ship-to-shore data source for voyage tracking, performance analysis, compliance, fuel monitoring and fleet visibility. AIS tells you where a vessel is. A noon report tells you what’s actually going on.

Related guide: Noon Reporting in Modern Shipping

Vessel reporting is the process of sending operational, technical, performance, safety or compliance information from the vessel to shore. Noon reports are one type of vessel report.

Why it matters: Vessel reporting connects onboard activity with shore-side decisions. The value depends on how well the data flows into the wider operating picture.

Related guide: Noon Reporting in Modern Shipping

ETA stands for estimated time of arrival. It is the expected time a vessel will arrive at a port, waypoint or destination.

Why it matters: ETA affects port planning, customer communication, voyage performance, commercial commitments and operational decisions. An ETA that updates late creates downstream problems.

Related guide: Noon Reporting in Modern Shipping

AIS stands for Automatic Identification System. It is a tracking system used to share vessel position, speed, course and identification information.

Why it matters: AIS supports vessel tracking, but fleet visibility requires more context than position alone. AIS tells you where a vessel is, not what is happening onboard.

Related guide: Fleet Visibility in Shipping

Fuel consumption is the amount of fuel used by a vessel over a period, voyage, condition or operational activity.

Why it matters: Fuel consumption affects cost, performance, emissions, compliance and voyage analysis. It is one of the most widely used data points across commercial, technical and compliance workflows.

Related guide: Noon Reporting; Maritime Compliance Today; Fleet Visibility

Bunkers are the fuel carried and used by a vessel. The term may refer to fuel supply, fuel onboard, fuel cost or fuel consumption.

Why it matters: Bunkers are a major operational cost and affect voyage performance, emissions, commercial planning and financial forecasting.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

A port call is a vessel’s visit to a port for cargo operations, bunkering, repairs, crew change, inspection or other operational activity.

Why it matters: Port calls affect voyage schedules, cost, procurement, documentation, compliance and commercial performance.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

Ship-to-shore data exchange is the movement of information between vessels and shore-based teams. It can include reports, maintenance updates, procurement requests, documents, compliance evidence and operational status.

Why it matters: Reliable ship-to-shore data exchange supports faster decisions and stronger fleet visibility. When it relies on email, delayed syncs or manual transfers, both sides lose confidence.

Related guide: Noon Reporting; Integrations; Fleet Visibility

The country under whose registry a vessel is registered, retaining ultimate legal authority over the vessel even though it typically delegates the bulk of technical survey work to a classification society. 

Why it matters: Flag choice is a genuine commercial decision (tax treatment, trade requirements, crewing rules), not just a formality — and it's the first of three conditions, alongside class and P&I, that must all be simultaneously true for a vessel to be legally, technically, and financially operational. 

Related guide: Flag, Class, and Insurance — Why All Three Matter Together

The IMO framework under which flag states delegate technical survey work to a classification society acting as a Recognized Organisation, while retaining the underlying legal authority themselves. 

Why it matters: Explains the mechanical link between "flag state" and "classification society" — most people know both terms exist without knowing how they connect. 

Related guide: Flag, Class, and Insurance — Why All Three Matter Together

A private technical body — not a government agency — that writes the engineering rules for how ships are built and surveyed, then certifies whether a specific vessel meets them. 

Why it matters: Losing class isn't a paperwork inconvenience — it makes a vessel effectively uninsurable, uncharterable, and unwelcome at most major ports, because P&I clubs and hull/machinery insurers write class as a standard precondition of cover.

Related guide: Flag, Class, and Insurance — Why All Three Matter Together

The International Association of Classification Societies — twelve member societies (ABS, BV, CCS, CRS, DNV, IRS, KR, LR, NK, PRS, RINA, and Türk Loydu) that together class roughly 90% of world tonnage.

Why it matters: When a customer or prospect mentions "class," they usually mean one of these twelve — worth having the actual roster in a glossary rather than just the acronym. 

Related guide: Flag, Class, and Insurance — Why All Three Matter Together

Protection & Indemnity club — a mutual insurance association where members are simultaneously the insurers and the insured, covering third-party liabilities: pollution, crew injury, cargo damage, and collision liability above hull limits.

Why it matters: A condition of P&I cover is that the vessel remains classed with a society the club approves — changing to an unapproved class society can cause cover to lapse immediately. This is why flag, class, and P&I function as a single dependent system rather than three separate boxes to tick.

Related guide: Flag, Class, and Insurance — Why All Three Matter Together

The thirteen P&I clubs (including Gard, Skuld, and North of England, among others) that together pool cover for roughly 90% of world tonnage.

Why it matters: Regional patterns matter here — a lot of Gulf-based tonnage, for example, combines a specific flag/class/club mix chosen deliberately for regional crewing, technical support, and claims-handling reasons. Recognising the pattern (not just the generic concept) is what makes a certificate conversation credible with a technical superintendent.

Related guide: Flag, Class, and Insurance — Why All Three Matter Together

The inspection regime, distinct from and enforcing SOLAS/MARPOL, carried out by port authorities on foreign-flagged vessels calling at their ports.

Why it matters: PSC is the mechanism that turns paper compliance obligations into commercial reality. It's organised around regional MOU regimes (for example, the Indian Ocean MOU covering Gulf ports like Fujairah, Jebel Ali, and Dammam), and inspection frequency itself responds to a vessel's prior deficiency history.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

The mildest PSC deficiency finding — a minor issue noted with no immediate operational consequence.

Why it matters: Sits at the bottom of the PSC escalation ladder below Detainable deficiency and Detention.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

A PSC finding serious enough that the inspecting authority could hold the vessel until it is rectified.

Why it matters: The middle rung of the PSC escalation ladder — not yet a detention, but the point where things get commercially serious.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

The vessel is formally prevented from sailing by the port authority until the underlying deficiency is corrected.

Why it matters: Direct commercial cost — off-hire time, reputational damage, and increased future inspection frequency. A vessel can be physically well maintained and still be detained purely because its documentation doesn't evidence what was actually done.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

Voyage management is the process of planning, monitoring and managing a voyage from fixture or planning through execution, reporting and financial close. It may include routing, schedule, port calls, bunker planning, operations, claims, cost and performance.

Why it matters: Voyage activity connects commercial, operational, financial and compliance outcomes in a single operational chain.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

The commercial process of hiring or providing a vessel under agreed terms — negotiations, fixtures, contracts and commercial performance expectations. See Voyage charter, Time charter, and Bareboat charter above for the three underlying structures. 

Why it matters: Chartering decisions affect revenue, voyage planning, vessel utilisation and commercial risk — and which structure applies changes what "the money question" even means for a given relationship.

Related guide: Commercial Parties and Charter Types

A standardised index used in the tanker market, expressing freight as a percentage of a published flat rate for a specific route and vessel size. 

Why it matters: Allows rapid comparison of tanker freight across fixtures without re-deriving an absolute dollar rate each time. 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

A single fixed freight figure agreed for the whole cargo, regardless of the exact quantity loaded — common in project and irregular cargoes. 

Why it matters: Confusing this convention with per-unit or Worldscale pricing is a common and expensive error for anyone new to voyage economics. 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

Freight quoted per tonne or per cubic metre — the dominant convention in dry bulk and gas trades.

Why it matters: The rate convention in use changes how a freight figure should be interpreted and compared across fixtures. 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

Freight is the payment made for transporting cargo by sea. It can refer to freight rates, freight income or commercial revenue from a voyage.

Why it matters: Freight performance is central to commercial shipping operations and voyage profitability.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

Laytime is the agreed amount of time allowed for loading or discharging cargo under a charter party.

Why it matters: Laytime affects demurrage, dispatch, port performance and commercial claims.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

Demurrage is a charge that may apply when a vessel is delayed beyond the agreed laytime during loading or discharge.

Why it matters: Demurrage affects commercial claims, voyage profitability, documentation and operational performance. Timely and accurate operational records are often essential to defending or contesting claims.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

A payment — typically around half the demurrage rate — owed by the owner to the charterer when cargo operations finish faster than the laytime allowed. 

Why it matters: The natural counterpart to demurrage. Despatch is common in dry cargo trades but rare in tanker and gas charters, which is directly relevant to how Shipnet's tank and gas customers should expect voyage accounts to close out. 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

Laytime clause abbreviations: SHEX means Sundays and holidays are excepted (excluded) from laytime; SHINC means they're included. 

Why it matters: Directly determines how much laytime a vessel is deemed to have used over a weekend or holiday period at a congested port. 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

Laytime clause abbreviations governing whether an excepted period (like a Sunday under SHEX) still counts against laytime if work actually happens during it. UU = "unless used" (excepted period still doesn't count, even if work happens); EIU = "even if used" (excepted period counts against laytime if work happens during it). 

Why it matters: The difference between a SHEX-UU and SHEX-EIU clause over just a couple of Sundays at a congested port can shift a demurrage bill by tens of thousands of dollars — this is exactly the kind of clause-level wording that's easy to misread and expensive to get wrong. 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

"Whether in berth or not" — a laytime clause that allows the laytime clock to start running at anchorage, before the vessel has actually reached berth. 

Why it matters: In congested ports, WIBON can transfer days of waiting-time cost from owner to charterer. It's one of the highest-value clause terms to actually understand rather than just recognise as an acronym. 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

TCE stands for time charter equivalent. It is a measure used to compare voyage earnings by converting voyage revenue and cost into a daily rate.

Why it matters: TCE helps operators understand voyage performance and compare commercial profitability across different voyage types.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

A bunker adjustment is a commercial or financial adjustment related to fuel cost, consumption or price variation.

Why it matters: Fuel is a major voyage cost, so bunker-related adjustments can materially affect profitability and contract performance.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

Document management is the process of creating, approving, distributing, controlling, updating, and tracking documents used across ship and shore. It includes procedures, policies, manuals, certificates, checklists, forms, technical documents, and compliance evidence.

Why it matters: Documents guide real work. Poor document control can create safety, compliance and audit risks even when the right information exists somewhere.

Related guide: Document Management in Shipping

Version control is the process of managing document versions so users know which version is current and which versions have been retired.

Why it matters: The biggest risk in document management is often not missing information, but using information that is almost right and slightly out of date. Version control makes the current document clear and the history traceable.

Related guide: Document Management in Shipping

A controlled document is a document that is formally managed through approval, version control, distribution and revision processes.

Why it matters: Controlled documents support safety, compliance, consistency and audit readiness. If users cannot easily access the controlled source, uncontrolled copies will appear.

Related guide: Document Management in Shipping

A certificate is an official document showing that a vessel, system, person, process, or company meets a required standard or approval.

Why it matters: Certificates are often required for compliance, inspections, audits, and vessel operation. Keeping them current and retrievable is part of operational control.

Related guide: Document Management in Shipping

A safety management system is the structured set of policies, procedures, responsibilities, and records used to manage safety and environmental protection.

Why it matters: Safety management depends on controlled documents, clear responsibilities, corrective actions, and audit evidence. The ISM Code provides the international framework for most vessels.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today; Document Management in Shipping

QHSE stands for Quality, Health, Safety and Environment. In shipping, QHSE usually covers the processes and systems used to manage quality, safety, environmental performance, audits, and continuous improvement.

Why it matters: QHSE connects compliance, safety, procedures, evidence and operational behaviour across the fleet.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

A ship owner is the organisation or individual that owns a vessel. The owner may operate the vessel directly or appoint a ship manager or operator.

Why it matters: Owners need visibility over vessel performance, cost, compliance and operational risk across their fleet.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

Hires the vessel, or space on it, to move cargo they own or have contracted to move. A charterer may never physically touch the ship and may not own the cargo either — they may be an operator sub-chartering it again.

Why it matters: Every charterparty clause is really an answer to which party — owner or charterer — bears a given cost or risk. Who pays for fuel, who pays if the vessel arrives late, who's liable for cargo damage all depend on this split. 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

The party with a commercial interest in the goods being carried, who may or may not be the charterer.

Why it matters: A useful distinction when a fixture involves a chain of intermediaries — the charterer paying for carriage and the party who actually owns the cargo are not always the same entity.

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

The intermediary who matches ships needing cargo with cargo needing ships, and negotiates the fixture on behalf of owner and/or charterer.

Why it matters: Brokers sit at the point where "indications" turn into a firm offer — understanding their role clarifies why early-stage fixture discussions are non-binding.

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

An operator manages the commercial or operational use of vessels. Depending on the business model, the operator may be responsible for voyage management, cargo commitments, performance, cost and day-to-day operations.

Why it matters: Operators need clear information about vessel status, voyage performance, cost and risk to make timely commercial and operational decisions.

Related guide: Fleet Visibility in Shipping

A ship manager is responsible for managing vessels on behalf of owners or operators. This may include technical management, crewing, procurement, safety, compliance, finance and reporting.

Why it matters: Ship managers need connected systems to manage multiple vessels, clients, teams and reporting requirements without excessive manual coordination.

Related guide: Maritime ERP Software

A technical superintendent oversees vessel technical condition, maintenance, defects, repairs, inspections and technical support between ship and shore.

Why it matters: Superintendents often act as the bridge between onboard reality and shore-side control. Their effectiveness depends heavily on having reliable, connected information rather than having to chase it.

Related guide: Technical Management in Shipping

A fleet manager oversees performance, operations, maintenance, cost, compliance, or readiness across multiple vessels. The exact scope of the role varies by company.

Why it matters: Fleet managers need visibility across vessels, not just individual updates. That visibility depends on connected data, not manually consolidated reports.

Related guide: Fleet Visibility in Shipping

A procurement manager oversees sourcing, supplier management, RFQs, purchase orders, approvals and purchasing performance. In shipping, procurement managers often coordinate purchasing across multiple vessels and suppliers.

Why it matters: Procurement decisions affect cost, vessel readiness and maintenance completion. Without structured workflows, the role becomes heavily dependent on email and personal knowledge.

Related guide: Maritime Procurement: From Email Chains to Operational Control

A compliance manager helps ensure the company meets regulatory, safety, environmental, class, customer, and internal requirements.

Why it matters: Compliance managers depend on reliable evidence, reporting, controlled documents, and operational data. Fragmented systems make the role significantly harder than it needs to be.

Related guide: Maritime Compliance Today

The Master is the person in command of the vessel. The Master is responsible for vessel safety, operation, crew, reporting and compliance onboard.

Why it matters: Many ship-to-shore workflows depend on information reported or approved onboard by the Master, including noon reports, safety observations and operational decisions.

Related guide: Noon Reporting in Modern Shipping

The owner carries a specified cargo between named ports for an agreed freight rate or lump sum, retaining full operational and cost responsibility for the vessel. The charterer pays for the cargo movement, not the ship's time.

Why it matters: The dominant structure in dry bulk and much of the tanker spot market — understanding it is a precondition for understanding what a voyage account is even measuring.

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

The charterer pays a daily hire rate for use of the vessel over a period, taking on voyage costs (bunkers, port costs) while the owner retains crewing and technical maintenance.

Why it matters: Common where a charterer wants a controllable, flexible fleet without owning the physical assets — for example, an operator running a defined trading pattern.

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

The charterer takes over the vessel entirely, including crewing, and effectively runs it as if they owned it for the charter period.

Why it matters: Sits at the boundary between chartering and ownership, and is common in newbuilding sale-leaseback financing, including for gas carriers and large tankers. This matters enormously for a system implementation, since it determines who the actual data owner is — registered owner and trading/technical manager can be entirely separate groups.

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

The agreed charter deal between owner and charterer, once all commercial terms are settled.

Why it matters: The point at which a negotiation becomes a binding commercial commitment — but only once every "subject" (see below) has been lifted.

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

The document summarising the agreed terms of a fixture, issued before the full charterparty document itself.

Why it matters: The recap is often the first fully agreed record of the deal — and the source of the exact clause wording (SHEX/SHINC, WIBON, etc.) that determines demurrage exposure later. 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

) Conditions attached to a fixture — such as vessel inspection, management approval, or vetting approval — that must all be confirmed in writing before a binding contract exists.

Why it matters: Under English law, no binding contract exists until every subject is lifted — a distinction that matters commercially, not just administratively, since a deal can still fall through after terms are agreed.

 Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

The agreed window of dates during which a vessel must present itself ready to load under a fixture.

Why it matters: Missing laycan can void a fixture or trigger renegotiation — it's one of the main terms fixed at the firm-offer stage.

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

A formal notice tendered by the vessel to the charterer/port declaring it is ready to load or discharge.

Why it matters: NOR tender is usually the event that starts the laytime clock — though exactly when depends on the charterparty's specific clause wording (see WIBON below). 

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance

The timestamped record of port events during a call — arrival, anchoring, NOR tender, pilot on board, first line ashore, commence/complete cargo operations, last line, departure.

Why it matters: SOF is the raw material for laytime calculations. Any gap or inconsistency between the vessel's log and the port agent's record becomes a dispute waiting to happen.

Related guide: Commercial and Voyage Performance