English Maritime Terminology on Ship and Cargo Handling

Ship Dimensions - Beam

A ship’s dimensions can be measured in length, depth and width.

Every commercial vessel has exact measurements and dimensions based on the design building plans and load capacity.  

Lateral or Transverse Dimensions

All ships have lateral dimensions with measurements taken from specific reference points.  The width of a vessel is also referred to as the breadth or the beam.  

Breadth or beam: the width of the ship, measured from the most outboard points between the port and starboard side.

Moulded Breadth: the horizontal distance between the insides of hull. In other words, it is the inside breadth (or width) of the vessel.