Glossary

Anchorage:

A place where ships drop anchor, away from shipping lanes, to wait until a berth becomes available, or to take bunkers from a bunker barge, or to discharge to barges, or when laid up.

Accident:

An accident is an undesired event that results in harm to people, damage to property, loss to process, or harm to the environment.

ANZECC Screening Level:

The Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council is a forum for member governments to exchange information and develop coordinated policies in relation to national and international environmental and conservation issues. It publishes guidelines in a number of areas relating to factors that impact on the environment.

Airshed:

A geographical area that shares the same air mass due to topography, meteorology and/or climate. As such, pollutants emitted into this area may interact or increase in concentration. Used to discuss air pollution management in the same way that catchments or watersheds are used to discuss pollution in rivers.

Australia TradeCoast:

The Australia TradeCoast is a marketing initiative that involves a partnership between the Corporation, the Queensland Department of State Development, the Brisbane Airport Corporation and Velocity Brisbane (formerly the Office of Economic Development for the City of Brisbane). It promotes to national and international markets the 8,000 hectares of industrial land that is located adjacent to the airport and seaport.

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Services (AQIS):

AQIS plays an important role at the port, making sure that arriving ships and the imported goods that they are carrying don’t bring exotic pests and diseases into Australia.

BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor):

A bunker (ship fuel, oil) surcharge either plus or minus that is applied when refuelling charges vary over the course of the freight carriage.

Ballast:

Ballast is a heavy material (eg. seawater, concrete or iron) usually placed in the base of a ship to give it stability and improve handling when it is not carrying cargo.

Barge:

A barge is a flat-bottomed vessel mainly used on rivers and canals. Some types are self-propelled, and others are towed or pushed.

Berth:

A berth is a place alongside a wharf where a ship loads or discharges cargo.

Bilge:

The bilge is an area at the lower part of a hold where liquids collect and are pumped out at regular intervals.

Bill of Lading:

The most commonly used transport document. Its importance lies in its function, which is threefold. Firstly, it is evidence of a contract of carriage. Secondly, it is a receipt for goods and thirdly, it is a document of title. It also assumes a major role as evidence for insurance claims. Bills of Lading are issued in sets comprising one or more. Because of their widespread use, many different forms have been developed to cover particular circumstances. These include:

On Board or Shipped Bill
Received for Shipment Bill
Combined Transport Bill
Through Bill
Claused Bill
Charter Party Bill
Reefer Bill
Waybill

BMT (Brisbane Multimodal Terminal):

The Corporation operates the BMT, which is the rail interface with the container terminals on Fisherman Islands. The BMT handles the rail transport of imported and exported containers through the port.

Bollard:

A bollard is a post, fixed to a berth or ship, for securing mooring ropes.

Box:

This term is widely used to designate a shipping container. See Container.

Break-bulk cargo:

Break-bulk cargo is a variety of cargoes that are not transported in a container, or do not fit into a container, eg. yachts, large machinery parts, timber, steel. This cargo is generally lifted on and ships one piece or a bundle at a time.

The Brisbane:

The Brisbane is the Corporation’s trailing hopper suction dredger, commissioned in 2001. The dredger is equipped with the latest state-of-the art automation control and navigational systems. Environmentally the vessel features a low-turbidity hopper-loading system and under-keel discharge of overflow waters through an anti-turbidity valve.

Brisbane City Council:

The Brisbane City Council is Australia’s largest local government authority, and is responsible for council issues in our local community.We liaise with Council in relation to a number of issues including planning, environmental management, and the Brisbane River.

Bulk cargo:

Bulk cargo is homogeneous unpacked dry cargo such as grain, coal or sugar.

Bulk carrier:

A bulk carrier is a single deck shop designed to carry homogeneous, unpacked dry cargoes such as grain, coal or sugar.

Bunded:

A bunded area is an enclosure to contain either a reclaimed area, or chemical or other hazardous substance if it spills.

Bunkering:

Bunkering is the loading of fuel oil into a ship’s fuel tank to operate the engine of a ship.

CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor):

A fee applied to the shipping costs to compensate for exchange rate fluctuations.

Capesize vessel:

Capesize is a category of bulk carrier that is too large to negotiate the Suez and Panama Canals and so much round the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Vessels of over 150,000 dwt fall into this category.

Car carrier:

A car carrier is a ship designed to carry unpacked cars which are driven on and off on ramps and stowed on special desks.

Car terminal:

This type of terminal is dedicated to the handling of cars. Cars are driven off car carriers and parked in large parking areas. Facilities at such terminals may include de-waxing, cleaning and pre-delivery inspection, which is done prior to vehicles being distributed to dealers.

Centre for Cooperative Research (CRC) for Sustainable Tourism:

This CRC was established under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Program to underpin the development of a dynamic, internationally competitive, and sustainable tourism industry. It is a not-for-profit company owned by its industry, government and university partners.

Chemical tanker. This type of tanker is designed to carry liquid chemical, such as acids, in bulk. Tanks in a chemical tanker are often coated or constructed of steel to ensure quality control in shipping chemicals.

Container:

A container is a box, rectangular in shape and typically made of steel, and designed to carry goods from door to door without the contents being handled. Containers have doors that open at the end to allow forklifts to be driven inside to load and unload goods. Containers come in common sizes, such as 20 foot or 40 foot containers so that the same container can be transferred from one mode of transport to another. There are several types of containers depending upon the cargo they carry, eg. Refrigerated containers called ‘reefers’ carry frozen or chilled goods.

Container berth:

A container berth is a specialised berth where container ships load and discharge. These berths are equipped with container cranes, straddle carriers or reach stackers for moving the containers to and from the stacking areas in the container terminal.

CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation):

The CSIRO is one of the world’s largest and most diverse scientific global research organisations, which provides new ways to improve the quality of life, as well as the economic and social performance of a number of industry sections through research and development.

Deadweight Tonnage (dwt):

Deadweight tonnage is the total weight in tonnes of a ship’s cargo, stores, fuel, passengers and crew when loaded to her maximum summer load (Plimsoll) line.

Demurrage:

Demurrage is a cost that is payable by a shipper for the undue delay of a vessel in port causing the detention of the vessel in port beyond a stated period.

Draught:

Draught is the depth to which a ship is immersed in the water. This depth variers according to the design of the ship and will be greater or lesser depending on the weight of the ship and everything on board, such cargo, ballast and fuel.

Dredger:

A dredger is a vessel designed to remove mud or sand from the sea bed or river bed. Dredging is often done at or near a port to increase or maintain the depth of water to enable ships of deeper draughts to enter the port. There are different methods of dredging including suction, bucket or grab. The suction method uses a pipe and a submersible pump to suck sand. The bucket method uses a continuous supply of buckets, which reach to the sea bed and scape up the sand or aggregate. A grab may be employed on the end of a crane.

Dry dock:

A dry dock is an enclosed basin from which all the water is pumped out to enable ships to be surveyed and repaired while out of the water.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI):

Environmental Management System (EMS):

The EMS is part of our IMS. The system addresses environmental risks and prioritises the actions necessary to achieve best-practice environmental management.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

The EPA is the Queensland Government department responsible for environmental management matters. We liaise closely with the EPA on a range of environmental issues.

FAK:

Abbreviation for Freight All Kinds. Usually refers to full container loads of mixed shipments.

Flat rack:

A flat rack is a type of shipping container that has no sides or top. This is designed to carry cargo of awkward sizes, such as machinery or vehicles, whose overall dimensions exceed those of a container. When flat racks are empty, the ends can be folded down and several racks can be stacked. With the same dimensions as a container, the racks can be transported in the same way.

Forty foot equivalent unit (feu):

This is a unit of measurement equivalent to one 40-foot shipping container. Two 20-foot containers comprise one feu. This measurement is used to quantify the container capacity of a ship.

Freight forwarder:

A freight forwarder is a person or company that arranges the carriage of goods and the associated formalities on behalf of a shipper. The duties of a freight forwarder include booking space on a ship, providing all the necessary documentation and arranging Customs clearance.

Gantry crane:

This is a type of crane with a wide span, used for moving and stacking containers. Such cranes operate by straddling several rows of containers. They can be either rail-mounted or rubber tyred. Gantry cranes are also be fitted to container ships.

General purpose container:

This container is the most widely used container, used mainly for general cargo. It is fully enclosed and is loaded and unloaded through a set of full height rear doors. The floor is covered with timber planking or plywood and cargo is secured to lashing points normally along the sides at floor level.

Grain silo:

Grain silos are often towers or cylindrical-shaped buildings used for to store grain.

Graving dock:

see Dry dock.

Greenhouse effect:

The greenhouse effect is the trapping of the sun’s warmth in the lower atmosphere of the earth caused by an increase in carbon dioxide, which is more transparent to solar radiation than to the reflected radiation from the earth.

Greenhouse gases:

Greenhouse gases are any type of gas, but especially carbon dioxide, that contributes to the greenhouse effect.

Heavy lift ship:

A ship design to lift and carry exceptionally heavy loads such as railway locomotives or cranes. There are three basic methods of loading and discharging cargo:

lifet-on/lift-off by a means of heavy lift derrick fixed to the deck of the ship;
float-in/float-out whereby the ship is partially submerged during loading and discharging;
roll-on/roll-off whereby the cargo is wheeled on and off the ship.

Hopper:

A hopper is a container with a funnel at its base, or an angled construction, to permit feeding by gravity of a free-flowing cargo such as grain into another container below. For example, sugar may be discharged by a grab which deposits the sugar into a hopper from which it is fed by gravity onto a horizontal conveyor.

Hubbing:

Hubbing is a system of feeding cargo to and from a large port known as a hub. A hub port attracts transhipment cargo to and from other smaller ports, as well as inland locations. It is designed to be more efficient than smaller ports by virtue of its location, handling and storage facilities, and inland transport connections.

Incident:

An incident is an undesired event that, under different circumstances, could have resulted in harm to people, damage to property, loss to process, or harm to the environment. In other words, a ‘near miss’.

Integrated Management System (IMS):

Our IMS is a management tool that measures our performance in controlling loss. The system incorporates workplace health and safety, our internal processes, and the management of our environment. The IMS is audited under the International Safety Organisation standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001, as well as the Australian Standard AS 4801.

Lashings:

Lashings are devices including wires, chains, ropes or straps, used to secure a cargo on a ship or inside a shipping container. The purpose of lashing cargo is to prevent it from moving during transit which could result in loss or damage.

LAT:

Lowest Astronomical Tide.

Manifest:

A manifest is a document containing a full list of a ship’s cargo. A copy the manifest is lodged with the Customs authorities at the port of loading. A another copy is lodged at the discharge port, with another copy going to the ship’s agent so that the unloading of the ship may be planned in advance.

Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ):

MSQ is a government agency attached to Queensland Transport. It is responsible for improving maritime safety for shipping and small craft; minimising vessel-sourced waste and responding to marine pollution; providing maritime services, such as port pilots and aids to navigation; and encouraging and supporting innovation in the maritime industry.

Oil tanker:

A ship designed for the carriage of oil in bulk that is stored and carried in many tanks. Tankers load their cargo by gravity from the shore or by shore pumps and discharge using their own pumps.

Panamax:

Panamax is a category of bulk carrier whose dimensions enable it to transit the Panama Canal. Vessels of 60,000 to 70,000 dwt fall into this category although ships of even larger capacity have been built which are small enough in size for the canal transit.

Pilotage:

Pilotage is carried out by a qualified person known as a pilot. The pilot assists the mater of a ship to navigate a ship when entering or leaving a port or confined waters.

Plimsoll Line:

A Plimsoll Line is a safe-load mark required on all ships. It assures that the vessel is not loaded beyond its safe point of buoyancy. The Plimsoll mark is painted on each side of the hull amidships (the middle part of the ship).

PortNet:

PortNet is a commercial arm of our Information Technology section that provides Internet connectivity and associated services to a range of customers near the port and airport. PortNet can offer these services via a high-speed fibre optic cable or by wireless technology.

Queensland Wader Study Group (QWSG):

The QWSG is a voluntary specialist group within Birds Queensland that undertakes research on both migratory and resident waders (shorebirds) in Queensland, and works for their conservation.

Reach stacker:

A reach stacker is a type of fork lift with a telescopic boom and toplift attachment used for lifting and stacking containers. Its design enables it to reach behond the first row to pick up a container.

Reefer:

A reefer is a refrigerated container that carries cargo that needs to be kept frozen, eg., meat, or at a regulated and cool temperature, eg., fruit and vegetables or dairy products.

Ro/ro or roll-on/roll-off:

Ro/ro vessels carry motor vehicles and other types of machinery that can be driven onto and off a ship via a ramp that is lowered from the ship onto the wharf.

Shiploader:

A shiploader is sore equipment used to load bulk cargoes such as grain or fertilisers. It normally consists of a conveyor system linked to a chute which directs the cargo into the holds of a ship.

South American Red Imported Fire Ant:

These ants originated in South America and have been major pest in the USA over the past 75 years. They can cause problems across the agricultural and livestock industries and are also a serious environmental pest by feeding on or displacing native fauna, especially insects. They are aggressive and can inflict sever stings, and are also known to bite through electrical insulation and cause short circuits. Fire ants were detected at two sites in Brisbane in February 2001 – Richlands and Fisherman Islands.

SQID (Stormwater-Quality Improvement Device):

A SQID is a device that filters stormwater run-off. Constructed of pre-cast concrete, the SQID operates on water flow and has no moving parts or need for power. It stops the full range of water-borne materials, such as litter and organic matter, from entering the waterways. It does not stop chemicals or fine silts.

Statement of Corporate Intent:

This is a 12-month business plan that we submit to our shareholding Ministers. The plan sets short-term goals and is produced in association with the five-year Corporate Plan, which sets long-term goals and objectives.

Straddle carrier:

A straddle carrier is a wheeled vehicle designed to lift and carry shipping containers within its own framework. It is used for moving, and sometimes stacking, containers at a container terminal.

Tank container:

A tanker container is a shipping container designed to carry liquids. It consists of a cylindrical tank made of stainless steel surrounded by a framework which gives it the same overall dimensions as those of a standard container. Products carried in tanker containers range from potable spirits, such as whisky, to hazardous chemicals.

Teu (twenty foot equivalent units):

A teu is a unit of measurement equivalent to one 20-fott shipping containers. Containers are two sizes – twenty foot and forty foot. A teu is one 20-foot container.

Transhipment:

Transhipment is the transfer of goods from one ship to another. This transfer may be direct or it may be necessary to discharge the goods onto the wharf prior to loading them onto the second ship or onto a vehicle, should the second ship be loading at a different berth.

Tug:

A tug is a small powerful vessel used for towing or pushing ships in ports, towing or pushing barges along rivers, or towing, for example, oil rigs out to sea.

Wharf:

A wharf is a structure built alongside the water where ships berth for loading or discharging cargo.

Souces:

Illustrated Dictionary of Cargo Handling/Peter R Brodie. – LLP Limited, 2nd edition, 1996
Dictionary of Shipping Terms/Peter Brodie. – LLP Limited, 4th edition, 2003