Davits - Two radial cranes on a ship which hold the lifeboats. They are constructed in such a way as to lower and lift the lifeboats the easiest way possible and are also unobstructed in case of an emergency.
Category: - Maritime

Deadfreight Factor - Percentage of a ship's carrying capacity that is not utilized.
Category: - Maritime

Dead Man - A buried timber (etc.) that has an attached pipe or cable going to the surface for the purpose of securing a vessel at a dock or along a riverbank.
Category: - Maritime

Dead Reckoning - Dead Reckoning is a method of estimating your position based only on your course and your known speed, after departing from a known position.
Category: - Maritime

Dead Rise - The rise or upward slant of the bottom of a ship from the keel to the bilge.
Category: - Maritime

Deadweight - The total weight of cargo, fuel, water, stores, passengers and crew, and their effects, which a ship can carry.
Category: - Maritime

Deadweight tons - (DWT) A common measure of ship carrying capacity. The number of tons (2240 lbs.) of cargo, stores and bunkers that a vessel can transport. It is the difference between the number of tons of water a vessel displaces "light" and the number of tons it displaces "when submerged to the 'deep load line'." A vessel's cargo capacity is less than its total deadweight tonnage. The difference in weight between a vessel when it is fully loaded and when it is empty (in general transportation terms, the net) measured by the water it displaces. This is the most common, and useful, measurement for shipping as it measures cargo capacity.
Category: - Maritime

Deck - A part of a ship corresponding to the floor of a building.
Category: - Maritime

Deck Gang - The officers and seamen comprising the deck department aboard ship. Also called deck crew, deck department, or just deck.
Category: - Maritime

Deckhand - Seaman who works on the deck of a ship and remains in the wheelhouse attending to the orders of the duty officers during navigation and manoeuvering. He also comes under the direct orders of the bosun.
Category: - Maritime