Deadweight Ton (dwt)
Definition - What does Deadweight Ton (dwt) mean?
Deadweight Ton, also known as deadweight is the amount of weight a ship or a tanker can take or carry in such a way that its plimsoll line is just submerged under water. For safe carriage of goods through the sea, it is mandatory that the deadweight tonnage of a ship should be known. The plimsoll line of a vessel should also not be submerged largely under the water, but rather lightly under water.
Petropedia explains Deadweight Ton (dwt)
Deadweight Ton is abbreviated as DWT and represents the amount of weight or mass that an object floating on water can safely carry. Deadweight tonnage does not account for the weight of the ship or vessel, it only refers to the cargo weight, ballast water, stored fresh water, fuel, crew and passengers weight. Deadweight tonnage represents a ship’s maximum permissible weight. Below is the class of vessels used to transport crude oil, LNG and petroleum products along with their deadweight tonnage:
| Class | Deadweight Tonnage (DWT) |
| Seawaymax | 10-60,000 |
| Panamax | 60-80,000 |
| Aframax | 80-120,000 |
| Suezmax | 120-200,000 |
| Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) | 200-320,000 |
| Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC) | 320-520,000 |
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