Gross tonnage (often abbreviated as GT, G.T. or gt) is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage is a measure of the ship's displacement (mass) and should not be confused with terms such as deadweight tonnage or displacement.
Gross tonnage, along with net tonnage, was defined by The International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969, adopted by the International Maritime Organization in 1969, and came into force on July 18, 1982. These two measurements replaced gross register tonnage (GRT) and net register tonnage (NRT). Gross tonnage is calculated based on "the moulded volume of all enclosed spaces of the ship" and is used to determine things such as a ship's manning regulations, safety rules, registration fees and port dues, whereas the older gross register tonnage is a measure of the volume of certain enclosed spaces.
Read more about Gross Tonnage: History, Calculation
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