Gross Register Tonnage

Gross Register Tonnage (abbreviated variously as GRT, grt, g.r.t. and so forth) represents the total internal volume of a vessel, with some exemptions for non-productive spaces.^[1] A gross register ton is equal to a volume of 100 cubic feet (~2.83 m³).^[1][2] Gross Register Tonnage is not a measure of the ship's weight or displacement and should not be confused with terms such as gross tonnage, deadweight tonnage, net tonnage, or displacement.^[1][3]

This calculation of gross register tonnage is complex; a hold can, for instance, be assessed for grain (accounting for all the air space in the hold) or for bales (exempting the dead space between the ship's ribs). Also, certain non-productive spaces, such as crew's quarters, are exempted from the calculation.^[1]

Gross register tonnage was replaced by gross tonnage in 1994 under the Tonnage Measurement convention of 1969, but is still a widely used term in the industry.^[1][4]

Tonnage measurements are now governed by an IMO Convention (International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969 (London-Rules)), which applies to all ships built after July 1982.^[1] In accordance with the Convention, Gross Tonnage should be used in day to day business instead of Gross Register Tonnage.^[1] Gross Register Tonnage is a function of the all the moulded volume of all enclosed spaces of the ship.^[1]

• Hayler, William B. (2003). American Merchant Seaman's Manual. Cornell Maritime Press. ISBN 0-87033-549-9. .
• Turpin, Edward A.; McEwen, William A. (1980). Merchant Marine Officers' Handbook (4th ed.). Centreville, MD: Cornell Maritime Press. ISBN 0-87038-056-X. 

• Tonnage
• Gross Tonnage
• Ton
• Light ship displacement

• International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969
• 46 USC Chapter 145 - Regulatory Measurement
• Units and Systems of Measurement Their Origin, Development, and Present Status

v • d • e Ship measurements Length Length overall  · Length between perpendiculars  · Length at the waterline Breadth Beam Depth Draft  · Moulded depth  · Freeboard Volume Worldwide Gross tonnage  · Net tonnage Specialized Panama Canal/Universal Measurement System  · Thames measurement tonnage Archaic Gross register tonnage  · Net register tonnage Capacity Current Deadweight tonnage  · Twenty-foot equivalent unit Archaic Builder's Old Measurement Weight Displacement  · Loaded displacement  · Standard displacement  · Light displacement  · Normal displacement