Trade · 6 pages · 12 min

How a draft limits where a ship can go

Draft is how deep the hull reaches, and a ship cannot enter water shallower than that depth.

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From the opening

Draft is the vertical distance from the waterline to the bottom of the keel, read from the draft marks on the hull. A ship can go only where the water, after a margin for safety, is deeper than that number, so loading more cargo can close a port that was open when the ship was light. The opening covers draft is the underwater depth, tide changes the usable water, and load lines cap how deep.

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Inside

Draft is the underwater depth
Tide changes the usable water
Load lines cap how deep
Squat adds sinkage underway
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Ship draft and under-keel clearance
Load line limiting draft

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How a draft limits where a ship can go

From the opening

Inside

Sources

Also on the desk