Maritime glossary
Beam
The widest point of a vessel — the constraining dimension for lock chambers, dry docks, and some terminals.
Definition
Beam is the maximum breadth of a vessel’s hull, measured at the broadest cross-section. Together with LOA and draught it defines whether a ship can transit a given lock or enter a given dry dock. Panamax beam is 32.31 m (original locks) or 49 m (New Panamax). A "Wide-beam" vessel is one designed to exploit the New Panamax dimensions for better cargo economics.
How Vessel Hunter uses Beam
Beam appears on every dossier and feeds the port-fit filter — narrow your inbound list to ships your terminal can actually handle.
Related terms
- LOALength Overall
The maximum length of a vessel from the foremost to the aftmost point, including any fixed projections.
- Draught
The vertical distance from the waterline to the deepest point of the hull — the constraint that decides which ports a loaded vessel can enter.
- DWTDeadweight Tonnage
The maximum weight in tonnes a vessel can carry — cargo, fuel, ballast, crew, stores — without exceeding its load line.
The bigger picture
Beam is one piece of the commercial maritime picture Vessel Hunter pulls together for shipyards, port agents, and service providers. Every vessel record bundles AIS, ownership, inspections, dry-dock history, casualty record, classification status, and a verified contact for the operator decision-maker behind the ship, so the team that reaches out first wins the work.
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