 For those cargoes, Congress had intended the limitation on liability for shipowners to be $500 per 100 cubic feet (2.8 m3).At the time of the passage of COGSA the customary freight unit for most cargo was the "revenue ton" - the number of long tons (2240 lb, 1017 kg) or measurement tons (100 cubic feet) that would produce the most revenue for the shipowner.For example, a cargo of aluminium ingots, which were not packaged for shipment, would be heavy and dense, so the customary freight unit for aluminum ingots would be the long ton, a measurement of weight.