Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight abbreviated to DWT,
D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) is a measure of how much weight a ship
is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of
cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers,
and crew. The term is often used to specify a ship's maximum
permissible deadweight, the DWT when the ship is fully loaded so
that its Plimsoll line is at the point of submersion, although
it may also denote the actual DWT of a ship not loaded to
capacity. Deadweight tonnage was historically expressed in long
tons but is now usually given internationally in tonnes.
Deadweight tonnage is not a measure of the ship's displacement
and should not be confused with gross tonnage or net tonnage (or
their more archaic forms gross register tonnage or net register
tonnage). - Turpin and McEwen (1980), pages 14–21. - Hayler and
McKeever (2004) page G-10. - Gilmer (1975) page 25. - One long
ton is 2240 pounds (1016.05 kg), and one tonne or metric ton
(tonne isn't used