Moorsom system of ship tonnage measurement
Sistema Moorsom de arqueo de buques
- Date
- 1854 · confidence high
- Place
- London, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- George Moorsom (Board of Trade)
- Field
- Movement
What it is
A method of measuring a ship's enclosed volume in register tons (100 cubic feet per ton), replacing formulas based on length and beam. The Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 adopted it, and it is the origin of gross and net tonnage.
Moorsom proposed it in 1849 and it became mandatory with the 1854 law; the system was also applied to Suez Canal dues.
What it led to
- port and canal dues based on tonnage
- classification of ships by size
- the 1969 International Tonnage Convention