CHAPTER XIV.

MAIN FEATURES OF THE PANAMA CANAL MEASUREMENT RULES.

VESSELS TO WHICH THE RULES APPLY.

The rates of tolls payable by vessels for the use of the Panama Canal were fixed by the proclamation issued by the President of the United States, November 13, 1912. This proclamation directed the Secretary of War to prescribe rules for the measurement of vessels to determine the tonnage upon which the tolls shall be paid. The proclamation divided vessels into two classes, (1) merchant vessels, with which were associated Army and Navy transports, colliers, hospital ships, and supply ships, and (2) warships other than Army and Navy transports, colliers, hospital ships, and supply ships. The tolls payable by vessels of the first class were fixed at $1.20 per net ton-each 100 cubic feet of actual earning capacity. Vessels without cargo or passengers are allowed a reduction of 40 per cent in the rate of tolls. The charges upon warships were made 50 cents per displacement ton.

The rules are framed with a view to carrying out the President's proclamation. They provide for the determination of the gross and net tonnage of merchant vessels and other ships of the first class above enumerated, and they define and provide for the determination of the displacement tonnage upon which the tolls payable by warships are to be levied.

Article I requires all merchant vessels, whether American or foreign, and all Army and Navy transports, colliers, hospital ships, and supply ships to provide themselves with duly authenticated certificates stating their gross and net tonnage as determined by the Panama measurement rules, and requires all warships, American and foreign, upon applying for passage through the canal, to present duly authenticated displacement scale and curves, stating accurately the tonnage of displacement at each possible mean draft.

Among the vessels included in the first class are supply ships which are defined by Article I of the rules to include Army and Navy ammunition, refrigerator, and distilling ships, as well as Army and Navy vessels used to transport Army and Navy supplies. Colliers are defined to include vessels used to transport coal or fuel oil. The warships to which the Panama rules apply are defined by Article XX to include vessels of war, other than Army and Navy transports, colliers, hospital ships, and supply ships. Before a warship is allowed to pass through the canal, its commander must show that the vessel is of Government ownership and is being employed for military or naval purposes.

PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THE RULES ARE BASED.

The Panama rules for the determination of the tonnage of merchant vessels are based upon two general principles-that gross tonnage shall be the exact expression of the closed-in capacity of vessels and that net tonnage shall be the equivalent of the space available for the accommodation of passengers and the stowage of cargo and stores; i. e., the actual earning capacity of vessels. To carry out these two principles, the rules state (Art. II) that the gross tonnage shall include the total capacity of vessels, by which is meant the exact cubical contents of all spaces below the upper deck and of all permanently covered and closed-in spaces on or above that deck. The rules further stipulate that gross tonnage shall include not only all permanently covered and closed-in spaces which are or may be used for stowing cargo and stores or for providing shelter and other comfort for passengers or crew, but also such spaces as are used or are intended to be used in navigating and serving the vessel. To make this definition of gross tonnage effective, the rules stipulate that only such spaces as are enumerated in the rules shall be exempted from measurement and that all other spaces shall be considered as closed-in and shall be included in gross tonnage.

To carry out the principle that net tonnage shall approximate as closely as possible the actual earning capacity of vessels for passengers and freight, the rules provide, first, that gross tonnage shall include the entire closed-in capacity of vessels; and, second, that certain enumerated spaces, and only such spaces as are listed in the rules, shall be deducted from gross tonnage to determine net tonnage.

SPACES EXEMPTED FROM, AND INCLUDED IN, MEASUREMENT.

The experience of the vessel measurement authorities of the leading commercial countries and of the Suez Canal Co. shows that it is difficult so to define "closed-in spaces" as definitely to determine what portions of vessels shall be measured and what parts may be exempted from measurement; but, upon the successful determination of what spaces shall be measured and included in gross tonnage, depends the accuracy and fairness of rules for ascertaining net tonnage whether for purposes of national registry or for levying tolls or other charges upon shipping.

The spaces most difficult to define as "open" or "closed-in" are (1) those in superstructures on or above the uppermost full-length deck, and (2) spaces between the uppermost full-length deck and the deck below it, when the uppermost deck has a "tonnage opening" that makes it a "shelter deck." The Panama rules seek to give admeasurers specific guidance regarding the measurement or exemption of these and all other vessel spaces, both by defining "closed-in spaces" and by stating what spaces may be exempted. Exemption from measurement is limited to the spaces designated in the rules.

Permanently covered and closed-in spaces on or above the upper deck are defined by the rules to be spaces which are separated off by decks or coverings or fixed partitions and which add to the capacity that is or may be used for the stowage of cargo and for the berthing and accommodation of the passengers, the officers, or the crew. In order to answer particular questions that have arisen in the measurement of vessels, the rules provide that spaces shall not be exempted from measurement because of a break in a deck nor because of any opening or openings in a deck or in the covering of a space or in the partitions or walls of a space nor because of the absence of a partition when the opening or openings in the deck, partition, or side wall can be closed in, or if the absent partition can be put in place and the spaces be thereby better fitted for the transport of goods or passengers after the spaces have been measured and the tonnage has been determined. The rules also stipulate that the spaces that shall be considered as "permanently closed-in" shall be determined solely by the provisions contained in the Panama rules and not by any definitions or provisions in any other measurement rules.

Spaces on or above the uppermost full-length deck entitled under the rules to exemption from measurement are enumerated in Article IV, section 1. This section provides that spaces under decks or coverings without side walls, i. e., decks having no other connection with the body of the ship than the props necessary for their support, are spaces permanently exposed to the weather and the sea and are not to be included in gross tonnage. The spaces within all permanent superstructures-poops, forecastles, bridges, and other erections-that are to be considered "open" are defined with special care in Article IV, section 1, paragraphs b and c; and, in order to make the definitions there given as exact and specific as possible, the spaces referred to are illustrated by accompanying figures, 1 to 10.

Certain carefully designated spaces opposite end openings of superstructures are exempted from measurement when the openings are not provided with means of closing and when the space opposite the openings can not be used to shelter other merchandise than cargo or stores that do not require protection from the sea. Spaces between (i. e. "in way of") two opposite openings in the side walls of superstructures may be exempted from measurement when the openings are at least 3 feet in height and are not provided with means of closing.

The Panama rules do not exempt from measurement the between-deck space under an uppermost full-length deck having a "tonnage opening" such as would, under the measurement rules of Great Britain and Germany, entitle the space between such a so-called "shelter deck” and the deck next below it to exemption from measurement. The openings in the so-called "shelter deck" and in the bulkheads subdividing the spaces between that and the next lower deckopenings which under the British and German tonnage laws and regulations entitle the entire between-deck space immediately under the "shelter deck" to exemption from measurement-do not in actual shipping practice prevent the use of the space for stowing dry cargo. The spaces under the "shelter deck" are, in fact, protected from the sea. They are in reality closed-in, and constitute a part of the earning capacity of the vessel.

It was the practice of the British Board of Trade, prior to the decision of the House of Lords in the "Bear" case, in 1875, to include "shelter deck spaces" in gross and net tonnage, and American admeasurers now measure and include in tonnage such spaces when they can be

used to stow dry cargo. The present customs regulations of the United States which control the action of American admeasurers state that:

Whether for the purpose of measurement a deck is to be regarded as an upper deck or as the shelter to an upper deck is to be determined in each instance both by the character and structural conditions of the erection, and by the purpose to which the between-deck is devoted. * If the deck is a continuous deck, fastened down and water

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tight, sealing up the cylinder formed between the two decks and making it a fit place for the stowage of cargo, like a hold, the deck is to be treated as an upper deck and the space between it and the deck below is to be measured.

If, however, the cylinder is open to the shipment of seas, and the space is not reasonably fit for the carrying of dry cargo, but is used only for cargo generally classed as deck cargo, such as cattle, horses, chemicals, oil in barrels, etc., then, usually, the deck is to be regarded as a shelter deck, and the space as "sheltered space above the upper deck which is under cover and open to the weather; that is, not inclosed," and not to be included in the recorded tonnage. The Panama rules exempt from measurement only those spaces under a deck with a "tonnage opening" that are between nonclosable openings opposite each other in the side walls of the ship. If the openings in the side walls of the ship are provided with means of closing, no portion of the space under a so-called shelter deck is exempted from measurement. space (Art. IV, sec. 2, and fig. 11.)

Until recently the spaces in the double bottom of vessels have been used mainly to carry water ballast. Sometimes the double-bottom compartments under the engine room have been and are used to store reserve or feed water for the boilers. Vessels using oil for fuel now usually carry at least a part of the fuel oil in double-bottom compartments. Under the Panama rules, all spaces used for fuel are included in gross tonnage, and the rules provide (Art. IV, sec. 4) that such spaces within the double bottom as are or may be used for carrying cargo, stores, feed-water, coal, or fuel oil, shall be measured and included in the gross tonnage.

The Panama rules exempt from measurement light and air and funnel spaces above the covering of the first tier of side-to-side erections, if any, upon the uppermost full-length deck, whether it be called the "upper" deck or the "shelter" deck. There are no exceptions to this rule. In all cases, the spaces framed in around the funnels and the spaces required for the admission of light and air into the engine room are included in the engine-room space to the extent that such spaces are below the covering of the first tier of side-to-side erections, if any, upon the uppermost full-length deck. The portion or portions of a poop, bridge, or other structure, above the lowest tier of erections, occupied by the spaces framed in around the funnels or by the spaces required for the admission of light and air into the engine rooms are exempted from measurement, provided such spaces are not used for other than their designated purpose and are reasonable in extent.

The Panama rules, like the national rules and those of the Suez Canal Co., exempt from the gross tonnage the contents of hatchways up to one-half of 1 per cent of the vessel's gross tonnage, exclusive of hatchways. As is true of measurement rules generally, the Panama rules exempt from measurement companionways and companion houses when used solely as companion ways and houses, passageways and passages that serve exempted spaces, and domes and skylights.

If an exempted space, other than an uncovered space or a space that is under a deck that is not inclosed with side walls, is used for passengers, crew, cargo, stores, or fuel, the space must be added permanently to the gross tonnage of the vessel. This provision, Article V, is similar to a rule which the Suez Canal Co. adopted in 1902.

To avoid any possible misunderstanding as to the necessity of measuring spaces on or above the upper deck that are or may be devoted to passenger accommodations, the rules provide, in Article VI, that spaces for the use or possible use of passengers shall not be exempted from measurement except they are spaces under decks or coverings having no other connection with the body of the ship than the props necessary for their support.

The space occupied by deck cargoes is to be added to the tonnage upon which Panama tolls are payable. The rules provide in Article VII, that if any ship carries stores, timber, cattle, or other cargo in any space upon deck not permanently covered or closed-in, the net tonnage upon which the tolls and other charges payable, on the basis of tonnage, for the use of the canal are levied shall be increased by the tonnage of the space occupied, at the time of the payment of the tolls and other charges, by the deck cargo.

In practically all countries vessel spaces are measured by rules which were formulated by George Moorsom for the British Government and which were incorporated in the British Merchant Shipping Act of 1854, and are now a part of the present British Merchant Shipping

Act of 1894 as amended to date. The Panama measurement rules provide that the cubical contents of the spaces included by the rules in gross tonnage may be ascertained, in any country where vessels are measured by applying the Moorsom system, as for purposes of national registry. The Panama rules, however, provide that should vessels be measured for Panama Canal tonnage in any country where the measurement rules are not substantially similar to the Moorsom rules as embodied in Article IX of the Panama rules, the officials making the measurement shall apply the Moorsom system of measurement as set forth in the Panama rules. These provisions will doubtless reduce the amount of labor required in measuring vessels for Panama Canal tonnage. Most spaces in vessels are included in gross tonnage by all measurement rules, and the cubical contents of all such spaces are determined by the Moorsom system, which is substantially the same in all countries. It is expected that it will be necessary, in the case of most vessels, to measure only such spaces as were exempted in applying the national registry rules but which are included in the gross tonnage by the Panama rules.

SPACES DEDUCTED FROM GROSS TONNAGE.

The spaces that may be deducted from gross tonnage to determine the net tonnage of vessels not propelled by engines are enumerated in Article X of the rules. Few, if any, vessels depending entirely upon wind propulsion will use the Panama Canal; but it is probable that barges and unrigged craft will be towed through the canal. Their net tonnage is to be determined by making the deductions listed in Article X. The deductions allowed for propellingpower spaces in vessels propelled by engines are stated in Articles XII, XIII, and XIV. The deductions permitted engine-driven vessels are both those enumerated in Article X and those allowed for propelling power by Articles XII and XIII, or XII and XIV. The only deductions other than for propelling power that may be made from gross tonnage are enumerated in Article X, sections 1 to 10; and Article XI stipulates that no space, other than fuel spaces deducted under Article XIII, shall be deducted unless the use to which it is to be exclusively devoted has been appropriately designated by official marking. The spaces, however, are not necessarily to be marked by the officials that measure vessels for Panama Canal certificates, it being provided by the rules that spaces shall be subject to such requirements as to marking or designation, and use or purpose as are contained in the navigation or registry laws of the several countries.

To give added definiteness to the deductions allowed by Article X, one paragraph of the article states that spaces for the use or possible use of passengers shall not be deducted except as specifically provided for in sections 1 to 10 of Article X. It is also stipulated in the same article that spaces available for the stowage of stores (other than boatswain's stores) or cargo shall not be deducted from gross tonnage; and, in the case of Army and Navy transports, colliers, supply ships, and hospital ships, as defined in Article I of the rules, the term "stores (other than boatswain's stores) or cargo" shall include, in addition to goods or cargo ordinarily carried as freight on vessels of commerce, an enumerated list of articles.

Under all rules for the determination of net tonnage, the largest deductions from gross tonnage are for machinery and fuel spaces. The Panama rules as to propelling-power deductions are practically the same as those of the Suez Canal Co., i. e., in vessels that do not have fixed bunkers or fuel compartments the deduction is to be the spaces actually occupied by machinery increased, for screw-propelled vessels, by 75 per cent, and, for vessels with paddle wheels, by 50 per cent. Vessels which have fixed coal bunkers or fuel compartments may have the propelling-power deductions made by this (the Danube) rule, or may have the deductions made by actual measurement of the spaces occupied by propelling machinery and fuel, provided the fixed bunkers and fuel compartments have been certified by official marking to be for the stowage of the vessel's fuel.

The main difference between the Panama rule for propelling-power deduction and that of the Suez Canal Co. concerns the treatment of light and air spaces and framed-in funnel spaces above the engine and boiler rooms. In the Panama rules, in all cases, the spaces that are framed in around the funnels and the spaces for light and air are included in the engine room to the extent that such spaces are below the covering of the first tier of side-to-side erections, if any, upon the uppermost full-length deck, whether that deck is or is not fitted with a "tonnage opening." The spaces above the deck or covering of the first tier of side-to-side erections upon the uppermost full-length deck are exempted from measurement.