Hundreds of years ago medieval ships carried wine around Europe in large barrels called "Tuns". The capacity of these ships to carry these barrels was taxed by ports, and eventually became our system of tonnage.

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Unfortunately, this system can be very difficult to understand as it is based on very old practices. At DeJong & Lebet, we have designed vessels to these rules for over thirty years, and know the ends and outs of these rules.

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Today these rules determine which class of vessel you operate, as well as the amount of passengers you can carry, and how many crew you need to man your vessel.

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We have specialized for years in making vessels register at under 100 gross tons. This will allow your vessel to be a subchapter T vessel or a subchapter K vessel.

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A subchapter T vessel can carry up to 150 passengers or up to 49 overnight passengers. These vessels can be of almost any size and material.

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A subchapter K vessel can carry up to 600 passengers, and by meeting additional rules even more. These vessels can be up to 300 feet in length and made of steel or aluminum.