shipowner n : someone who owns a ship or a share in a ship

English

Noun

1. Someone who owns a ship.

A ship-owner is the owner of a commercial ship.

In the commercial sense of the term, a ship-owner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain freight rate, either as a per freight rate (given price for the transport of a certain cargo between two given ports) or based on hire (a rate per day). Ship-owners typically hire a licenced crew and captain rather than take charge of the vessel in person. Usually the ship-owner is organized through a company, but also people and investment funds can be ship owners. If owned by a shipping company, the ship-owner usually performs technical management of the vessel through the company, though this can also be outsourced or relayed onto the shipper through bare boat charter.

References

• Tanker operations: a handbook for the person-in-charge (PIC)
• Merchant Marine Officers' Handbook