Cargo Operations Sea Year Practice Exam

Containers are stacked in vertical layers called tiers, meaning the organization is vertical. Each footprint can hold several containers placed one atop another, forming multiple tiers from bottom to top. The height of a stack is described by how many tiers are present, and stacking height is limited by weight, stability, and lashings. The other directions—along the ship’s length (longitudinal), across the beam (transverse), or any horizontal span—describe where stacks sit, not how many containers are stacked in height. So vertical is the correct orientation for tiers.