M3	Cubic meters.
Machinery Damage Co-insurance	A clause in a hull policy that applies a 10 percent deductible to claims for damage to ship's machinery which is attributable to negligence on the part of the master, officers or crew. This deductible is applied to the net claim after applying any other deductible expressed in the policy.
Made Good	The sums paid to a general average fund to make good losses incurred by the general average act.
Manifest	A document containing the passenger list and details of all stores and cargo on board the vessel.
Maquila (Maquiladora)	Mexican assembly plant located near the U.S.-Mexican border, most production is exported to the United States.
Marine Insurance	Insurance that compensates the owners of goods transported overseas in the event of loss that cannot be legally recovered from the carrier. Also covers air shipments. Compare Credit Risk Insurance.
Maritime Lien	The claim a master and crew has on the vessel for the payment of wages due.
Market Oriented Sector Specific Negotiations (MOSS)	Sectoral trade negotiations between the governments of the United States and Japan. As of 1995, the only active MOSS negotiations dealt with medical equipment and technology. Remaining MOSS talks occur under the Framework Agreement.
Marking (or marks)	Letters, numbers, and other symbols placed on cargo packages to facilitate identification.
Market Capacity	The maximum amount an insured market can absorb as liability to its policy holders while maintaining a proper solvency margin.
Master Air Waybill (MAWB)	An air waybill issued by an airline, not a freight forwarder. MAWB refers to the air waybill governing all HAWBS on a consolidated air shipment.
Material Circumstance	Any circumstance that would affect a prudent underwriter in deciding whether or not to accept an insurance contract and in assessing the correct premium to charge.
Mate's Receipt	A receipt signed by the mate to say the cargo has been received on board in good order and condition.
MDBs	See under Multilateral Development Banks.
Memorandum	A condition expressed at the foot of the S.G policy form applying an F.P.A. warranty to certain specified cargoes and a franchise to particular average claims for other interest. In modern practice it applies only to cargo policies.
Microbridge	A rate from a city that is not a seaport to a foreign city, via another city that is a seaport, with the steamship line or NVOCC issuing a bill of lading from the original city and taking responsibility for the cargo all the way. Example: Phoenix to Tokyo via Los Angeles.
Minibridge	A rate from a city that is a seaport to a foreign seaport, via another city that is a seaport, with the steamship line or NVOCC issuing a bill of lading from the origin city and taking responsibility for the cargo all the way. Example: Los Angeles to LeHavre via Galveston.
Missing Ship	A ship is deemed to be "missing" when, following extensive inquires, she is officially posted as "missing" at Lloyd's. She is then considered to be an "actual total loss" and policy claims for both hull and cargo are settled on that basis.
MOSS	See Market Oriented Sector Specific Negotiations
NAFTA	See North American Free Trade Agreement
Name	An underwriting member at Lloyd's.
Named Perils Policy	Any marine policy limiting coverage to perils specifically listed in the policy; opposed to All Risks policy. See "All Risks."
National Security Controls	National security controls restrict exports of U.S. goods and technology that would make a significant contribution to the military potential of another country and thus be detrimental to Western countries' national security.
National Security Override	In some cases, despite a finding of foreign availability of a controlled commodity, control is maintained over exporting the commodity because it is deemed a national security sensitive item. The term national security override is used to describe this circumstance.
National Trade Data Bank	The NTDB contains international economic and export promotion information supplied by 19 U.S. agencies. Data are updated monthly and are presented in one of three standard formats: text, time series, or matrix. The NTDB contains data from the Departments of Agriculture (Foreign Agricultural Service), Commerce (Bureau of the Census, Bureau of Economic Analysis, International Trade Administration, and National Institute for Standards and Technology), Energy, Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics), the Central Intelligence Agency, Eximbank, Federal Reserve System, U.S. International Trade Commission, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Small Business Administration, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the University of Massachusetts (MISER data on state origins of exports).
National Treatment	National treatment affords individuals and firms of foreign countries the same competitive opportunities, including market access, as are available to domestic parties.
NCND	Non-Circumvention/Non-Discrimination
Negotiable	A document that can be used to claim title to the cargo, as in a "negotiable instrument."
Nesting	Packing hollow-ware cargo (eg. earthenware bowls) so that one item nests within another. Paper or straw is used to separate each item and avoid damage.
Net Foreign Investment	Net foreign investment is the sum of U.S. exports of goods and services, receipts of factor income, and capital grants received by the United States (net), less the sum of imports of goods and services by the United States, payments of factor income, and transfer payments to foreigners (net). It may also be viewed as the acquisition of foreign assets by U.S. residents, less the acquisition of U.S. assets by foreign residents. It includes the BPA statistical discrepancy.
Net Price	Price after subtracting all discounts, rebates, etc.
Net Tonnage	This is the gross tonnage less the machinery, boiler and bunker, crew and stores spaces.
Net Weight	The weight of the goods themselves, not counting packing materials.
New for Old	When new material or parts replace damaged material or parts during repairs to a ship. Underwriters are entitled to make a deduction from the claim as a result of betterment but they waive this right in practice. Average adjusters may apply the principle in general average for vessels over 15 years old.
Newly Independent States (NIS)	Twelve of the republics of the former Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Newly Industrialized Economy (NIE)	A developing economy that has reached a relatively advanced stage of economic growth and have experienced rapid growth of GDP, industrial production, and exports in recent years. The term was first applied to Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, but it is often extended to other countries. Also known as NIC (Newly Industrialized Countries.)
N.I.E.	See Newly Industrialized Economy.
N.I.S.	See Newly Independent States.
No Cure - No Pay	The principle of pure salvage whereby the salvager who fails in his task receives no reward for his efforts.
Non-negotiable	A document that cannot be used to claim title to the cargo. Most important: Airway bills are always non-negotiable.
Non-tariff Barrier	Any barrier to imports into a country. Official: boycott, inspection, licensing, quota. Nonofficial: custom, language, prejudice, style.
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)	Agreement creating a free trade area among the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with a total population of more than 380 million and a combined GDP of U.S. $7.5 trillion. NAFTA went into effect on January 1, 1994.
Notary Public	An official certified to take affidavits and depositions from members of the public.
Notice of Abandonment	The initial action to be taken by an assured who wishes to claim a constructive total loss. Notice to underwriters must be given with reasonable diligence as soon as the assured is aware of the circumstance. Its purpose is to give the underwriter the opportunity to take action to prevent or minimize the loss.
Not to Inure Clause	A clause in a cargo policy stating that the policy shall not inure to the benefit of a carrier or other bailee. The intention is to deny the right of carriers to benefit from the insurance when they claim such right in their contracts of carriage.
NVOCC (non-vessel operating common carrier)	A company that issues its own bills of lading and rates using another company's vessels.

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