Cutting shipment - Cutting offal

...The harbor lacked breakwaters and mooring facilities, and marine weather observations were based on the intuition of experienced sailors. The crew's wages were determined by freight rates, the boatman's wages were based on the cargo carried, and the crew's wages were based on the cut-off shipment (cut-off refers to the origin of the cargo, but in this case it was a fixed percentage of the cargo given as wages), so overloading was common.
[Maritime accidents since modern times]
Powered boats first came into practical use in the second half of the 19th century.

*Some of the terminology that refers to "cut shipments" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…港湾には防波堤，係留設備等が不備であり，海洋気象観測は経験者の勘による程度であった。船員の賃金が運賃に左右され，船頭の賃金が帆待荷物により，乗組員の賃金が切出荷物(切出しとは積荷の出自をいうが，ここでは給与として付与する積荷の一定歩合)によるものがあったため，過積となりやすかった。海損【金指 正三】
［近代以降の海難］
　動力船が実用に供されるようになったのは19世紀後半からである。…

※「切出荷物」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報