Vessel, as used in reference to shipping, includes ships of all kinds, steamboats, steamships, barges, canal boats and every structure adapted to navigation from place to place for the transportation of persons or property. An employee of a maritime vessel may be able to see compensation for injuries under general maritime law, the Jones Act, or seek workers' compensation under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) or the applicable state's workers' compensation laws.
A vessel may also refer to containers used for the preparation of food, storage, eating and drinking, serving at table, dispensing medicines, industrial needs and even as funerary urns. In archaelogy, such vessels may be classified according to shape or profile.
