Question 62 TV02 - Towing Vessels - Great Lakes and Inland

The Correct Answer is B **Explanation for Option B (Common):** A **Common Carrier** (or public carrier) is a business that transports goods or people for a fee and offers its services to the general public. By law, common carriers operate under the principle of "holding out," meaning they must accept all legal shipments offered by anyone, up to the limits of their capacity and within the scope of their operating authority. They are legally obligated to accept without discrimination all legal cargoes of a shipper, making this the correct answer. **Why the Other Options Are Incorrect:** * **A) Industrial:** This term is not a standard legal classification for a carrier type based on acceptance obligation. It might describe a carrier focused on industrial goods, but it doesn't define their public acceptance duty. * **C) Private:** A **Private Carrier** is owned and operated by a company primarily to move its own goods (e.g., a supermarket chain owning its own trucks). They are not "for hire" to the general public and are therefore under no legal obligation to accept cargo from any external shipper. They discriminate entirely in favor of their owner's freight. * **D) Tramp:** A **Tramp Carrier** (usually referring to tramp ships or aircraft) operates on irregular routes, picking up bulk cargo wherever business is found. While they carry cargo for others, they do not hold themselves out to serve the *entire* public indiscriminately. They negotiate specific contracts for full loads and are free to choose which contracts and cargoes they accept based on profitability and availability, unlike a common carrier which must accept standard loads.