This is the short version of the Break style guide, the rules every reporter and editor here follows. It exists so a reader in Santiago and a reader in Tokyo meet the same number written the same way. When a rule and clarity disagree, clarity wins, and we change the rule.
Numbers
Spell out one to nine; use figures from 10 upwards, and always for measurements, money and percentages. Use a comma in thousands (4,000 boxes) and abbreviate large sums in money: $4.2bn, €310m. Write percentages with the sign (6%) and changes in points when the thing itself is a percentage: utilisation fell three points, not 3%.
- A container count is in TEU (20-foot equivalent units) unless we say FEU; say which on first use.
- Ranges take an en dash with no spaces: 4–6 weeks.
- Round with intent: "almost 40 ships" when the count keeps changing, "38 ships" when we counted them.
Places
Use the English name where one is common (Gothenburg, Antwerp, the Bosporus) and the local name where it is not. Give a port its country on first mention unless it is famous enough not to need one. Straits, canals and rivers take "the": the Strait of Malacca, the Suez Canal, the Elbe.
Ships and their names
Ship names go in italics: the Skarv. Use the prefix (MV, MT) only when it helps, and never twice in a sentence. A ship is "it", not "she". Give its type and size on first mention: the Skarv, a 12,000-tonne feeder. Operators and owners are often different companies; name the one that matters to the story and say which it is.
Currencies
Use the symbol for dollars, euros, pounds and yen ($, €, £, ¥) and the three-letter code for everything else (CLP 950m). Say which dollar when it is not the US dollar. Write currency pairs the way markets quote them, EUR/USD, and explain once what a move means for the people in the story: a stronger dollar is dearer fuel for a euro-based operator.
Quotes
Every quote has a name and a role. We tidy grammar only when the speaker would not mind, and never change meaning. Anonymous quotes need the editor's approval and a reason printed in the story.
Corrections
We correct errors in the story itself and say at the foot what changed and when. A correction names the mistake plainly: "An earlier version of this story gave the ship's cargo as 21,000 tonnes. It was 12,000." We do not delete stories to hide a mistake. The full policy is on our about page, and the corrections inbox is open to every reader.
