This word is closely related to the law of government contracts, including charter parties. The word means "a statement" that gives a wrong or false impression or "that contains wrong or false information" and one party in induced into entering into the contract. For example, to state that the deadweight capacity of a ship is 55,000 tones when it is really 50,000 tones is to "misrepresent" a fact. Other misrepresentations can be in the description of the ship - as far as ownership or flag is concerned, such as its name or cargo capacity.