For what it's worth, during my time at sea, all the ships I have seen had scupper pipes and a six inch(ish) gap between the bottom of the bulwarks and the edge of the sheerstrake to get shot of the bulk of the water in a hurry.
Freeing ports (another name for washports just to confuse things !!)were for the same purpose but seen on smaller vessels, such as tugs, where it was not feasible to have a gap beneath the bulwarks because with their reduced freeboard there was a chance of more water coming in than going out !? ?>:(
Panama leads were the circular- lipped leads fore and aft and I think, midships, for making the 'mules' fast in the Panama canal. Ordinary mooring leads were oblong shaped backed by fairleads
As already said above, scuttles are portholes
regards to all
MikeK