Virtual Office Help Customer Support

Reference

Types of Vessels

The ships that move world trade, grouped by what they carry and by the limits that define them. Twenty-five types, from general cargo and containerships to tankers, specialised tonnage and the ten bulk carrier size classes.

Main vessel categories

The five broad families that account for almost all merchant tonnage.

General Cargo vessel General Cargo The versatile multipurpose ship Read more Bulk Carriers vessel Bulk Carriers Unpackaged dry cargo in volume Read more Containerships vessel Containerships Cellular ships for standard boxes Read more Tanker Market vessel Tanker Market Ships for liquid cargo in bulk Read more Specialized vessel Specialized Ships built for one trade Read more

Tanker types

Liquid cargo ships, divided by what is in the tanks rather than by hull size.

Product Tankers vessel Product Tankers Refined products in coated tanks Read more Crude Carriers vessel Crude Carriers The largest tankers afloat Read more Chemical Tankers vessel Chemical Tankers Segregated stainless or coated tanks Read more Gas Carriers vessel Gas Carriers Cargo carried refrigerated or pressurised Read more Asphalt Carriers vessel Asphalt Carriers Heated tanks for bitumen Read more

Specialized vessels

Ships built around a single cargo type that no general-purpose ship can carry economically.

Heavy-Lift vessel Heavy-Lift Cranes rated in hundreds of tonnes Read more Wood Chip vessel Wood Chip High-volume, low-density holds Read more Livestock vessel Livestock Ventilated multi-deck pens Read more Refrigerated vessel Refrigerated Cooled holds for perishables Read more Ro/Ro vessel Ro/Ro Cargo driven on and driven off Read more

Bulk carrier size classes

Dry bulk classes are defined by what physically constrains the ship — a canal lock, a loading berth, or the depth of water.

Size class names such as Handysize, Supramax and Capesize are commercial conventions rather than formal standards, and the deadweight bands attached to them vary between brokers, exchanges and shipowners. The canal and berth limits quoted below are published dimensions and are exact; the deadweight ranges are indicative.

Coaster vessel Coaster Short-sea and river-sea trading Read more Handysize vessel Handysize The most flexible bulker Read more Handymax vessel Handymax Geared, with more capacity Read more Supramax vessel Supramax The modern geared standard Read more Ultramax vessel Ultramax A more efficient Supramax Read more Panamax vessel Panamax Sized to the original canal locks Read more Kamsarmax vessel Kamsarmax Built to a single berth's limit Read more Post-Panamax vessel Post-Panamax Beam beyond the old locks Read more Capesize vessel Capesize Too large for the canals Read more Valemax vessel Valemax Very large ore carriers Read more

Track the ship, not just the box

Follow any vessel and its schedule, with live position, port calls and ETAs across the world fleet.

Vessel Schedules