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AN OVERVIEW OF THE TYPES

AND SIZES OF DRY CARGO
AND TANKER SHIPS

The international dry cargo and tanker markets are

immense and served by numerous ships of several types
and various sizes. Some of the ships follow standard
designs and can carry a variety of cargoes while others
are more specialized and able to carry particular
commodities which the standard vessels cannot. Since
we have seen such a big variety of vessels in the
OpenSea marketplace and since the vessel designs
change rapidly from time to time, we decided to present
a brief updated guide of the several types and sizes we
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may see around the world marketplace.
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Dry Cargo Market

The dry cargo market is the one which experiences

higher interest since the type of vessels are much more.
The basic dry cargo vessels are broadly divided into the
following main categories: General cargo vessels, Bulk
Carriers, Short Sea (coaster) ships, Containerships and
Specialised vessels while each of them consists of
several subcategories mainly depending on their
technical characteristics and/or sizes.

General cargo vessels: They were first mass-produced

during the World War II when the 10,000 tons
deadweight (dwt) “Liberty type” ships were very famous.
They are built in such way that can carry general cargo,
bagged/baled cargo as well as bulk cargo and, some of
them, also containers. General cargo vessels are usually
built in small sizes of about 5,000 to about 25,000-ton
deadweight (dwt). Modern general cargo vessels are
nearly always built with two decks and they are known as
“tweendeckers”. In tweendeckers, each cargo hold can
be split in two different sub-compartments: Between
the main deck and the tweendeck, there is the
tweendeck space (or upper cargo hold) while beneath
the tweendeck there is the main cargo hold (or lower
cargo hold). Tweendeckers face two main advantages
against the single decker vessels: (a) they are equipped
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with more individual cargo compartments
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can carry several different cargoes, which can be kept

separate from each other so as to avoid contamination
and (b) they can accommodate higher tiers of
bagged/baled cargoes with sharing their heavy weight in
two different decks. At the same time, tweendecks can
be retractable and fold against the sides of the hold so
as to facilitate the load of bulk commodities into single
holds. Modern general cargo ships are also equipped
with special container fittings and are able to load
containers. So nowadays the general cargo vessels are
more accurately called “multi-purpose” vessels. General
cargo vessels are equipped with gears with sufficient
capacity (about 30-40 tons SWL) able to handle
containers and other general cargoes.

Bulk Carriers: As their name implies, these vessels

mainly carry bulk cargoes (like coal, iron ore, grains,
minerals etc) while it is not uncommon general cargoes
(e.g. bagged cargoes and steels) to be loaded also in bulk
carriers of smaller size. These vessels are single-deckers
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and they are not able to load containers.
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have very large openings so as the vessel to be

loaded/discharged quickly and the holds are
unrestricted and free of obstacles. Due to the bulk
nature of the cargo they load, the holds of these vessels
have been constructed to be “self-trimming” to allow
the easy and rapid stowage and trimming of the bulk
cargoes. In contrast to the general cargo vessels which
can load several different cargoes, cargo in bulk carriers
is usually homogenous.

There are several different types of bulk carriers with the

main distinction between each other being their size.
Therefore, according to their size, we do have the below
categories:

Mini Bulkers with deadweight of up to about 15,000

tons. They are mainly used in short sea trades
however most vessels of this size are either general
cargo ships or short sea specialized vessels rather
than common bulk carriers.

Handysize bulkers have a deadweight from about

15,000 tons to about 39,000 tons and they are
usually equipped with 5 cargo holds, while the
smaller handies may contain 4 cargo holds as well.
Except the conventional handysize, there are also
those handysize bulkers of heavier construction
which can load logs (along with other conventional
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cargoes). These vessels, known
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they are additionally equipped with lashing

materials, stanchion sockets and stanchions
alongside the bulwarks on ship’s deck so as the logs
to be loaded and securely stowed. These
stanchions may be permanent or collapsible. Also,
handysize bulkers of between 20,000 and 30,000
MT deadweight designed to transit the St.
Lawrence Seaway are commonly known as “Lakers”.
The design of laker handies is: LOA of 70 meters,
beam of about 21.5 meters, draft of 7.92 meters
freshwater and airdraft (height above water level)
not to exceed 35.6 meters.

Handymax bulkers have a deadweight from about

40,000 tons to about 50,000 tons and they are
equipped with 5 cargo holds. However, they are
mainly older designs and only a few vessels are
nowadays built within this deadweight range.

Supramax bulkers, which have recently replaced

handymaxes, have a deadweight from about 50,000
tons to about 60,000 tons. Like handymaxes,
supramax bulkers also contain 5 cargo holds.

Ultramax is a new design which has been appeared

recently in the market. These vessels, which are
usually equipped with “eco main engine”, have a
deadweight of about 62,000 – 65,000 dwt.
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Ultramax bulkers are considered
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supramax bulkers and they are designed with five

cargo holds.

Panamax bulkers are those who have a deadweight

of between 70,000 and 80,000 tons, however there
are still older panamaxes in the market (mainly built
before 2000) with deadweight of between 60,000
and 70,000 tons. Panamaxes usually have 7 cargo
holds and their name and dimension characteristics
were established according to the maximum
allowable dimensions (length and beam) for
transiting the Panama Canal. Though, after the
recent expansion of the Suez Canal, larger designs
appeared so as to take advantage of the max
deadweight at current Canal limitations. These
vessels are known as post-panamax bulkers and
their size varies from about 90,000 tons to about
110,000 tons deadweight.

Kamsarmax bulkers are slightly larger than

panamaxes however other than that they are almost
the same and they currently share the same sub-
market with panamaxes. They have deadweight of
between 80,000 and 85,000 tons (with their most
common design being about 82,000 tons) and their
LOA at 229 meters, which is slightly higher than
the 224-225 meters LOA of Panamax, is the
 maximum permissible LOA to enter the port
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Kamsar in West Africa, which
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is one of the largest
ports of bauxite in the world.

Capesize have a deadweight of between 160,000

tons and 210,000 tons. In the past, there were also
smaller Capesizes known as mini-capes or babe-
capes ranging between about 110,000 to about
160,000 tons and despite that there are still a few in
the market, this is not a common design anymore.
Capesizes usually have 9 cargo holds. Large
Capesizes with a maximum beam of 47 meters are
called Newcastlemax and they are the largest
vessels which can enter the Newcastle port of
Australia.

Ultra Large Ore Carriers: These are bulkers which

are larger than capesizes and they are mainly used
to load iron ore. The largest vessels in this category
are the Valemax (or Chinamax) vessels which have a
deadweight of as high as 400,000 tons.

The smaller bulk carriers, from mini-bulkers up to

ultramaxes usually (but not always) are geared while the
larger bulkers from panamax to chinamax are almost
always gearless however there are also a few geared
(mainly panamax and kamsarmax bulkers). Smaller
bulkers can carry all the types of bulk cargoes as well as
some general cargoes and usually used in shorter
distances. Panamax and capesizes, on the other hand,
are used to load mainly grains, Blog
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coal, iron ore and, in less
extent, other minerals. Large Ore Carriers and Valemax
are used to carry iron ore.

In the below table, we summarise the main

characteristics of a typical vessel for each category so as
to see their similarities and differences in more detail.

Containerships: These vessels are constructed to load

containers only. Their holds are cellular, with vertical
frames or guides where the containers are slotted.
Container vessels range in size from as small as those
with capacity of about 500 TEU and as large as those
with capacity of about 22,000 TEU. Containerships can
load both 20-foot and 40-foot containers and therefore
each vessel should explain its maximum capacity for
each of the two types of container. The smaller
container vessels are used as feeder ships feeding the
hinterland around major container terminals and may be
geared while the largest containers are usually gearless
and they can achieve speeds which exceed the 25 knots
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so as to be used in long voyages.
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Containerships operate
in a much different manner than other dry vessels; they
are usually chartered on period time charters from major
liner companies who then offer fixed prices for each
container to end clients. For this reason, OpenSea is not
active in this specific market.

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Short sea vessels: In short sea/coastal trades, small

versions of deep sea general cargo vessels or mini
bulkers are sometimes utilized. However, the short sea
vessels, which usually have a deadweight of between
500 tons and 10,000 tons are constructed with special
modifications peculiar to their trade. They are usually
constructed with one hold served by an “open hatch”
steel hatch cover while their holds are fully box-shaped
so as to enable the loading of palletized cargo and
increase their cargo intake. Modern box shaped short
sea vessels used in grain trades are equipped with at
least two moveable bulkheadsBlog
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enabling the vessel to
load a full compartment comprising most of the ship’s
capacity and a small compartment where the balance
cargo can be slack without the need for bagging and
strapping. Furthermore, recent short sea vessel designs
allow also the superstructure and masts to be
hydraulically lowered to enable the ship to sail beneath
bridges and other overhead obstructions.

Specialized vessels: In this category, we can meet

various type of vessels like the heavy-lift ships, the
wood chip carriers, the livestock carriers, the
refrigerated vessels and the Ro/Ro vessels.

Heavy-lift ships are similar with multi-purpose

vessels however they are used to lift very heavy
project cargoes which can reach up to 2,000 tons
and which are impossible to be loaded by derricks
or cranes in a conventional vessel.
The wood chip carriers are used for the carriage of
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wood chip products which
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are used in pulp mills.
Their size is usually between 40,000 tons and
60,000 tons deadweight however it is usually
measured in terms of hold capacity rather than
deadweight. These vessels are equipped with
cranes and also conveyor belt for the discharge of
the cargo.

Livestock carriers are those used to carry animals

and there are two main types: The sheep carriers
and the cattle carriers. These vessels require
special characteristics such as fodder storage, very
good ventilation, extensive water supply, systems
for animal waste disposal, specialized ramps and
accommodation for those tending the animals.
Livestock carriers (and especially the sheep
carriers) are usually converted from another type of
vessels but occasionally specialized ships are built
(especially cattle carriers).

The refrigerated vessels are customary known as

reefers and they are very specialized ships. They
have two or more decks and their holds are
insulated and they can keep the temperature in the
holds at the cold level required by each cargo. They
can achieve very high speed so as to reduce time
and their gears can operate very fast so as the cargo
 not to be exposed during the load and discharge
operations.
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Ro/Ro vessels are suitable for cargo which can be

driven on/off the ship such as cars, lorries and cargo
on trailers. Ro/Ro are usually ferries and the two
important measures indicating the size of Ro/Ro
are the length of the marked parking lanes and the
size of the entrance ramp.

Tanker Market

In tanker market, the situation is much more

straightforward. The main categories that we meet are:
the product tankers and the crude carriers while there
are also the more specialized types which consist of the
chemical tankers, the gas carriers and the
asphalt/bitumen carriers.

Product tankers: When refined, crude oil separates into

various oil products. The lightest of them are the clean
products such as the gasoline, kerosene, gasoil while the
heaviest are the dirty products known as fuel oils or
residual oils. Product tankers are divided into many
categories which are related toBlog
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their size and whether
they are suitable to load clean products or dirty
products only. It is worth to note that clean product
tankers can also load most of the grades of the dirty
products (except probably of the heavy ones which
require the highest temperature) but it does not exist
the opposite with the dirty product tankers – which
cannot load clean products. The difference between the
clean and dirty product tankers are the following:

Clean product tankers require good cleaning before

each loading and for this reason, their tanks are
coated with special points which can also assist to
reduce corrosion. Furthermore, clean product
tankers are characterized of higher and more
advanced segregation systems and they can load
separate grades of cargo without risk of
contamination.

Dirty product tankers, on the other hand, are not

equipped with special coating and they do not
accommodate complex segregation systems,
however they are usually equipped with heating
coils so as to be able to pump the high-density
grades of fuel oil.

Product tankers vary in size from general purpose

tankers up to about 160,000 tons deadweight.
Crude Carriers: Crude Oil cargoes are usually
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homogenous and even when different
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oil are carried on board the same ship there is no risk of

contamination since the oil will be refined before its
sale to the end-users. Therefore, crude carriers are used
for the carriage of the crude oil from oil producing
countries to the refineries and their size ranges from
about 50,000 MT deadweight to more than 500,000 MT
deadweight which is the size of modern ULCC. These
vessels can load one or up to two grades and their
pumping and pipeline systems are relatively simple as
opposed to the product tankers.

In terms of size, product tankers and crude carriers are

divided into the following main categories:

General Purpose tankers: They are used to load

refined products and their size is between 10,000
MT and 25,000 MT deadweight.

Handysize tankers: Used to load refined products

and their deadweight is between 25,000 MT and
40,000 MT

MR (Medium Range) tankers: Used to load refined

products and their size is between 40,000 MT and
55,000 MT deadweight

LR1 (Long Range 1) tankers: They are used to load

both refined products and crude oil. The ones
 suitable for dirty products or crude oil are used to
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be called panamax tankers. LR1 and panamax
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tankers have a deadweight of between 55,000 MT

and 80,000 MT.

LR2 (Long Range 2) tankers: They are suitable for

carrying both refined products and crude oil while
their size is between 80,000 MT deadweight and
160,000 MT deadweight. It is worth to note that the
LR2 vessels suitable to load crude oil are usually
called Aframax tankers (from 80,000 MT to 120,000
MT deadweight) and Suezmax tankers (from
120,000 MT to 160,000 MT) instead.

Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) and Ultra Large

Crude Carriers (ULCC) are used to carry crude oil
only and their size can reach up to about 320,000
MT for the VLCC and up to about 550,000 MT for
the ULCC.

Chemical tankers: They are also called parcel tankers

and they are usually of small size from about 5,000 tons
dwt to about 25,000 dwt while there are also a few
chemical tankers up to about 50,000 tons deadweight.
Chemical tankers are mainly used in two trades: For the
carriage of oils which are extremely hazardous (IMO I)
and the carriage of edible/vegetable oils as well as very
clean oil products (IMO II / IMO III). In order to carry
hazardous cargoes with safety these vessels need to be
equipped with very high standards a few of which are
the following:
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— The tanks are coated with high-grade materials

such as stainless steel, epoxy resin and zinc silicate
being the most popular. These coatings are cleaned
easier and also prevent the chemical cargoes to
react with the vessel’s hull and damaging the ship
or the cargo.

— Each tank has its own deepwell pump and

pipeline system, therefore, the cargo of each tank is
loaded and discharged separately. This way various
different grades can be loaded separately while
there is absolutely no risk of contamination since
there is full segregation.

Gas Carriers: They are highly specialized form of tanker.

The two types of gas carriers are known as LNG
(Liquefied Natural Gas) and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum
Gas). The LNG is the methane product and it is carried
in insulated tanks in minus 162 degrees Celsius at
atmospheric pressure so as to maintain in liquid
condition. The LPG Carriers are used to load mainly
propane and butane while they are also used for the
carriage of chemical gas and ammonia and there are two
different types of LPG Carriers. The fully pressurized
vessels which load and maintain the cargo in a high
pressure of 10-12 bars and the refrigerated which cool
the cargo at temperatures of up to minus 50 degrees
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Celsius. The size of the Gas Carriers
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basis their cubic capacity in CBM and there are LPG

Carriers from small LPGs of about 500 cbm to VLGC of
about 85,000 cbm while the LNG Carriers are as large as
about 265,000 cbm. Specifically, the Q-Flex design
which is about 210,000 - 217,000 cbm and the Q-Max
with a capacity of about 261,700-266,000 cbm that make
up the Qatari Q-Class offer the largest available
capacities and they were accounted for about 18% of
the total LNG carrying capacity at the end of 2016.

Asphalt Carriers: Small tankers suitable to carry asphalt/

bitumen most of which not exceed the 7,500 dwt while
there are also a few larger bitumen tankers and recently
some yards in China are marketing newbuilding designs
of up to about 20,000 dwt. The main characteristics of
these tankers are that they can achieve and maintain
high temperatures of up to about 200 degrees Celsius.
These vessels usually are not equipped with Inert Gas
system and COW and they cannot load other oil cargoes
except, probably, of a few dirty products which do not
have risk for contamination and do not require cleaning.

The OpenSea marketplace can accommodate almost all

above mentioned types of ships and as soon as you
place your ship or your cargo, our smart matching
algorithms will find the best candidates instantly. This
way, our users are receiving only firm offers which are
suitable for their inquiries and save their precious time
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