Cargo ships are large ships that carry cargo across oceans. They’re built to handle different kinds of cargo such as containers loose materials, or liquids. We group these ships based on what they carry – for example, container ships or tankers. These vessels move most goods over long distances, which makes them crucial for world trade.
International trade is possible because various types of ships constantly carry tons of cargo in various forms be it solid or liquid. The majority of ships that are being used to trade cargo are as follows:
Bulk Carriers carry a huge amount of cargo over long distances in loose form. Any kind of cargo that is in loose form is carried by bulk carriers. It is also used to carry bagged cargo such as cement, sugar, wheat, etc. There are majorly 2 types of bulk carriers: geared bulk and non-geared bulk.
Geared Bulk:- These ships have inbuilt cranes on them to help with the cargo operations.
Non-Geared Bulk:- Non-geared bulk does not have cranes to help with the cargo operations. In these ships, port cranes do all the cargo operations.
You must have seen huge containers whether in movies, news, or even on trains and trucks. Container ships transport all those containers from one place to another which are then delivered to you. These ships carry containers of standard length of 20 or 40 feet. Depending on the size, container ships can carry anywhere between 1000 TEU to 24,000 TEU.
Some of the most famous container shipping companies are: MAERSK, MSC, Evergreen, and many more.
TEU: Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit, a unit to measure the cargo carrying capacity of container ships.
| Size | Deadweight (DWT) |
| Medium Size | 25,000 – 50,000 |
| Panamax | 50,000 – 75,000 |
| Aframax | 75,000 – 120,000 |
| Suezmax | 120,000 – 180,000 |
| VLCC | 200,000 – 320,000 |
| ULCC | 320,000 + |
These ships are also called Ro-Ro Ships which is an abbreviation of Roll On and Roll Off. Ro-Ro ships get this unique name because of a ramp equipped in them to load and unload the cargo. The cargo which is loaded in it includes cars, trucks, or any other vehicle that has wheels. The vehicles can be loaded directly onto the ship with the help of the ramp of the ships.
Ro-Ro Ships also come in various types:
These are ships that are used to carry specialized cargo that can go bad with temperature and time. Reefer Ships are designed to carry cargo that requires a proper temperature such as fruits, meats, and medicines. The temperature in these ships is always checked and regulated to ensure the good condition of the cargo.
Based on the services and schedule of the ships, the shipping is divided into Liners and Tramps.
Cargo ships are vessels specifically designed for transporting goods and materials across seas and oceans.
The largest cargo ship in the world is the MSC Irina, operated by MSC, with a capacity of 24,346 TEU.
Greece is the country that has the most cargo ship ownership in the world.
Main 5 types of Cargo Ships include Bulk carriers, Oil Tankers, Reefer Ships, Container ships, and Ro-Ro Ships.
The weight of the ship can range anywhere between 50,000 DWT to 250,000 DWT and even more. (DWT=Deadweight tonnage)
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