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Ships and Vessel Types

Ship types portal: vessel taxonomy and size classes from Handysize to VLCC and feeder to ULCV, the design intent of each type, cargo gear and notable hulls.

This portal covers how merchant and specialised ships are classified: the size classes that trade and port limits define (Handysize, Panamax, Aframax, VLCC, feeder, ULCV), the design intent behind each type, its cargo-handling arrangement, and individual notable hulls.

Size classes are commercial conventions rather than regulatory categories: Panamax and Neopanamax follow the Panama Canal lock limits, Suezmax the Suez Canal, and Aframax takes its name from the Average Freight Rate Assessment. Regulation attaches to the type instead: MARPOL Annex I for oil tankers, the IBC Code for chemical tankers, the IGC Code for gas carriers, and the IMSBC Code with SOLAS Chapter XII for bulk carriers.

Individual hulls live here; ship classes and sister-ship series belong to Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding. Cruise, offshore and inland craft are covered in depth by Cruise, Offshore and Specialised Sectors.

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  • Bulk carrier

    Bulk carriers are single-deck cargo ships designed to carry dry unpackaged commodities in holds, forming the backbone of global raw-material trade.

  • Oil tanker

    Oil tankers transport crude oil and petroleum products by sea.

  • Container ship

    Container ships are cargo vessels purpose-built to carry intermodal containers, forming the backbone of global manufactured-goods trade since the 1960s.

  • Gas Carrier Types: LPG and LNG Ship Classes

    LPG and LNG carrier classes by cargo and cbm: pressurised to VLGC, conventional LNG to Q-Max, IGC tank types, membrane and Moss containment.

  • LNG carrier

    LNG carriers are specialised ships that transport liquefied natural gas at −163 °C.

  • Chemical tanker

    Chemical tankers carry liquid chemicals in bulk under the IBC Code, classified by hazard and ship type.

  • Ro-ro vessel

    A ro-ro vessel is a ship that loads and discharges wheeled and tracked cargo via ramps.

  • Passenger Ship: SOLAS Definition and Safety Rules

    A passenger ship carries over 12 passengers under SOLAS, triggering the strictest safety regime: damage stability, fire, and lifesaving rules.

  • Tanker Size Classes: MR to ULCC Explained

    Tanker size classes from MR product carriers to ULCC crude carriers: deadweight bands, the trades they serve, and where the class names come from.

  • Container Ship Size Classes: Feeder to ULCV

    Container ship size classes from feeder to ULCV, the TEU bands, and the Panama and Malacca constraints that fix each beam, draft, and capacity.

All articles in this portal

13 articles, plus 44 in preparation.