Ship Types & Classification
Terms from Aframax to VLCC, each linked to related terms and to the desks that work with them.
Entries updated May 2026
Related desks
Terms in Ship Types & Classification
26 termsAframax
A medium-sized tanker with a deadweight tonnage between 80,000 and 120,000 DWT, named after the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA) system.
Bulk Carrier
A merchant vessel designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo such as grain, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds.
Cable Layer
A specialised vessel designed to lay submarine cables on the seabed, including telecommunications cables and power cables for offshore wind farms.
Capesize
A large dry bulk carrier, typically between 100,000 and 200,000 DWT, too large to transit the Suez or Panama Canals and therefore routed around the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn.
Car Carrier
A specialised Ro-Ro vessel, also known as a Pure Car Carrier (PCC) or Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC), designed to transport automobiles and light vehicles.
Chemical Tanker
A specialised tanker built to transport liquid chemicals in bulk, fitted with coated or stainless-steel cargo tanks and sophisticated cargo-handling systems.
Container Ship
A cargo vessel designed exclusively to carry intermodal containers in a cellular structure, ranging from small feeder ships of a few hundred TEU to ultra-large container vessels exceeding 24,000 TEU.
Dredger
A vessel equipped with machinery for excavating and removing sediment from the seabed or riverbed to maintain navigable waterways, deepen ports, and reclaim land.
FPSO
Floating Production Storage and Offloading unit, a vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry for the production, processing, and storage of hydrocarbons.
General Cargo
A versatile merchant vessel designed to carry a variety of packaged goods, including palletised, bagged, or crated cargo, as well as small bulk shipments.
Handymax
A dry bulk carrier with a deadweight tonnage between 35,000 and 50,000 DWT, typically equipped with onboard cargo gear.
Handysize
A small dry bulk carrier with a deadweight tonnage between 15,000 and 35,000 DWT, equipped with onboard cranes for self-loading and discharge.
LNG Carrier
A specialised tanker designed to transport liquefied natural gas at approximately minus 162 degrees Celsius.
LPG Carrier
A specialised tanker designed to transport liquefied petroleum gas, primarily propane and butane, either under pressure, refrigerated, or a combination of both.
Offshore Supply Vessel
A vessel designed to transport supplies, equipment, and personnel to offshore oil and gas platforms.
Panamax
The largest vessel size that can transit the original Panama Canal locks, with maximum dimensions of approximately 294 metres length, 32.3 metres beam, and 12.04 metres tropical freshwater draft.
Post-Panamax
Any vessel too large to transit the original Panama Canal locks but able to pass through the expanded Neopanamax locks opened in 2016.
Product Tanker
A tanker designed to carry refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and naphtha.
Reefer
A refrigerated cargo vessel designed to transport temperature-sensitive perishable commodities such as fruit, meat, fish, and dairy products.
Ro-Ro
Roll-on/Roll-off vessel designed for cargo that is driven on and off the ship on wheels, such as cars, trucks, trailers, and heavy machinery.
Suezmax
The largest vessel size capable of transiting the Suez Canal in a laden condition, typically between 120,000 and 200,000 DWT with a maximum beam of about 50 metres and a draft limit of approximately 20.1 metres.
Supramax
A dry bulk carrier with a deadweight tonnage between 50,000 and 65,000 DWT, usually fitted with cranes capable of handling 30 tonnes or more.
Tanker
A vessel designed to transport liquid cargo in bulk, including crude oil, refined petroleum products, chemicals, and vegetable oils.
Tug
A powerful, compact vessel designed to assist larger ships by towing or pushing them during berthing, unberthing, and manoeuvring in ports and confined waterways.
ULCC
Ultra Large Crude Carrier, the largest class of tanker with a deadweight tonnage exceeding 320,000 DWT.
VLCC
Very Large Crude Carrier, a tanker with a deadweight tonnage typically between 200,000 and 320,000 DWT, primarily used for transporting crude oil on long-haul routes.