Cargo Ship - Sizes of Cargo Ships

Sizes of Cargo Ships

Cargo ships are categorized partly by capacity, partly by weight, and partly by dimensions (often with reference to the various canals and canal locks they fit through). Common categories include:

• Dry Cargo
  • Small Handy size, carriers of 20,000 long tons deadweight (DWT)-28,000 DWT
  • Handy size, carriers of 28,000-40,000 DWT
    • Seawaymax, the largest size that can traverse the St Lawrence Seaway
  • Handymax, carriers of 40,000-50,000 DWT
  • Panamax, the largest size that can traverse the Panama Canal (generally: vessels with a width smaller than 32.2 m)
  • Capesize, vessels larger than Panamax and Post-Panamax, and must traverse the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn to travel between oceans
  • Chinamax, carriers of 380,000-400,000 DWT with main dimensions limited by port infrastructure in China
• Wet Cargo
  • Aframax, oil tankers between 75,000 and 115,000 DWT. This is the largest size defined by the average freight rate assessment (AFRA) scheme.
  • Suezmax, the largest size that can traverse the Suez Canal
  • VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier), supertankers between 150,000 and 320,000 DWT.
    • Malaccamax, the largest size that can traverse the Strait of Malacca
  • ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier), enormous supertankers between 320,000 and 550,000 DWT