Ship types and size classes
The market names many ships by size rather than by type alone. This guide explains the usual names brokers use for the vessel types on this site. The ranges are common market conventions; brokers and sources may draw the lines slightly differently.
Bulk carriers
Dry bulk ships are named by deadweight, and several names come from the ports or canals they were designed for.
| Name | Size (DWT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mini bulker / Small handy | below 10.000 | Coastal and short-sea trades; many are geared, often sea-river types. |
| Handysize | 10.000 – 40.000 | The workhorse of minor bulk trades; usually geared (4–5 cranes), suits small ports. |
| Handymax | 40.000 – 50.000 | Larger geared bulker; the name is still used for older 42–48k designs. |
| Supramax | 50.000 – 60.000 | Geared, typically 4 × 30–36 t cranes with grabs; very flexible. |
| Ultramax | 60.000 – 65.000 | Modern, wider geared design that grew out of the Supramax. |
| Panamax | 65.000 – 80.000 | Built to the original Panama Canal lock limits (beam 32,3 m); mostly gearless. |
| Kamsarmax | about 82.000 | Panamax beam with LOA up to 229 m, the most that fits the port of Kamsar (Guinea). |
| Post-Panamax | 85.000 – 100.000 | Too wide for the old Panama locks; between Panamax and Capesize. |
| Capesize | 100.000 – 200.000 | Too big for the Suez/Panama routes of old, so trades via the Capes; typically 170–180k. |
| Newcastlemax | about 200.000 – 210.000 | The largest ship that can enter Newcastle (Australia), beam about 50 m. |
| VLOC | 200.000 and above | Very Large Ore Carrier; the Valemax class reaches about 400.000 DWT. |
Tankers
Product tankers are often named by the old AFRA scale (MR, LR1, LR2); crude tankers by the routes and canals they can use.
| Name | Size (DWT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small / coastal tanker | below 10.000 | Bunkering, coastal product and chemical trades, river-sea tankers. |
| Handysize tanker | 10.000 – 25.000 | Small product and chemical tankers for regional trades. |
| MR (Medium Range) | 25.000 – 55.000 | MR1 about 25–40k, MR2 about 40–55k; the standard clean product tanker. |
| LR1 / Panamax | 55.000 – 80.000 | Long Range 1; Panamax-size products or crude. |
| Aframax / LR2 | 80.000 – 120.000 | Named after the AFRA freight scale; LR2 is the clean (product) version, up to about 160k. |
| Suezmax | 120.000 – 200.000 | The largest tanker that can pass the Suez Canal fully laden; typically about 150–160k. |
| VLCC | 200.000 – 320.000 | Very Large Crude Carrier; long-haul crude, typically about 300k. |
| ULCC | 320.000 and above | Ultra Large Crude Carrier; very few in service. |
Container ships
Container ships are measured in TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units), not tonnage.
| Name | Size (TEU) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small feeder | below 1.000 | Short-sea feeder services between hub and smaller ports. |
| Feeder | 1.000 – 2.000 | Regional feeder trades, often geared. |
| Feedermax | 2.000 – 3.000 | The largest of the feeder group. |
| Panamax | 3.000 – 5.100 | Fits the original Panama Canal locks. |
| Post-Panamax | 5.100 – 10.000 | Too wide for the old locks. |
| Neo-Panamax | 10.000 – 14.500 | Fits the new Panama Canal locks opened in 2016. |
| ULCV | 14.500 and above | Ultra Large Container Vessel; the biggest now exceed 24.000 TEU. |
Gas carriers
Gas carriers are measured by cargo tank capacity in cubic metres.
| Name | Size (cbm) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small LPG (pressurised) | below 12.000 | Coastal and regional LPG and petrochemical gas trades. |
| MGC (Medium Gas Carrier) | 20.000 – 40.000 | Semi- or fully refrigerated LPG and ammonia. |
| LGC (Large Gas Carrier) | 40.000 – 65.000 | Fully refrigerated LPG and ammonia. |
| VLGC (Very Large Gas Carrier) | 70.000 – 90.000 | Long-haul LPG; the standard size is about 84.000 cbm. |
| Small-scale LNG | below 30.000 | Regional LNG distribution and bunkering. |
| Conventional LNG | 125.000 – 180.000 | The main LNG trading fleet; newer ships about 174.000 cbm. |
| Q-Flex / Q-Max | about 210.000 / 266.000 | The largest LNG carriers, built for Qatar. |
Passenger ships under IMO rules
Under SOLAS (Chapter I, Regulation 2) a passenger ship is any ship carrying more than twelve passengers. A boat certified for twelve passengers or fewer is not a passenger ship in IMO terms. Size is described by passengers, cars, lane metres and gross tonnage rather than by named size classes.
| Class | IMO instrument | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger Ship | SOLAS | Conventional passenger ships, including cruise and expedition ships; IMO does not treat cruise ships as a separate class. |
| Ro-Ro Passenger Ship (Ro-Pax) | SOLAS II-1, II-2 | A passenger ship with ro-ro cargo spaces or special category spaces for vehicles, carrying cars, trucks and passengers. |
| High-Speed Craft (HSC) | HSC Code 1994 / 2000 | A craft with a maximum speed of at least 3,7·∇0,1667 m/s (∇ = displacement volume in m³). Category A passenger craft carry up to 450 passengers and operate within 4 hours at operational speed of a place of refuge; Category B covers all other passenger craft. By hull form: catamaran (multihull, incl. wave piercers), monohull, hydrofoil and hovercraft (air-cushion vehicle) or surface effect ship. |
| Special Trade Passenger Ship | STP Agreement 1971, SPACE STP 1973 | Carries large numbers of unberthed passengers in special trades, mainly the pilgrim trade around the Indian Ocean. |
Not passenger ships under IMO: special purpose ships carrying "special personnel" (SPS Code, e.g. research or training ships) and livestock carriers, which are cargo ships.
Ro-Ro cargo ships
Ro-ro cargo ships and car carriers have no standard size names; they are described by lane metres (LM), car units (CEU) and deck heights.
Offshore vessels and tugs
Offshore support ships are described by deck area (m²), deadweight and DP class for PSVs, and by bollard pull (tonnes) and engine power for AHTS vessels and tugs.
Canal and waterway limits behind the names
| Name | Main limits |
|---|---|
| Panamax (old locks) | LOA 294,1 m · beam 32,3 m · draft 12,0 m (tropical fresh water) |
| Neo-Panamax (new locks) | LOA 366 m · beam 51,25 m · draft 15,2 m (tropical fresh water) |
| Suezmax | Limited mainly by draft (about 20 m) against beam; air draft 68 m under the Suez bridge |
| Seawaymax (St. Lawrence Seaway) | LOA 225,6 m · beam 23,8 m · draft about 8 m |
| Volga-Don max (river-sea) | LOA about 140 m · beam about 16,7 m · draft about 3,6 m on the Volga–Don route |
| Malaccamax | Draft about 20,5 m through the Strait of Malacca |