Tonnage and size classes
The market names many ships by size rather than by type alone. Bulk carriers and tankers are graded by deadweight, gas carriers by tank capacity and container ships by TEU. The ranges are common market conventions, not official definitions; brokers and sources may draw the lines slightly differently. The size class shown on our listings is taken from these tables. For what each vessel type is, see Ship Types.
Bulk carriers
Dry bulk ships are named by deadweight. The Handy family (Mini Handy, Handysize, Handymax) is graded purely by size: handy ships can enter almost any port and usually carry their own cranes.
| Name | Size (DWT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mini Bulker | below 10.000 | Coastal and short-sea trades; often single-hold, many are sea-river types. |
| Small Bulker | 10.000 – 15.000 | Short-sea and regional minor bulk trades, mostly geared. |
| Mini Handy | 15.000 – 28.000 | Also called small handy; geared, suits small ports and restricted drafts. |
| Handysize | 28.000 – 40.000 | The workhorse of minor bulk trades; usually 4–5 cranes, very flexible. |
| 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. |
| 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 | 80.000 – 85.000 | 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 – 185.000 | Too big for the old canal routes, so trades via the Capes. |
| Newcastlemax | 185.000 – 210.000 | The largest ship that can enter Newcastle (Australia), beam about 50 m. |
| VLOC | 210.000 and above | Very Large Ore Carrier; the Valemax class reaches about 400.000 DWT. |
Tankers
Product tankers are named by the AFRA scale (GP, MR, LR); crude tankers by the routes and canals they can use.
| Name | Size (DWT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal | below 5.000 | Bunkering, harbour and coastal product trades. |
| Small Tanker | 5.000 – 10.000 | Coastal product and chemical trades, river-sea tankers. |
| GP / Handy | 10.000 – 25.000 | General Purpose; regional product and chemical trades. |
| MR1 | 25.000 – 40.000 | Medium Range 1. |
| MR2 | 40.000 – 55.000 | Medium Range 2, 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 scale; LR2 is the clean (product) version. |
| Suezmax | 120.000 – 200.000 | The largest tanker that can pass the Suez Canal fully laden. |
| VLCC | 200.000 – 320.000 | Very Large Crude Carrier; long-haul crude. |
| 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. |
LPG carriers
LPG carriers are measured by cargo tank capacity in cubic metres. Buyers look first at capacity, the cargo system (fully pressurised, semi-refrigerated or fully refrigerated) and the number of tanks.
| Name | Size (cbm) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small Gas Carrier | below 5.000 | Mostly fully pressurised (Type C tanks); coastal and short-sea trades. |
| Gas Coaster | 5.000 – 15.000 | Pressurised or semi-refrigerated; regional LPG and petrochemical gases. |
| Handy Gas Carrier | 15.000 – 25.000 | Semi- or fully refrigerated; ethylene carriers are mostly in this group. |
| MGC | 25.000 – 50.000 | Medium (mid-size) Gas Carrier, typically fully refrigerated; LPG and ammonia. |
| LGC | 50.000 – 70.000 | Large Gas Carrier, fully refrigerated. |
| VLGC | 70.000 and above | Very Large Gas Carrier; long-haul LPG, standard size about 84.000 cbm. |
LNG carriers
LNG is carried fully refrigerated at about –162 °C and measured by cargo tank capacity.
| Name | Size (cbm) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small-scale LNG | below 30.000 | Regional LNG distribution and bunkering. |
| Mid-size LNG | 30.000 – 125.000 | Few ships; regional and specialised trades. |
| 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. |
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 |