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Types of Cargo Ship

The international transport of goods has evolved. In addition to the types of a cargo
ship, there are currently three types of ships: passenger, fishing and war.

In this article, cargo ships used in maritime transport will be addressed, explaining their
main differences.

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Next, we show the different types of ships that exist to transport all the variety of goods
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that move around the planet. From heavy cargo to liquid or gaseous cargo.
 Contents

1 International Trade
2 Types of cargo vessels
2.1 Cargo ships
2.2 Bulk carrier
2.3 Bulk shipping
2.4 Container ship
2.5 RORO ship
2.6 Roll on roll off ship
2.7 Refrigerated shipping
2.8 Oil products tanker
2.9 Gas carrier ship
2.10 Gas carrier
2.11 Chemical Ship
2.12 Cattle ship
2.13 Heavy lift vessel
3 How many types of cargo ships are there?
4 Ship to Shore Crane
5 Storage Logistics

International Trade
Merchant ships are a fundamental part. Its proliferation responds to economic
expansion. As early as 1939, the world merchant fleet moved 70 million tons.
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The increasing demand and exchange of products between countries around the world
boost the manufacture of cargo ships to transport goods.

Types of cargo vessels

Characteristics of cargo ships

These ships have evolved, and continue to do so, to adapt to longer trips and larger
and heavier loads. Vessels are categorized into four types:

load,
passage,
fishing and
war.

Of the first, we find different classes according to two criteria: transport and loading
way.

Depending on the cargo, the ship types are:

General cargo
Bulk carriers
container ship
Rolled cargo
Refrigerators
Loads of oil
Loading of liquefied gas
chemical charges
a load of live animals
Project loads
barges.

Cargo ships

This type of ships that transport diverse merchandise is also known as “multipurpose
ships”.
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These vessels are the most basic within dry cargo ships; They are used to transport
loose and irregular cargo, which is why they are not suitable for containers, Ro-Ro,
heavy loads, special loads or breakbulk loads.

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Longshoremen to secure cargo on these vessels use specialized equipment often

soldiers in the ship’s holds.

These ships have their own cranes arranged along the same which allows them by their
own means to carry out the loading and unloading operations of the merchandise they
transport.

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Bulk carrier
They are used for the transport of loose dry cargoes such as minerals, grains, and
cement, loads whose cost is generally determined according to their weight, for which
their maritime transport and other types of transport through ships are usually
inefficient.

Bulk shipping

Bulk carriers are large vessels usually divided into different warehouses covered with
hatches.

These bulk carriers are loaded with cargo tubes, cranes equipped with containers or
spoons, some ships are equipped with their own cranes that allow loading and
unloading without the need to use the Port equipment.

Bulk ships are usually unloaded with cranes of buckets although some loads can be
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unloaded using specialized equipment in order to speed up the process.
The bulk cargo is normally loaded from the ship to hoppers that are then transferred
on conveyor belts to large warehouses and/or warehouses.

Container ship

The container ships carry about 52% of all seaborne trade.

And they are specially designed to transport standard containers according to the ISO
standard, including standard containers of 10, 20, 40 and 45 feet, high-cube containers,
open-top containers, flat rack and platform containers (used for oversized cargo),
containers cistern (for liquids / gases) and refrigerated containers that require a source
of energy to control the temperature.

Container ships are loaded/unloaded using gantry cranes that move containers directly
between the ship and the truck that supplies the need for storage and makes the entire
process of land transportation more efficient.

Container ships can have different sizes, the largest in the world is the Maersk class
Triple-E with 1306 feet long and a capacity of 18,340 TEU.

It would give all the sensation that to operate this type of ship a great crew is needed
but it is not thus, due to the high degree of automation in its controls of command and
a huge motor of 109,000 HP, the crew does not exceed the 13 men.

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RORO ship

RO-RO ships or ro-ro cargo ships are designed to transport the merchandise with
wheels that are loaded and unloaded by their own means or by means of tractors.

They are characterized by having a large gate that can be found in the stern or bow or
both sides depending on the complexity of the boat, making this ramp gate where the
merchandise ascends and descends

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Roll on roll off ship

The cargo is conditioned on Ro-Ro ships on different decks connected by ramps or lifts.

The largest Ro-Ro ship in the world is the Mark V Class, owned by Wilh. Wilhelmsen
with 869 feet in length and three elevating decks that provide a total of 138,000 cubic
meters of space.

The most common loads in this type of ship are, automotive vehicles of different
characteristics, trucks, diverse machinery on wheels, rolling stock of different types and
trailers loaded with containers. 
Refrigerated shipping

A reefer ship is one destined to the transport of merchandise that needs a thermal
treatment to be able to conserve itself in good condition.

This thermal treatment can consist of cooling or freezing, ranging between 12ºC and
-30ºC of temperature.

This type of vessel is usually white or similar to reflect the sun’s rays as much as
possible, thus preventing the heating of the hull, and consequently, that of the holds
and cargo.

As for the structure, they are usually designed with between 3 and 5 wineries with a size
between 90 and 150 meters in length.

The stores are divided into one plan and several interlocks (usually two).

If the boat has been designed for the transport of refrigerated cargo such as fruit,
vegetables, etc., its curves and lines are thin to allow a speed of up to 18-21 knots.

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This is due to the characteristics of the product, as it is a living and perishable
commodity, the ship’s speed plays a very important role in this trade.

Oil products tanker

Crude Oil Ships are designed (as the name implies) to transport crude oil to refineries
where it will be processed. The largest ships in the world are the VLCCs (Very Large
Crude Carriers) and the ULCCs (Ultra Large Crude Carriers).

Due to the size of these supertankers, many can not dock at the ports, so they are
unloaded at terminals/pumping stations on the high seas.
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The Supertankers (VLCC and ULCCs) can transport approximately 2 million barrels of oil
or 318 thousand metric tons. The “Knock Nevis” is considered the largest ULCC
supertanker ever built with a length of 1504 feet, although it stopped operating in
2009.

The construction of these supertankers brings enormous advantages from the point of
view of logistics, but in case of accidents, the consequences are catastrophic due to the
enormous volume of cargo they transport.

Attentive to this, the construction of these ships is currently questioned and there is a
tendency to transport them on smaller ships.

Gas carrier ship 

This type of vessel is specially designed for the transport of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

They are quickly identified since large spherical, cylindrical tanks or a high cover for the
new transport system known as the “Technigaz System” appear on its cover.

Gas carrier

There are two types of gas tankers that are known by the acronym LNG and LPG. The
difference is due to the fact that the former transport the liquid gas at temperatures of
up to -170 ° C and the latter at -50 ° C and at a pressure of 18 kg / cm2.

The load is stored in special spherical tanks under high pressure and often at low
temperatures.

The loading and unloading of these vessels require specialized terminals and
equipment.

LNG is generally larger than GPLs, the largest vessel for transporting Liquefied Gas is
the Q-Max, a special LNG vessel with 1132 feet long and a capacity of 266,000 m3.

Chemical Ship
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Ships for chemical substances are used to transport a wide range of chemical products,
each with its different properties, characteristics and respective risks.
Chemical tankers generally have a number of individual tanks coated with special
coatings such as phenolic/zinc resins or are completely manufactured in stainless steel.

The material used for the tanks or the coating determines what type of cargo can be
stored, the resin coatings can store loads as vegetable oils while other types of cargo
such as aggressive acids and other dangerous cargoes (for example phosphoric and
sulfuric acid) are due load in stainless steel tanks.

Due to the construction characteristics, since they have several tanks, it greatly favors
the transport of several types of products in the same trip.

They are vessels of a high manufacturing cost due to the construction requirements
such as double hull, stainless steel tanks, and sophisticated painting systems.

They are identified by their smaller size compared to the tanker (about 150 meters in
length) and a complex branch of pipes distributed over the entire deck.

Cattle ship

Normally ships for the transport of cattle are originally other types of vessels that have
subsequently been suitable for the transport of as many animals as possible.

They are designed to provide the right amount of water, food, and ventilation to each
animal
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There are two types of livestock ships; open livestock ships with pens installed on open-
air decks, allowing natural ventilation and avoiding dependence on artificial ventilation
mechanisms, and closed livestock ships that have pens installed on indoor decks.

Closed vessels require artificial ventilation systems and this is why they have a much
more controlled environment than in case of severe climate changes, it serves as
protection and protection.

Heavy lift vessel

they are special vessels for extremely heavy and/or bulky loads, such as specialized
industrial machinery and other vessels such as Yates.

There are several types of vessels that can transport project loads, many of them are
semi-submersible vessels which, to facilitate unloading, allow loads to float to the
proper position before being lifted out of the water together with the semi-submersible
vessel and finally discharged.

Likewise, several of the project cargo ships have their own unloading equipment,
facilitating the unloading of their special loads in smaller ports and with less specialized
equipment.

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How many types of cargo ships are there?
How many types of cargo ships are there?
Cargo ships are classified under different categories based on their size, dimension, and
weight. Most common classifications (at the time of this post) are Handy size, ships
weighing between 28,000-40,000 DWT. Handymax, ships weighing between 40,000-
50,000 DWT.

What kind of cargo do ships carry?

Tankers carry petroleum products or other liquid cargo. Dry bulk carriers carry coal,
grain, ore, and other similar products in loose form. Multi-purpose vessels, as the name
suggests, carry different classes of cargo – e.g. liquid and general cargo – at the same
time.

What is wet bulk?

Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. It
refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively
small solids, such as petroleum/crude oil, grain, coal, or gravel.

What is the difference between bulk and breakbulk cargo?

In shipping, break bulk cargo or general cargo are goods that must be loaded
individually, and not in intermodal containers nor in bulk as with oil or grain. These 
goods may not be in shipping containers. Breakbulk cargo is transported in bags,
boxes, crates, drums, or barrels.

How many people can be in a cargo ship?

These ships can fit much larger crew sizes, but the crew tends to be composed of no
more than about 20-30 people. There are usually 6-14 main officers responsible for
overseeing each deck, maintaining safety systems, and keeping the ship going. Besides
the officers, there will be 6-14 crew members who assist them.

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Storage Logistics

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warehouses with drive-through shelves, forklifts, stacker cranes.
cold storage warehouse.

Search …

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