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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

1. DRY CARGO SHIPS

SABRINA I

NYK ATLAS

BULK CARRIER

CONTAINER SHIP

GENERAL CARGO CARRIER

Until vessels started to be built to carry specific cargoes, all vessels were simply
general or dry cargo vessels, i.e. built to carry any and all cargoes either in drums and bales
or on pallets. Such cargoes were put in general holds with no specialization. The role of the
general/dry cargo vessel began to wane with the arrival of bulkcarriers and tankers, but the
decline of these general vessels has accelerated since the arrival of containerization (in the
1960's). Not only are container ships able to carry greater volumes of cargo in standard
shaped cargo containers, the time spent loading and discharging has been dramatically
reduced. Whereas a dry cargo vessel may take 3 - 4 days to load or discharge, a container
ship can achieve the same in a matter of hours. Although general/ dry cargo vessels remain
as the largest (in pure numbers) of cargo carrying vessels, they are often smaller (rarely
above 50,000 Gross tons) than the specialized vessels that are slowly replacing them.
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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

1.1 BULK CARRIERS

Bulk carriers ("bulkers"), are the great work horses of the shipping world, carrying raw dry cargoes in huge
cavernous holds, such as coal, iron ore, grain, sulphur, scrap metal. Until recently, there had been a huge
demand for these vessels, driven by the extraordinary expansion of the Chinese economy. Imports of iron ore
into China boosted the earnings of bulk carrier owners as freight rates went through the roof into uncharted
territory. For a 'Capesize' bulk carrier, daily hire rates of over $280,000 per day were recorded. Then came the
downturn in late 2008 and freight rates have slumped, with bulk carriers struggling to be fixed above $20,000 !
- quite a dramatic change in only a few months. Unfortunately, huge numbers of these vessels were ordered
from shipyards during the 'boom' times. Taking about 2 years to build, many of these new ships will be
delivered only to be sent probably straight to lay-up, as no work can be found for them.

The vessel on the top left is that rare beast called a "geared" bulk carrier, so called because it carries its own
cargo cranes - very useful when visiting ports lacking portside cargo handling equipment.
The vessel on the top right is a more regular design of "gearless" bulk carrier.
Bulkers range from about 25,000 Deadweight tons ("handysize") through the medium size ("Panamax") vessels
of about 75,000 DWT, to the giant ("capesize") vessels of up to 200,000 DWT (Some go bigger than that even
!). Demand for the large "Capesize" bulkcarriers has never been higher, and there are a few "subdivisions"
within this "Capesize" type, such as "Kamsarmax" (being the largest vessels able to enter the port of Kamsar,
Equatorial Guinea, at about 175,000 DWT), "Newastlemax" (being the largest to be able to enter the port of
Newcastle, Australia at about 185,000 DWT) and "Setouchmax" (being the largest able to navigate the Setouch
Sea, Japan at about 203,000 DWT). With such high demand outstipping supply, some Very Large Crude
Carriers are being converted to Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) and this is now a new size type for
bulkcarriers over 200,000 DWT. Due to the heavy use that these vessels are put to, their life-expectancy is less
than it would be for say, a container ship.

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

A problem facing the industry is that with freight rates having slumped so dramatically, there is little money for
ship owners to maintain the older tonnage. New equipment, experienced crews (another rare commodity these
days) are all expensive. This coupled with the soaring cost of insurance (following a 'claims bulge' from the
start of the decade), is leading to a 'white knuckle ride' for many operators of bulk carriers.

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

1.2.CONTAINER SHIPS

Until the dramatic economic downturn in late 2008, the Container ship or "Boxship" had been the great success
story of the last 50 years. Cargo loading and unloading was previously always a slow, laborious task, due to the
varying shapes, sizes, weights and fragility of the numerous cargoes being carried on any one vessel. The idea of
standardizing the carrying box, or container at 20 feet long (the TEU = 20 foot equivalent unit) was a breakthrough
that allowed for vessels to be designed to carry these standard sized boxes, and for dockside equipment also to be
designed to lift , stack and store these specific shapes.
Initially, these were small vessels of up to 10,000 DWT, carrying no more than a few hundred TEU, but have
grown in size as the success and the economics of these vessels have become more obvious. Today's container
ships are being built to take over 18,000 T.E.U., such as the MAERSK McKINNEY MOLLER, the first of a new
generation of container ship, which entered into service on 15th July 2013. Although these latest vessels can carry
more boxes than ever before, the emphasis has shifted from building for speed, to building for efficiency, economy
and environmental safety, hence the term "Triple E" as the classification of these ships. However, they are
affectionately called "Malaccamax" vessels, as the shallowest part of the Malacca Straits is 25 metres deep, so this
is the limiting factor for any vessel wishing to transit the Straits
.

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

As well as the Twenty foot container, many goods need larger boxes, so there is a larger standard sized container,
the FEU (Forty Foot Equivalent Unit). In fact, in the world, there are more of the Forty Foot boxes than there are
the 20 foot ones. Onboard a modern containership, the complex method of loading the boxes in an order that will
facilitate off loading at the other end is now largely computerized. As if specially designed to give Chief Officers
a headache, a modern development is the "high box", a standard container in length and width, but 9' 6" high
(instead of the standard 8'). To get some comprehension of the size of the latest generation of container ships,
below you can see a size comparison between the world's largest airliner (the Airbus A380) at 73 metres long and
the EMMA MAERSK, (the previous largest containership, at 15,000 TEU maximum capacity, before the
MAERSK McKINNEY MOLLER entered service) at 372 metres long. It perhaps demonstrates how much more
can be carried on one vessel than on a whole fleet of aircraft.

Refrigerated containers ("reefer containers") have become very popular for the carriage of meat and fruit. Due to
their flexibility of usage, these reefer containers are gradually destroying the need for specialized "reefer" ships,
whose numbers are declining due to their business being taken over by these reefer containers.
The containers are anchored by "twist locks",
which simply twist
round to lock the 8
corners of the container
to the neighbouring
container. The
outsideofthewholestacki
sthenfurtherfixedwithla
shing poles
diagonallyfrom corner
to corner.
Until the latest generation of container ship, where economics have taken preference, these vessels had been built
for speed, and could reach upwards of 28 knots, moving cargoes around the world. Globally storing and
returning empty boxes has become an industry in itself as 56% of all boxes in the world are actually empty,
simply being stored or moved around the world for re-loading!
Through-transport or inter-modal transport, means that these containers can be off loaded from a ship, and
rapidly loaded onto trains or onto container lorries for onward transport to the place of delivery. Recently, this
has led to serious security concerns, as well as concerns over the contents of the boxes, which are not always
correctly manifested. The MSC FLAMINIA loss in 2012 - 2013 has highlighted these concerns. Weight
distribution of the cargo on the vessel is another concern, coupled with concerns about the high % of High
Tensile Steel (HTS) used in the construction of the hulls of these latest generations of mega-boxships, as with the
catastrophic MOL COMFORT loss in June-July 2013.
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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

2. LIQUID CARGO SHIPS

OIL TANKER

LNG CARRIER

CHEMICAL CARRIER

2.1. TANKERS

Tankers are designed to carry liquid cargoes (not just oil) although the carriage of crude oil has brought the
tanker unwelcome attention and largely unjustified criticism. Oil tankers come in two basic flavours, the crude
carrier, which carries crude oil, and the clean products tanker, which carries the refined products, such as petrol,
gasoline, aviation fuel, kerosene and paraffin. Tankers range in all sizes, from the small bunkering tanker (used
for refueling larger vessels) of 1000 DWT tons to the real giants: the VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) of
between 2-300,000 DWT and the ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier) of over 300,000 DWT

HANDYSIZE TANKER = 20,000 - 30,000

HANDYMAX
TANKER
=
approx
45,000
PANAMAX
TANKER
=
approx
79,000
AFRAMAX TANKER = between 79,000 - 120,000
SUEZMAX TANKER = between 120,000 - 180,000
V.L.C.C. TANKER = between 200,000 - 300,000
U.L.C.C. TANKER = over 300,000 DWT

DWT
DWT
DWT
DWT
DWT
DWT

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

It should be remembered that over 60% of the world's oil is transported by these tankers, and over 99% of that
arrives safely without causing pollution. Indeed most oil pollution seen on beaches comes from the engine
rooms of vessels (of all types) and not from the cargo tanks of tankers.
To ensure that oil tankers transport to all parts of the world, and not just the affluent western countries where
freight rates might be expected to be higher, (and therefore tankers congregate), there is a system called
WORLDSCALE, which ensures that net freight earnings for tanker owners are the same, regardless of length
of voyage and varying costs (such as bunkers and port dues), so that a tanker will earn (net) as much per day
on a route that is long and arduous as they will on a short and low cost voyage. This ensures that tankers take
their goods to all parts of the world and don't just concentrate on the lucrative Middle East to Western Europe
or USA routes.

HANDY SIZE

SUEXMAX SIZE

PANAMAX SIZE

V.L.C.C. SIZE

AFRAMAX SIZE

U.L.C.C. SIZE

Those who would criticize the marine Tanker industry would do well consider walking to work in the morning,
to an unheated office, with no power for computers, lights or communications. We have a lot to thank the
tanker industry for, so don't knock it when you depend on it so much! Increased regulation on the construction,
maintenance and crew competence of tankers, such as under the Maritime Pollution Convention (MARPOL)
and in the USA, the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90) has required double hull tankers to be built (of
questionable value, but of undoubted high cost!), the phasing out of single skinned tankers and COFRs
(Certificates of Financial Responsibility), which demonstrate that the operator has the financial backing, should
a pollution event occur, to pay for the necessary clean-up.
In the "real world" (i.e outside of the USA) international agreements such as the CLC and Fund Conventions
have provided clear levels of compensation that the oil industry are committed to provide to protect the
environment. The MARPOL convention is a major force in ensuring a professional attitude is required of any
vessel owner/operator carrying persistent oil as cargo.

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

2.2 GAS CARRIERS

The LNG carrier (Liquefied Natural Gas) and it's cousin the LPG carrier (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) are products of
the late twentieth century. LNG and LPG are the preferred fuel types of certain countries for their industrial power
needs. Japan is one such country that needs to import 95% of the LNG it needs, and so LNG has to be transported to
Japan, but is not the easiest of cargoes to be transported. In its natural state, LNG is a gas, so to transport it, it needs
to be kept as a liquefied state by reducing the temperature (simple application of Boyle's Law in physics !) down to a
temperature of approximately MINUS 160 degrees C.

The shape of the "Moss Rosenberg" type of LNG Carrier is quite unmistakable, with the shape of the Moss
tanks (which are like enormous spherical thermos flasks !) visible along the deck, which has led to the
nickname of "Dinosaur Eggs Carriers". A similar concept is the "prismatic" type of LNG carrier, but instead
of purely cylindrical tanks inside the vessel, they are "prismatically" shaped. An alternative design altogether
is known as the "membrane" type, which allows for a more standard shape of vessel without the "eggs", but
where the tanks are an integral part of the ship (and not independent from it). The newest and very largest of
the LNG vessels are of this membrane type.
Obviously, the carriage of a potentially explosive substance - kept at very low temperatures in an unstable
liquefied state - presents a very dangerous cargo, yet it is for this very fact, that LNG Carriers have about the
best safety record of all maritime vessels. Only the best officers and crews are employed on these vessels, and
the vessels themselves are maintained meticulously, and renewed frequently. There have been accidents
involving LNG / LPG carriers, but where such events have occurred, the crews or salvors have so far,
successfully managed to boil off the cargo into the atmosphere, thus rendering the dangerous cargo harmless.

3. SPECIALIZED SHIPS
Specialized ships, e.g. for heavy lift goods or refrigerated cargo (Reefer ships), roll-on/roll-off cargo (RoRo)
ships for vehicles and wheeled machinery. These ships are not very well developed, except those used as car
carriers. Only this sector of Maritime Industry is well developed. The currently largest roll-on/roll-off cargo
(RoRo) ships are Sunbelt Spirit, Liberty (ex-Faust), Phoenix Leader and Aquamarine ACE, each capable of
carrying between six and nine thousand units. Another type of specialized ship is the Cable Ship or Cable
layer. These are deep-sea vessels designed and used to lay underwater cables for telecommunications, electric
power transmission, or other purposes. In addition to cable layer ships, there are cable repairing ships which
are tasked with finding and repairing undersea cables that break or for whatever reason became inoperable.

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

3.1. HEAVY LIFT VESSELS

Heavy lift vessels are quite amazing vessels, built to load, carry and discharge large, unusual shaped
cargoes (or even smaller vessels) that will simply not fit inside the holds of conventional vessels.
Shaped quite unlike any other cargo vessels, heavy lift vessel are designed to cope with unusually
large cargos that will not fit inside normal, conventional vessels. There are three basic methods of
loading/discharging these specially strengthened vessels:
Load on - Load off
Roll on - Roll off
Float on - float off

The majority of vessels are only designed

for craning the cargos on board or rolling
them onto the side of the vessel, but a few
heavy lift vessels can be ballasted down, so
that cargoes (often on pontoons) can be
floated on. The vessel is then raised, lifting
the cargo, (now resting on the deck of the
heavy lift vessel), out of the water, ready for
ocean transit, often to the other side of the
world. These specialist vessel are often used
in the oil industry for the carriage of jack up
rigs. Other unusual cargoes can include
power plants, desalination units, generators
and yachts. In 2003, heavy lift vessels were used to carry away the cut up sections of the TRICOLOR
when she was removed from the bottom of the Dover Straits.
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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

3.2. REEFERS

Refrigerated Cargo Carrying Vessels ("Reefers") are purpose built to carry fruit, meat
and other food products across the sea in a fresh and clean manner.
Perhaps the most famous of these types of vessels are the banana carriers, trading
between the Caribbean and Europe. They are sleek and fast, as their trade demands,
with cooling (refrigeration) equipment to keep their cargoes fresh.

Historically the months of February and March see the greatest use of these vessels.
This gives a clue to their current weakness, from a commercial point of view. Any
vessel which is governed by highly seasonal trades, will inevitably have high and low
activity periods during a year. At some points, there is very little work for dedicated
refrigerated cargo vessels, making them rather inefficient, compared to container
ships, (now with reefer box capabilities) which can switch trades in low season to
carry other goods. The dedicated reefer vessel (probably the most loved type of cargo
ship to work on as a seaman) is therefore becoming less common, with fewer being
built each year.

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

3.3. RO-RO VESSELS

The Ro-Ro, or more fully the Roll on - roll off vessel, comes in a number of shapes
and sizes, but generally in two types; the passenger ro-ro and the Cargo ro-ro.
Passenger ro-ros have become common sights wherever people want to travel over
water with their vehicles. It is probably the only type of cargo vessel that most people
have travelled on. Usually a rear door (but sometimes a bow door) allows for vehicles
to be driven on and off, stored on the car deck below the passenger accommodation
areas.

The cargo ro-ro is less "plush" than the passenger type, as these vessels are designed
for the carriage of commercial vehicles where luxurious passenger accommodation is
not a primary consideration. Considerable concerns have been expressed over the
bow-door type of ro-ro design. The HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE was one such
vessel, where a practice of sailing before the bow door was fully closed had been
allowed to develop. Tragically, on leaving Zeebrugge, the folly of this practice led to
the disaster that claimed nearly 200 lives. If water is allowed to enter the car deck,
the stability of the whole vessel can be rapidly affected. It is estimated that it only
needs one centimetre of water over the whole car deck, for the vessel to become so
unstable that it can overturn. The ESTONIA was another such vessel where, in a
storm, the shield over the bow door was ripped off. Once water penetrated the car
deck the vessel began to turn over and sink. In the bitter waters of the Baltic Sea, the
loss of life was terrible. Another earlier accident was that of the SEASPEED DORA
which led many to call these vessels "ro-ro-ro" ships - Roll on, roll off....roll over !!!

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

3.4. OTHER SPECIALIZED VESSELS

Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels

Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessels are designed and equipped
for anchor handling and towing operations. They are also used for
rescue purposes in emergency cases.

Cable Laying Vessels

Cable laying vessels are used to lay cables on the bed of
ocean floors for telecommunications, power transmissions
and other purposes. These vessels are deep-sea marine
vessels.

Drilling Vessels
Drilling vessels or drillships are marine vessels used for offshore drilling
purposes. They are fitted with drilling apparatus and are primarily used
for exploratory offshore drilling. It can also be used as a platform to
perform tasks related to oil well maintenance or completion work such
as casing and tubing installation, or subsea tree installation.

Fire Fighting Vessels

As the name suggests, firefighting vessels are used for
extinguishing fire on ships. They are also used in shore-based
firefighting operations.

Ice Breaking Vessels

As the name suggests, Ice Breaking Vessels are specially
designed to move and navigate through ice-covered water
and are used to make way for other marine vessels. They
have a spoon-shaped bow portion to break the ice on its
way.

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

Pipelaying vessel
A pipelaying vessel or pipelayer is a ship used in the
construction of subsea infrastructure. It is used to lay
pipes on the sea bed to connect oil(or gas) production
platforms with refineries on shore.

Seismic Vessels
Seismic vessels are vessels used for the purpose of seismic
studies deep inside oceans. The ship is used as a survey vessel to
explore and locate best potential areas for oil drilling in the
oceans.

Tugboat
A tugboat (tug) is a boat that moves ships by towing or
pushing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not
move themselves, such as ships in ports or in narrow
canals, or those that cannot move by themselves, such as
disabled ships, barges or oil platforms. Tugs are small
strongly built ships with very powerful engines, and some
are ocean-going.

Well Intervention Vessels

These vessels are used for subsea well intervention purposes.
These interventions are commonly executed from light/medium
intervention vessels.

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

4. PASSENGER SHIPS
Passenger ships are primarily used for carrying passengers. The category includes ferries, yachts, ocean liners, and
cruise ships. The category may also include cargo ships with adequate facilities to carry a substantial number of
passengers. Cargo ships often act as freighter cruises, however they tend to be more expensive to travel in comparison
to passenger ships. Passenger ships have also been commissioned as navy ships on numerous occasions to meet the
requirements by naval forces. In the past, they were also used for transporting light goods such as mail and package
freights.

4.1. OCEAN LINERS

Ocean liners are traditional passenger ships. An
ocean liner typically has 1,500 to 2,000 seats for
passengers and has facilities of saloons, swimming
pools, and sports halls. Prior to advent of airliners,
they were the primary mode of intercontinental
travel. Nowadays, just a few ocean liners are in
operation, their place has been taken by ferries.
Some of the famous and most luxurious ocean liners
of the past are the Titanic, Olympic, and Queen
Elizabeth. The largest ocean liner today is RMS
Queen Mary 2(picture on the right).

4.2. CRUISE SHIPS

The slow demise of ocean liners by the mid
20th century opened the way for cruise ships.
Cruise ships are large passenger ships offering
pleasure trips adventure seeking people. They
have onboard facilities of restaurants, bars,
casinos, theaters, ball rooms, discos,
swimming pools, fitness centers, and shops
that make them a complete floating resort.
They are designed in a way to negotiate almost
all major ports in the world.
In comparison to liners, they serve shorter
routes with more stops along coastlines or
islands. Among popular cruise destinations in
the world include the Caribbean Sea, Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii Island, and the Mediterranean Sea. Some of the luxurious
ocean liners have now been converted to cruise ships, example being the conversion of ocean liner SS France to cruise
ship SS Norway. At present, the two largest cruise ships are the Allure of the Seas and the Oasis of the Seas(picture
above).

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PROFESSOR ROGER RODRIGUES

4.3. FERRIES
Ferries are boats or small-sized ships that are used
for day or overnight short sea trips sailing close to
the coast between two or more ports. With a
seating capacity ranging from 40 to 600, ferries are
part of public transport systems in many waterside
cities and islands. They are categorized into the
ship types such as Hydrofoil, Hovercraft,
Catamaran, Cruise ferry, Ro-ro, Pontoon ferry, Foot
ferry, Cable ferry and Air ferries.

MERCHANT SHIP TYPES

Passenger
ships

Cargo Ships
Liquid
Cargo

Specialized
Ships

Use the diagram and the texts to complete the statements:

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)

Merchant ships can be designed as __________________________________________________________

Cargo ships can be divided into _____________________________________________________________
Gas Carriers include _____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________ are examples of liquid cargo carriers.
__________________________________________________________ are examples of dry cargo carriers.
Three types of specialized ships are _________________________________________________________
Three types of passenger ships are _________________________________________________________
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