Figure 27.

1 Multipurpose Philosophy in Advanced Shortsea Shipping – Artist’s Impression of a Design Proposal for Indonesian Inter-Island Cargo Shipping (With
containers, trucks, horses and cattle on deck)
 Chapter 27
Multipurpose Cargo Ships

Horst Linde

27.1 DESCRIPTION the specialization in ship and cargo typology, resulting in

liquid and dry bulk on the one hand, and unitization or
27.1.1 Mission
standardization of nonbulk cargoes on the other hand, the
Early phases of modern marine cargo shipping, that is, latter making use, for example, of container technology
until late cargo-carrying sailing ships and the beginning of and horizontal handling of wheeled cargo. Nevertheless,
engine-driven vessels in the late 19th and early 20th cen- world marine dry cargo shipping today obviously still
tury, had to live with widely non-homogeneous types of needs a multipurpose ship flexible solution, available for
cargo, since there was no technological basis for any spe- many dry-cargo types. However, still taking into account
cialization, as far as types and/or physical-technical shape consideration of modern developments, such as palletiza-
of cargoes were concerned. An early development into spe- tion, containers, dry bulk and neobulk (larger, homoge-
cialization started with crude oil (the first tank steamship neous quantities of dry cargoes of lower to medium value,
Glückauf built in 1886 in England). In the wide field of dry usually shiploads, not appearing as dry bulk in the classic
cargoes, it appeared quite logical that an early type of an sense). In many trading regions, typical shipping quantities
ocean-going, cargo-carrying ship could only be a multi- do not justify operation of specialized ships, for example
purpose cargo ship, in the desire to be able to carry all dry bulk carriers, container or full RO-RO ships. This situ-
types and shapes of available cargoes. ation occurs in contract shipping, a shipping pattern or-
Figure 27.1 shows a concept for a modern multipurpose
cargo ship and Figure 27.2 shows an early version. Car-
goes appeared in the traditional stowage category of break
bulk, representing a wide, non-homogeneous range of
sizes, forms, handling and stowage characteristics, not yet
showing any modern tendency toward unitization. Dry
bulk shipping, in the sense of homogeneous, loose, un-
packed stowage of dry bulk goods, such as coal and grain
(analogous to liquid bulk shipping in afore-mentioned
tankers) was already practiced in multipurpose holds, even
in sailing ships. However, there were some safety prob-
lems, caused by shifting cargoes (for example, the famous
loss of the German sailing ship Pamir in 1957).
Since then many factors, including increasing cargo
quantities and need for rationalization of transport, drove Figure 27.2 Early Multipurpose Cargo Ship (German Steamer built in 1917)

27-1
27-2 Ship Design & Construction, Volume 2
ganized by various forms of chartering contracts, and also
in liner shipping, where it is not yet fully transferred to
container or RO-RO technology. Until the late 1960s and
early 1970s, world liner shipping actually was still domi-
nated by this classic type of ship (Figure 27.3).
In contract shipping, available cargoes for multipur-
pose cargo ships are mostly dry bulk and neobulk com-
modities, for example, grain and grain products, all minor
bulk cargo, steel/metal raw and semifinished products,
metal scrap, all forest products (Figure 27.4).
In liner shipping, there are various higher-value indus-
trial, agricultural and other finished and semifinished prod-
ucts, appearing as traditional break-bulk, or in palletized or
other unitized forms (Figure 27.5), also shares of dry bulk,
Figure 27.3 Classic Multipurpose Liner Ship (Germany, 1971)
Figure 27.4 Stowage of Neobulk Cargo (Reels of newsprint)
Figure 27.5 Typical Liner Shipping Cargoes (Traditional breakbulk pallets,
other unit loads)
neobulk, and perhaps even special liquid bulk commodi-
ties, which require a versatile transport solution.
The result is a multipurpose cargo ship (or a RO-RO
ship for horizontal cargo handling might be an alternative,
particularly in shortsea shipping); even so, in the case
where containers do not yet dominate, it is important to re-
alize that there is actually no liner trade which today does
not contain considerable quantities of containerized cargo.
Therefore, a modern multipurpose cargo ship has to offer
a reasonable container capability as an important part of its
flexible stowage concept (Figure 27.6). This includes, for
example, reefer containers (with integrated refrigeration
unit) and tank containers, having replaced conventional
reefer holds and liquid cargo tanks, as often provided on-
board subject ships in the past. Heavy lift and large volume
cargoes are also often available for carriage on these ships,
if not taken by highly specialized heavy lift ships (see
Chapter 51 – Heavy Lift Ships).
In contract shipping, loading conditions are mostly
characterized by homogeneous shipments of cargo tending
into bulk categories. In liner shipping, more non-homoge-
neous, widely varying loading conditions are more typical.
 Chapter 27: Multipurpose Cargo Ships
Figure 27.6 Multipurpose Cargo Ship with Extensive Deck Stowage of Containers
It is interesting to note that the multipurpose cargo ship
is actually the only type of merchant ship operated in both
organizational modes of marine transport, contract and
liner shipping, and so far is still proving its exceptional op-
erating flexibility.
The overall importance of contract employment today
seems to be gradually higher and still stable, whereas the
role of liner shipping, at least in deepsea liner shipping, is
decreasing, as the replacement by full container ships is
continuing.
Geographically speaking, multipurpose cargo ships, in
contract shipping, are operated worldwide. Liner shipping
operation is concentrated in so-called north-south and
south-south trades. That is, liner shipping runs between in-
dustrialized regions of Europe, North America and East
Asia on the one side, and less developed countries in Latin
America, Africa, Asia on the other side, or between the lat-
ter. Today, ships of this type are hardly any longer found in
eastern-western liner trades between highly developed and
industrialized countries.
As far as sailing distances are concerned, it is signifi-
cant to realize that the multipurpose cargo ship is a vehicle
for deepsea as well as for shortsea shipping (the latter cat-
egory describes shipping at shorter distances in coastal
areas; typical distances in Europe between 100 and 3000
nautical miles, with no clear separation between contract
and liner shipping in this area). A very large number of
27-3
smaller to medium-size units of this type are operated in
the short sea trades in Germany and South East Asia (the
traditional coaster or Kümo, the German Küsten-Motor-
schiff). In other words, an important part of this type is in
shortsea shipping, much more so than in other types, even
with the considerable fleets of coastal tankers, shortsea
RO-ROs and container feeder ships.
In 2002 the world fleet of multipurpose cargo ships,
larger than 300 gross tons, based on information prepared
by Lloyds Register of Shipping (1) and the Institute of
Maritime Economics and Logistics Bremen (2), including
multideck and single deck ships, (as long as the latter are
not counted as dry bulk carriers), was about 14 100 ships
of 78.5 million tonne DWT, or 37.2% in number and
10.9% in DWT of the overall world merchant fleet. The av-
erage size was about 5600 tonne DWT. Speaking in num-
bers, this was by far the largest type fleet (tankers 24%, dry
bulk carriers 15%), and in terms of deadweight, tankers are
ranking 42%, dry bulk carriers 34%, container ships 7%,
and reefer ships at not more than 1%. The fleet is still
growing at about 7% per annum as an average of the years
1993 to 1997 (based on deadweight). In comparison,
tankers are growing by about 2%, dry bulk carriers 5%,
and container ships 11%.
Figures like this indicate the present state and the
medium-term development of the relative importance of
the multipurpose cargo ship. The relevance of shortsea
27-4 Ship Design & Construction, Volume 2
shipping can be further emphasized by the fact that Ger-
man shipowners, who are the world’s largest specific
shipowning group, are managing a fleet of about 800 ships
of 2.3 million tonne DWT, indicating that most of their
ships are of less than 3000 tonne DWT in average.
27.1.2 Unique Features and Capabilities
First of all, it is advisable to differentiate the multipurpose
cargo ship from the following other more specialized dry-
cargo types:
• Dry bulk carrier (no tweendeck(s), widely homoge-
neous cargo hold utilization, larger typical sizes, lower
typical speeds, mostly with no onboard cargo gear).
• Full container ship (fixed cell-guide structure for con-
tainer stowage, mostly with no onboard cargo gear).
• RO-RO ship (horizontal cargo handling and stowage as
dominating loading method; partial RO-RO capability
is a possible option for multipurpose cargo ships).
• Reefer ship (fully refrigerated cargo capacity of con-
ventional type. That is, no reefer containers or reefer
containers additionally on deck; partial reefer capacity
is a traditional option for multipurpose cargo ships in
liner operation).
• Heavy-lift ship (highly specialized type, mostly of
smaller size, for heavy-lift/large-size project cargoes,
large vehicles or machines, industrial plants, based on
vertical and/or horizontal handling; see Chapter 49 –
Heavy Lift Ships).
This typological differentiation only becomes unclear
in case of some smaller ships, for example small bulk car-
riers and small container ships without cell guides. With
these exceptions, the multipurpose cargo ship is not a dry
bulk carrier, a full container ship, a RO-RO ship, a reefer
ship, or a heavy-lift ship, even if parts of its capability are
overlapping to some degree with those types, and so dif-
ferentiation is not always fully clear. The unique feature, or
the overriding principle of the multipurpose cargo ship, is
simply its high level of transport flexibility and versatility,
including its own cargo handling gear in deep sea ships.
The multipurpose cargo hold and cargo handling con-
cept is able to be used for a wide variety of types and phys-
ical shapes of dry cargo, summarized as follows:
• dry bulk commodities,
• neobulk commodities,
• nonbulk dry cargoes in break-bulk shape,
• nonbulk dry cargoes in unit load shape,
• ISO containers (all sizes, standard/special types, for ex-
ample, including reefer containers),
• heavy lift, large-volume cargoes, and
• wheeled cargo units, optionally in partial stowage
areas.
The design characteristics of multipurpose ships, dis-
cussed in the following text, can be considered major per-
formance factors of the multipurpose concept.
27.1.2.1 Size/capacity
Deadweight capacities range 100 tonne DWT up to about
30 000 tonne DWT, and, in a very small number of excep-
tional cases, up to more than 40 000 tonne DWT. The dom-
inating group is from 15 000 to 20 000 tonne DWT. Groups
of 12 500 to 15 000 tonne DWT and 25 000 to 30 000 tonne
DWT also represent high shares. Deadweight shares of
other groups are obviously smaller. However, the numbers
of ships within groups of 10 000 to 12 500 tonne DWT,
7500 to 10 000 tonne DWT, 5000 to 7500 tonne DWT, 2500
to 5000 tonne DWT, and even less than 2500 DWT are sig-
nificant. Ships beyond 20 000 tonne DWT are mostly oper-
ated in deepsea contract shipping. Deepsea liner shipping,
still using this type, mostly prefers medium sizes, between
10 000 and 20 000 tonne DWT.
Smaller ships are mostly found in shortsea shipping,
many of them below 5000 tonne DWT, but there is also a
trend of introducing larger ships in this area, for example,
in Europe, up to 10 000 tonne DWT or even 15 000 tonne
DWT (Figure 27.7).
27.1.2.2 Stowage factor
Since many of the relevant cargoes have comparatively
high stowage coefficients, that is require high cargo hold
volume, the ratio of volume to deadweight is generally
high in comparison to dry bulk carriers or tankers, and is a
Figure 27.7 Medium-Size Short Sea Multipurpose Cargo Ship (Carrying vari-
ous shapes of cargo on deck)
 Chapter 27: Multipurpose Cargo Ships
significant feature of multipurpose cargo ships. High stan-
dard liner operation ships are designed with stowage fac-
tors in the range of 1.7 to 2.1 m3/t (based on grain
stowage). Others, in contract shipping, are between 1.3 and
1.7 m3/t, some even lower at 1.1 to 1.3 m3/t. Since con-
tainers are often of higher importance, and usually carried
on deck, deck stowage container capacities actually have
to be included, and are considerably effective in increasing
stowage capacities and factors. This has quite often re-
sulted in design conceptions of low underdeck hold capac-
ity (stowage factors in the above-minimum range and even
below), with minimum freeboard, which can have some
unfavorable consequences for transverse (heeling) stabil-
ity and deck cargo safety.
27.1.2.3 Speed
Typical speeds of multipurpose cargo ships, defined under
certain given conditions, for example trial conditions and
at full or partial load, depend on the wide range of size and
operating conditions of this type. If defined under trial con-
ditions, sustained service speeds, as needed under liner
conditions, will be lower, depending on the selected power
reserve.
Medium to larger ships for contract operation have a
speed range of 14 to 16 knots, which has not changed much
during recent decades. Since liner shipping basically re-
quires higher service speeds, traditional multipurpose
cargo ships, when they still dominated the world deepsea
liner shipping, that is, in the 1950s and 1960s, were de-
signed at comparatively high speed ranges of 17 to 20
knots, and even increasing up to 27 knots. This has in recent
years completely changed, for various reasons (fuel costs,
replacement by full container ships). Medium to larger
ships in the liner services have moderate speeds, but still
higher than those for contract operation, mostly in the range
of 16 to 18 knots. Smaller ships for shortsea operation nat-
urally are running slower, often at speed ranges of 12 to 15
knots, but sometimes even as low as 10 to 12 knots.
27.1.2.4 Cargo hold arrangement
The design of the multipurpose cargo ship cargo hold area,
has to consider a wide range of cargo features and condi-
tions for handling, stowage, and treatment of cargoes. This
can only be the best possible compromise between partly
competing and contradictory requirements. A design fac-
tor of basic importance is the high level of cargo separa-
tion, that is, separation of limited quantities of different
cargo types, port-to-port requirements, physical shape,
and, perhaps incompatible characteristics and interrela-
tions between cargoes. A further important reason for
cargo hold separation, in the vertical direction in particu-
27-5
lar, is limited loading capacity by vertical stacking, in case
of many break-bulk or unit loads.
Separation in vertical direction leads to an arrangement
of at least one tweendeck, separating a lower hold of
comparatively high net loading depth (for example, in the
order of 3 to 6 m depending on ships’ size and overall
depth) from a tweendeck (or more than one) of compara-
tively small net loading depth, for example, about 2.5 to
3.5 m. Smaller (shortsea) ships with a molded depth of
about 6 m, do not have a tweendeck. On the other hand,
past large ships of this type, especially if intended for liner
services, had more than one, perhaps even three, tween-
decks. This arrangement has almost disappeared today, be-
cause of high investment, and since separation require-
ments gradually decreased, due to the increasing use of
containers and other larger units. Tweendecks can be rep-
resented by fixed steel structures, or can be formed by re-
movable hatch covers.
Separation in longitudinal direction means subdivision
into a number of cargo holds. Cargo hold separation often
is a compromise between a high cargo diversification, a
reasonable single hold capacity, the absolute dimensions
of larger cargo units, such as containers, heavy-lift and
large-volume cargo, watertight subdivision, and invest-
ment costs. In the past, large ships, especially those in liner
service, had high numbers of holds (five to seven). Today,
medium to larger ships show a tendency toward moderate
to smaller numbers of holds, often three to five, depending
also on engine room location. In case of many medium to
smaller (mostly shortsea) ships, the desire for cargo sepa-
ration has been decreasing, for example because of in-
creasing importance of neobulk and containers, and the
dominant desire for minimum building cost. This has lead
to comparatively long, unsubdivided holds (one to two),
leading to a problem with safety after damage and respec-
tive regulations (discussed in Subsection 27.2.3.3).
The other fundamental condition for advanced cargo
hold design is rationalization of cargo handling and
stowage (that means best possible vertical accessibility of
cargo holds by hatch openings). The principle of vertical
main cargo flow is a basic feature of the multipurpose
cargo ship, even if partial implementation of horizontal
cargo handling techniques has gained some importance, as
discussed in the following text. There can be no doubt that
the practice of spot loading, that is, of placing a cargo unit
right at the final stowing location, should be followed as far
as possible (Figure 27.8), and that secondary horizontal
cargo flows in tweendecks and lower holds should be min-
imized, even if it is mechanized to some degree by using
forklifts, etc. There are situations where this is basically
impossible; for example, in case of containers or other
27-6 Ship Design & Construction, Volume 2
Figure 27.8 Cargo Spotting (Enabled by open hold arrangement and large
hatch dimensions)
larger units. This has created the principle of the open ship,
that is, hatch openings of the largest possible length and
width, and also suitable for containers. Open hold arrange-
ments were first initiated in the late 1950s and early 1960s
by U.S. shipowners, and greatly promoted by theoretical
investigations by Wendel in Germany (3). The principle of
the open ship certainly is one of the most important and far
reaching innovations in this type.
Today, experience has confirmed that savings in cargo
handling and stowage time and costs more than compen-
sate for the considerable additional investment required for
open hold arrangement. The question should only be the
extent and design of openness in each case, a matter de-
cided in the preliminary design process (Figure 27.9).
A decision of significance is whether to subdivide wide
hatch openings in athwartships direction into multiple
hatches, or to provide an undivided single hatch.
From a point of view of construction and investment for
covers and moving devices, the latter option is preferable.
It is the wide range of non-homogeneity of liner cargoes
(smaller partial quantities, high numbers of port/port rela-
tions), which dictates a high level of flexibility of cargo
disposition, and therefore, not too large single hatch sizes.
Consequently, ships with higher preference for liner oper-
ation mostly show a twin hatch arrangement, whereas
ships for contract operation mostly are tending to single
hatch arrangements.
In this connection, the question of closing hatch open-
ings by hatch cover systems is also of high relevance for
cargo handling and stowage efficiency. As hatch openings
are becoming larger and larger, requirements for safe wa-
tertight closing, high carrying capacity hatch covers for
Figure 27.9 Open Twin Hatch Arrangement of a Large Multipurpose Liner
Ship
deck cargo, fast, flexible opening and closing by safe, reli-
able, and uncomplicated mechanical means have become
increasingly important. Fortunately, advanced technology,
mechanically operated hatch cover systems are available,
but a selection decision has to be made for a specific design
purpose.
27.1.2.5 Container stowage
Ships based on a multipurpose concept, but designed for
high container capability, can stow containers in under-
deck holds without cell-guides. That is, they cannot make
use of the advantages in handling, stowage and securing
provided by cell guides (partial arrangements of cell
guides were tested in the past in a number of cases, but
seem to be incompatible with a multipurpose cargo ship
philosophy). In order to avoid extensive single securing
and lashing provisions, containers have to be stowed more
or less in homogenous blocks with corner fittings, with
block lashing and securing against ships’ motions (Figure
27.10).
Efficiency and flexibility of underdeck container
stowage (handling time, danger of damage, variability of
container sizes, flexibility of disposition) are usually lower
than those of full cellular container ships. However, this
appears to be an acceptable compromise in order to carry
considerable, but not exclusive quantities of containers.
27.1.2.6 Cargo handling facilities
Requirements for cargo handling influence the cargo hold
design, and they also, of course, are a basis for provision of
cargo handling facilities, in port and/or onboard. Gener-
ally, port cargo handling systems can develop the highest
performance and efficiency and best time utilization. On-
 Chapter 27: Multipurpose Cargo Ships
Figure 27.10 Underdeck Block Stowage of Containers (No cell-guides,
portable lashing)
board arrangements should only be taken into considera-
tion if there is a particular need in the owner’s require-
ments. In the case of the multipurpose cargo ship, many of
the cargoes carried have a high level of handling require-
ments and need extensive handling provisions, in order to
keep handling times and costs within reasonable limits.
The most extreme situation is given with traditional
non-homogeneous break-bulk configurations, but also
many forms of potential unitized cargo still require exten-
sive handling equipment. This is the one reason why mul-
tipurpose cargo ships have to be provided with onboard
cargo gear, regardless of available port facilities. Parallel
operation of onboard and port cargo handling gear is often
used, even in modern, well-equipped ports.
It should also be remembered that many ports in the
world are not highly developed, or are not called at fre-
quently enough to justify port cargo handling facilities. So,
ships with onboard cargo handling gear of sufficiently high
performance and operating flexibility with regard to cargo
types, size, and shape, are the most suitable for such trade.
Therefore, the provision of onboard cargo gear, designed
for vertical cargo handling, and covering 100% of a given
cargo hold area, is a further multipurpose cargo ship-
specific feature.
This is true for all ships, regardless whether operated
under liner or contract conditions. The only exception is the
traditional coaster of very limited size, which to some de-
gree is sailing without onboard cargo handling provisions,
and calls at ports that are suitably equipped. However, even
here, the trend is for the increasing introduction of geared
ships, instead of non-geared ones, as confirmed by recent
studies in the field of European shortsea shipping.
27-7
The level of performance, efficiency and flexibility of
today’s onboard cargo gear is basically very high. The time
of just providing cheap, simple systems for low demand
are gone. Considering the state of the art, a wide range of
advanced technology cargo handling systems for onboard
arrangement is available. Systems are basically designed
for operating flexibility, that is, for a wide range of cargo,
or are designed for specific trade requirements (extreme
specialization, for example, in case of heavy-lift cargo
gear). The container (fully loaded 40-foot units, plus lift-
ing spreader necessary for mechanized container handling)
is normally the basis for defining maximum lifting capac-
ities. Advanced crane systems, in single or twin arrange-
ment, mostly at fixed positions (Figures 27.6, 27.9, 27.12),
but sometimes travelling in longitudinal direction, are
most popular, and have completely replaced traditional
derrick systems, with the exception of heavy-lift derricks,
which are available with lifting capacities up to some hun-
dreds of tons, and are still the most competitive solution
for advanced heavy-lift handling (Figure 27.11).
Fixed slewing cranes are traditionally located at the
ship’s centerline. This gives symmetrical cargo handling
characteristics in both athwartships directions. Considering
correlation between crane and possible cargo landing spots,
this location leads to high amounts of rotating load motions,
instead of straight translatory ones, resulting in longer, in-
direct horizontal load motions in comparison to shortest
possible ones. So the traditional centerline location is not
necessarily the optimum arrangement. A few years ago, the
idea was proposed to locate slewing cranes non-symmetri-
cally, at the outside edge of the deck, mostly on the port
side, and usually directly connected to a longitudinal side
Figure 27.11 Heavy Lift Derrick
27-8 Ship Design & Construction, Volume 2

box girder. This offers a lot of freedom of hatch arrange- this type have frequently been installed as longitudinally
ment, such as very long unsubdivided hatch openings, and travelling cranes onboard container ships, and could per-
of correlation of cranes to cargo stowage areas on the other haps be used for high-container capability multipurpose
hand. If the ship is berthed with the starboard side to the ships.
quay, load motions often can be transversal, instead of ro- A relatively small fleet of smaller size ships is designed
tating, as horizontal load motions are often the shortest. with a high priority for carrying specialized unit loads,
This arrangement should be applied for ships with beams such as paper reels, other units of paper products, and other
up to about 22 m, since maximum crane outreach should palletized cargoes. Handling of those strictly standardized
not be much higher than about 28 m (Figure 27.12).
Slewing cranes of standard design, regardless of their
lifting capacity, are carrying their load on one single cargo
runner (consisting of one or multiple ropes). That means
control of the cargo position around a vertical axis is not
possible. Mechanically operated load rotating devices will
not work in this case with heavier loads hanging at one sin-
gle lifting point. This does not offer highest container han-
dling efficiency, when specifically positioning containers
in an accurate longitudinal direction, and requires manual
assistance in container positioning. Cranes with twin cargo
runner arrangement, which gives a positive guidance to the
load around the vertical axle, are available, either in con-
nection with translatory gantry cranes, or even in case of
slewing cranes where a counter-rotating, automatically
synchronized twin-runner topspreader is fitted to the top of
the crane outrigger giving the load a constant turning
angle, and avoiding any uncontrolled rotation of the load Figure 27.13 Counter-Rotating Top-Spreader Fitted to the Jib of a Travelling
around the vertical axis (Figure 27.13). Slewing cranes of Slewing Crane

Figure 27.12 Side Arrangement of Cranes

 Chapter 27: Multipurpose Cargo Ships
units can perhaps be rationalized by installation of fully
mechanized handling systems, based on lifts or elevators,
fitted to the side of the ship (accessed by side doors), ver-
tically connecting tweendeck(s) and lower hold, and
loaded from the pier, or from the hold, by forklifts. Spe-
cialized ships of this type, which are still to be used for
multipurpose operation, will need other cargo gear for ver-
tical handling of other available cargo, that cannot be han-
dled by the highly specialized side-loading systems. A
small number of pure side-loading ships do exist, but
should not be characterized as true multipurpose ships in
the classical sense.
27.1.2.7 Partial RO-RO facilities
Wheeled cargo, that is self-rolling units (vehicles of any
kind), or units made rolling by mechanical means, for ex-
ample, by stowing on rolling flats (Figure 27.14), can
occur within the cargo pattern of a trade where multipur-
pose cargo ships are favorably occupied, and full RO-RO
ships cannot be justified). Arrangements have been devel-
oped to make a tweendeck, and/or a weather deck of a ship,
which are basically designed for vertical access, horizon-
tally accessible by provision of a stern ramp, elimination
of transverse bulkheads in the tweendeck area, and design-
ing the deck and hatch covers for carrying rolling loads. In
spite of additional investment needed, the overall perfor-
mance and flexibility of multipurpose ships can be im-
proved by options such as this.
27.1.2.8 Ventilated cargo
Cargoes with high ventilation requirements, either for
cargo protection (agricultural products, food products,
livestock, etc.) or for safety reasons (chemicals, pharma-
Figure 27.14 Rolling Flats with Large Volume Cargo Units Handled at a
Shortsea RO-RO Ship
27-9
ceutical products, etc.), in the shape of conventional units
or containers, belong to the spectrum of products shipped
by the multipurpose cargo ship. Technical means for se-
lective high-grade cargo hold ventilation is available. Con-
tainers, to be ventilated by active (integrated mechanical
ventilators) or passive provisions (ventilating openings),
can be stowed in underdeck holds when high-level hold
ventilation is provided, or at selected deck positions.
27.1.2.9 Refrigerated cargoes
Traditional multipurpose liner ships in former times often
had partial reefer capabilities (holds, tweendecks, parts of
tweendecks). These compartments have been provided
with mechanical refrigeration designed to meet the re-
quirements of all available reefer cargo. Today reefer
cargo, if not carried in large bulk quantities by traditional
full reefer ships, is preferably shipped in reefer containers.
The type of the self-supplying reefer container fitted with
an integrated single refrigeration unit is the most used so-
lution. The containers require provision of electric energy,
and can be carried on deck of multipurpose cargo ships
(with electric sockets distributed within the deck area).
Underdeck stowage has only a limited capability, as long
as reefer units are air-cooled, because of requirements for
heat removal and air exchange, which is the same situation
with full container ships.
27.1.2.10 Liquid bulk cargo
Small to medium quantities of special liquid bulk com-
modities of high value, for example, vegetable and animal
oils and fats, were in the past often carried in integrated
cargo tanks (deep tanks) of multipurpose cargo ships in the
liner trades. Again in this case, the container technology
has offered the advantage of integrated transport chains by
tank containers (heated or cooled as necessary), and has
widely replaced traditional solutions.
27.1.2.11 Dangerous cargo
Various kinds of dangerous cargo, according to the re-
spective IMO Code (4), represent important market shares
in marine transport, both in liner and contract shipping.
The multipurpose cargo ship is able to meet the specific re-
quirements for carrying dangerous cargo by additional
separation, ventilation and other protection. Containers
loaded with dangerous cargo, including liquid cargo, can
be stowed on deck, and offer additional transport options
in this respect.
27.1.2.12 Grain cargo
The specific problem of carrying grain in bulk (reduced
stability resulting from the grain-free surfaces and the dan-
27-10 Ship Design & Construction, Volume 2

ger of cargo shifting) is solved by portable provisions

(portable longitudinal grain bulkheads, and utilization of
tweendeck covers as grain bulkheads, portable grain feeder
cells in tweendecks, and the option of covering bulk
stowage by bagged cargo in accordance with the respective
rules of SOLAS (5)). However, the multipurpose cargo
ship, in general, cannot offer the same level of perfor-
mance as the higher specialized dry bulk carrier. It offers a
reasonable alternative for smaller to medium quantities of
grain and grain products. In specific cases, the provision of
a double side hull, a side box girder in way of the tween-
deck, and a fixed longitudinal bulkhead in way of lower
hold and/or tweendeck, thus limiting the possible breadths Figure 27.15 River/Coastal Multipurpose Ship (Rhine-Coaster)
of free grain surfaces, can enable the carriage of grain
without the need for portable subdivision.
Ships of that type are unusual today, due to mission and
27.1.2.13 Inland waterways operation schedule incompatibility problems and lower cargo trans-
Extending the coastal shipping operation into larger inland port efficiency (Figure 27.16).
waterways, offers the chance for extending coastal trans-
port into the waterways, and eliminating one series of un- 27.1.3 General Arrangements
loading and loading cargo handling processes, thus saving
Previous sections have described, in outline, typical fea-
transport time and costs. In Europe, developments like that
tures and specific cargo transport capabilities of the multi-
have received considerable importance (rivers Rhine,
purpose cargo ship. These will be illustrated further in the
Seine, Rhone, Danube, Swedish and Finnish canal sys-
following by selected examples of pictures and general
tems, and large Russian waterways). A specific subtype of
arrangements of existing ships, covering liner and contract
the multipurpose cargo ship has been developed, and is
operation, deepsea and shortsea employment, covering
characterized by limited size, shallow draft (typically up to
most typical sizes, as shown in Figures 27.17 through 27.33.
about 6 m), and retractable bridge and or telescoping/
This selection only comprises a limited number of
folding mast to cater to the small fixed height above water
typical examples, and therefore cannot claim to be fully
(air draft). More than 200 of this type of ship are managed
representative in a statistical sense. Main characteristics
by German shipowners (deadweight range about 1000 to
of these and a number of other ships are presented in Sec-
4000 tonne). Considerable fleets also are found in the
tion 27.3.
Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Russia (the latter of
larger sizes due to huge Russian rivers and canals). These
27.1.3.1 General arrangement summary
ships offer more or less the same multipurpose transport
Summarizing this review of existing older and newer or
performance, even if slowly reduced because of their
planned ships, representing both standard designs and
smaller size, compared with the classic deepsea or shortsea
larger newbuilding series, some development factors can
type (Figure 27.15).
be confirmed and identified more precisely:
27.1.2.14 Passenger transport • large multipurpose cargo ships clearly intended for
Passenger transport by cargo ships, according to SOLAS deepsea liner operation still exist. However, there have
rules, is restricted to 12 passengers. The demand for pas- been no newbuilding activities in recent years, and they
senger travel on sea voyages onboard multipurpose cargo are slowly losing their global importance,
ships has become quite active again. So larger multipur- • shortsea shipping is still developing very actively. The
pose cargo ships, mostly operated in liner services often multipurpose cargo ship here still is the dominating
make use of this option to provide additional revenue, and type, and the trend is from traditionally small sizes to
are provided with accommodation for 12 persons. Cargo medium and moderately larger sizes, and to increasing
transport performance here is not reduced, in contrast to onboard high-performance cargo gear,
former combined cargo/passenger ships, with capacities of • in all fields of employment, transport of containers has
100–200 passengers and significantly larger accommoda- continued to increase in importance for multipurpose
tion volumes. cargo ships. Parts of the fleet are actually operated in
 Chapter 27: Multipurpose Cargo Ships 27-11

Figure 27.16 Combined Cargo/Passenger Ship

Figure 27.17 Traditional Liner Ship (Early traditional post-war liner ship, built 1950 in Germany, about 4000 tonne DWT, 11 knots, 4 holds, engine room midships,
tweendeck, traditional hatch sizes and covers, and traditional derrick cargo gear)
27-12 Ship Design & Construction, Volume 2
Figure 27.18 SD 14 Standard Type (Earliest post-war standard type mostly for contract operation, traditional basic design, number of new buildings in 1960s to
1980s, built in the U.K., about 15 000 tonne DWT, 14.5–15.0 knots, 5 holds, engine room 2/3rd aft, tweendeck, traditional hatch sizes with mechanical folding cov-
ers, traditional derrick cargo gear, including heavy-lift derricks)
exclusive container transports, but others of identical
configuration are partly or exclusively employed in
neo-bulk, dry bulk, other unit loads. That means, their
identification as multipurpose is still justified, even if a
clear differentiation from full container ships, or from
bulk carriers, so-called conbulkers in particular, is
sometimes unclear. Some of the examples given are ac-
tually positioned at the periphery of classic understand-
ing of the multipurpose ship,
• for all purposes stated, the trend to the open ship, that is
open cargo hold arrangements with large hatch dimen-
sions, appears very obvious, because of the significant
advantages in cargo stowage and handling, in spite of
the higher investments, and
• special cargo handling solutions, such as combination
with RO-RO handling and side-loading systems, play
only a marginal role, but they cannot be completely ig-
nored.
Some standard designs prepared by shipyards, mainly
in the 1960s to 1980s, had considerable success. Most of
the deepsea standard types in the meantime have lost most
of their importance, because they are becoming obsolete
by technological development. A certain type of standard-
ization, in a more flexible way, is now again offered by
some yards, for shortsea rather than deepsea shipping, and
their performance should be closely observed.
27.1.4 Hull Structure
The main criteria for designing the steel hull structure of
the multipurpose cargo ship are, first of all, the same as for
other types of merchant ships, minimum steel weight, pro-
duction friendly, sufficient safety against all expected dam-
age, long lifetime, sufficient safety against wear and tear,
internal and external corrosion, reasonable maintenance
and repair conditions. A further specific requirement of
relatively high importance for this type, since cargoes
come into contact with steel hull structures, is the compat-
ibility of steel structure with the cargo transport mission,
that is no negative interference with cargo handling,
stowage and treatment. This means that the steel structure,
in way of the cargo hold area, and cargo hold arrangement,
have to be considered in close interrelation.
27.1.4.1 Longitudinal structure
As far as the main longitudinal members are concerned,
the following three midship sections should be considered
as the most typical, and the structure discussion will be
concentrated on these standard cases:
1. double bottom/single side shell/upper deck/tweendeck
with single hatch opening of traditional width (50 to
70% B) and length (Figure 27.35),
2. Double bottom/single side shell/upper deck/tweendeck
with single or twin hatch opening of moderately in-
 Chapter 27: Multipurpose Cargo Ships 27-13

Figure 27.19 Liner Ship of the Early 1970s (deepsea liner ship of modernized multipurpose concept. 4 ships built 1970 to 1971 in Germany, about 27 knots, 16 000
tonne DWT, 24 000 m3 grain, vegetable oil tanks, reefer compartments, 6 holds, engine room 2/3rd aft, 2 continuous tweendecks, partial 3rd tweendeck, open hold
arrangement, triple hatches with mechanical folding covers, combined modernized cargo gear, with combination of traditional and heavy-lift derricks, single slewing
cranes, moderate container capability)

creased width (70 to 80% B) and length, with longitu-
dinal side box girder in way of tweendeck (Figure
27.36), and
3. Double bottom/double side shell/upper deck and
tweendeck with single, twin or triple hatch opening of
large to maximum width (80 to 85% B) and length
(Figure 27.37).
In all cases, the double bottom, according to the current
practice, will be extended from side to side, will be longi-
tudinally framed (mainly for reasons of longitudinal
strength), and fitted with transverse plate floors, more
widely spaced than the frames for transverse framing.
Center and side girders are provided, depending on
ship’s size, forming bottom tanks for fuel oil or ballast water
(in some cases the fuel is carried in deep tanks outside of the
double bottom, resulting in fewer but larger fuel tanks with
smooth inner surfaces which aids in cleaning the tanks). Ad-
ditional open longitudinal girders and transverse floors will
be fitted in container stowage areas, in way of container cor-
ner positions, to carry the container point loads. Pipe tun-
nel(s) when used, are arranged as wide as possible. The dou-
ble bottom height will be in the normal range and not
extraordinarily deepened. The inner bottom will have to be
strengthened for heavy cargo, if carried, such as ore cargo
and for handling by grab buckets.
In all cases of single side shell, it will preferably be
transversally framed, with no additional longitudinal gird-
ers, so as to avoid reduction in bale capacity, and to get a
uniform inner hold surface suitable for fitting wood side
sparring and efficient stowage of breakbulk and unit loads
(a longitudinal framing system will not be advantageous,
27-14 Ship Design & Construction, Volume 2
Figure 27.20 Liner Ship of the Late 1980s (deepsea liner ship with high container capability, about 10 ships built 1987 to 1989 in Germany, about 16 knots, 18 000
tonne DWT, 25 000 m3 grain capacity, 900 TEU, six holds, engine room 2/3rd aft, tweendeck, maximum open hold arrangement, container-adapted twin hatches
with hydraulically operated folding covers, high-standard cargo gear – 25 tonne single and twin slewing cranes)
from a point of view of transverse strength, as it will re-
quire additional transverse webs of larger depth than the
side frame). The presence of a tweendeck is a positive fac-
tor in this connection, acting as a horizontal support for
transverse side frames.
In Figure 27.34 case (a), the decks, the upper deck par-
ticularly, will most likely be longitudinally framed, to get
the most contribution to longitudinal strength. Vertical
bending will be primarily relevant for the upper deck struc-
ture, as in the upper part of the midship section, the contri-
bution of as many longitudinal members as possible will
be most essential to meet a required section modulus. For
typical multipurpose cargo ships, longitudinal torsion will
not be a problem and need not be specifically investigated,
but it depends on the ship size and hatch width.
In this connection, it is important to recognize that
maximum bending moments, as an input for required
bending strength, has to consider not only homogeneous
cargo distributions, but non-homogeneous distributions
(single empty holds, varying deck loads, ballast conditions
may be critical) will have to be carefully considered in the
early design.
Cargo loads and local load distributions and green sea
loads in case of the upper deck, will be responsible for
defining carrying capacities of decks, and determining the
scantlings of deck structures. In the case of decks with lim-
ited hatch openings, transverse hatch end deep beams are
provided in way of transverse hatch coamings, and an ad-
ditional longitudinal deck girder will run under the longi-
tudinal hatch coaming, both intended to participate in car-
rying hatch loads, in particular at the upper deck, but also
at tweendecks. The depths of these hatch end beams and
girders will be critical for clear stowage heights of tween-
decks and lower holds, and therefore should be minimized
as far as possible. Underdeck pillars, used in the past for
carrying deck loads, are avoided today, to provide unre-
stricted stowage conditions. A longitudinal centerline
bulkhead, with pillars at the ends of the hatch, can still be
provided in the lower hold between the hatchways, to act
as support for the portable wood grain bulkheads, or
tweendeck covers that are used for grain bulkheads.
Corner connections between decks and side shell, and
between side shell and inner bottom in conjunction with
the frames, have to provide sufficiently rigid connection,
but should not reduce square-shaped hold sections more
than necessary, and should provide some means of load
transfer between longitudinal frames of decks and double
bottom and transverse frames of side shell. A number of
popular solutions are available for a flush-welded connec-
tion between the deck stringer plate and shell sheerstrake.
In Figure 27.35 case (b), longitudinal torsion, as well as
vertical bending, is receiving increasing consideration. A
Figure 27.21 Liner Ship of the Early 1990s (Deepsea liner ship with high container capability, 3 ships built 1991 to 1992 in Germany, about 16 knots, 21 000 tonne
DWT, 1200 TEU, 4 holds, engine room aft, tweendeck, low depth and draft, maximum open arrangement, container-adapted twin hatches, double hull, longitudinal
bulkhead, highly container-suitable cargo gear, 36 tonne single slewing cranes)
Figure 27.22 Very Large Liner Ship (Largest existing multi-deck liner ship, operated in deepsea liner service, high container, dry bulk and neo-bulk capability, series
of 4 ships built 1984 to 1985 in Finland and UK, about 16.5 knots, 42 000 tonne DWT, 57 000 m3 grain capacity, 1700 TEU, seven holds, engine room aft, two tween-
decks, holds Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6 without tweendecks, without cell-guides, open hold arrangement, double hull, triple hatches without longitudinal hatch girder, Nos. 1, 2,
7 single hatches of conventional width, pontoon lift-on/lift-off covers, Nos. 1, 2, 7 hydraulically operated folding covers, high-performance cargo gear, 36 tonne con-
tainer-suitable single slewing cranes, 41 tonne travelling container gantry crane)
 Chapter 27: Multipurpose Cargo Ships 27-17

Figure 27.23 Freedom, Friendship and Fortune Standard Types (Most successful standard designs for contract and liner operation, high dry bulk, moderate con-
tainer capability, large number of new buildings in 1960s to 1980s in Japan, about 300 F-type ships built in total, about 14–15 knots, 17 000–24 000 tonne DWT,
21 000–28 000 m3 grain capacity, five holds, engine room aft, tweendeck, open hold arrangement, single hatches with upper deck hydraulically operated folding
covers, highly flexible cargo gear, 25 tonne single and twin slewing cranes, optionally with horizontally travelling monkey)
 Next Page
27-18 Ship Design & Construction, Volume 2

Figure 27.24 Fantasy Standard Type (New design for contract and liner operation, high container, dry bulk, neo-bulk capability, 12 new buildings in 1996 to 1998 in
China, about 14 knots, 30 000 tonne DWT, five holds, engine room aft, no tweendeck, open hold arrangement, double hull, single hatches with hydraulically oper-
ated folding covers, 30 tonne twin and single slewing cranes)

Figure 27.25 C-Box Standard Type (New standard design for liner and contract operation, high container, dry bulk, neobulk capability, new buildings 1998 in Ger-
many, about 16.5 knots, 20 500 tonne DWT, 25 000 m3 grain capacity, 1300 TEU, five holds, engine room aft, no tweendeck, open hold arrangement, double hull, sin-
gle hatches with pontoon covers, 60 tonne single slewing cranes at side, combined operation)

reasonable answer is a longitudinal box girder at the side
of the tweendeck, which can also be used as passageway
and/or pipe tunnel.
In Figure 27.36 case (c), where the upper deck is re-
duced to narrow strips of about 7.5 to 10% of the breadth,
or, in absolute dimensions, to about 1.5 to 2.0 m, vertical
bending will keep its importance, but torsion will need spe-
cial consideration for structural design, almost as much as
in the case of full container ships. Consequently, a double
side shell structure is the most preferable solution, to en-
sure sufficient torsional rigidity. The other major advan-
tage of the full double hull is that it offers smooth, unre-
stricted inner hold surfaces and fully square-shaped hold
sections, and best possible stowage conditions, not only
for containers (without cell guides), but also for all types
of unitized cargoes and for dry bulk cargoes. Since tanks
provided by double shell side structure can be used as fuel
or ballast tanks, the inner shell and transverse tank end