REGIONAL MARITIME UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT

M.A. PORTS AND SHIPPING ADMINISTRATION

SHIP MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

(COMMERCIAL)

Lecturer: Mr. Michael Dzikunu.

Ship Tonnage Ranges.

Victor Ose Moses

Index Number: MPS0005321

18th March 2022

 TONNAGE RANGES FOR SHIPS
Introduction
Merchant ships are sometimes classified on the basis of their sizes and area of
operation. The classification of a ship is decided at the design stage on the basis of
the route of operation, the purpose of the ship and the Ports she can berth.
A ship’s dimensional specification play an important part in determining the areas of
operation or the commercial routes for that type of merchant vessel.
Below is a description of some Ship types based to their sizes.

SUEZMAX
The term SUEZMAX refers to the largest vessel that can pass through the 193 km
long artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt named The Suez Canal, which connects
the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. This canal provides the shortest maritime
route between Europe and the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans.
A typical SUEZMAX vessel has maximum tonnage range of 120,000 to 240,000 tons
deadweight, considering the dimensional characteristics of the Suez Canal.
Dimensional Characteristics of Suez Canal:
Overall Canal Length = 193.3 Kilometres
Width at Water Surface = 313 Meters
Width at 11m Depth = 225 Meters
With at Bottom = 121 Meters
Cross Sectional Area = 5200 m2
Maximum Water Depth = 24 Meters
Minimum Water Depth = 22 Meters
Allowable Ship Draft = 20.1 Meters
Allowable Air Draft = 68 Meters
SUEZ CANAL CROSS SECTIONAL AREA

With the above specification, the Suez Canal Authority allows passage of ships that
has a maximum draft of 20.1 meters, a beam with maximum width of 77.5 meters,
maximum length of 275 meters and maximum air draft (maximum height from
waterline) of 68 meters. The air draft requirement is necessitated due to the
presence of The Suez Canal overhead Bridge crossing the canal at El-Qantara.
Another bridge crossing the canal is the El-Ferdan Railway Swing Bridge which does
not hinder vessel passage due to its design, though currently out of service because
of the canal expansion activities.

PANAMAX and NEW-PANAMAX

PANAMAX is a term used to refer to ships that have the maximum acceptable size to
travel through the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal is an 80 kilometres long
artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific
Ocean. The Panama Canal greatly reduces ships travel time between the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans.
The Panama Canal uses a system of Locks. Locks are compartments with entrance
and exit gates which functions as water lifts, similar to a drydock.
The locks raise the ship from sea level (either Pacific or Atlantic side) to the level of
Gatun Lake which is 26 meters above sea level, allowing ships to navigate through
the channel of the Canal.
The size of a Panamax vessel is determined by considering the dimensions of the
Panama Canal Locks. In 2016, new locks were built and commissioned, new
channels were also excavated to connect the new locks, to accommodate larger
vessels which are referred to as New-Panamax or NeoPanamax vessels.
DIMENSIONAL SPECIFICATION OF PANAMA CANAL LOCKS AND SHIP SIZES
Locks Panamax New Locks NeoPanamax

Length 304.80 m 294.13 m 427 m 370.33 m

Width 33.53 m 32.31 m 55.0 m 51.25 m

Draft TFW 12.56 m 12.04 m 18.3 m 15.24 m

Air Draft 57.91 m 57.91 m

Considering the table of illustration above, the allowable dimension for ships to
transit through the Panamax Locks are; beam with maximum width of 32.31 meters,
maximum length of 294.13 meters, maximum Air draft of 57.91 meters (to
compensate for overhead bridges crossing the canal) and maximum draft of 12.04
meters of tropical fresh water, taking into account that the Gatun Lake is a fresh
water lake where the canal locks are filled from.
A NeoPanamax vessel expands the allowable limits up to a beam with maximum
width of 51.25 meters, maximum length of 370.33 meters and a maximum draft of
15.24 meters.
Panamax vessels with the described dimensional characteristics have maximum
tonnage range of 50,000 to 80,000 tons deadweight, while NeoPanamax vessels
have maximum tonnage range of 80,000 to 120,000 tons deadweight.
AFRAMAX
Aframax refers to a class of medium sized Oil Tanker Ships larger than Panamax but
smaller than Suezmax vessels.
The name Aframax is derived from “AFRA” (Average Freight Rate Assessment), a
standardised tanker rate system created by the renowned conglomerate company
Shell Oil in 1954, to standardise shipping contract terms.
Aframax vessels are in the range of 80,000 to 120,000 tons deadweight.
A typical Aframax vessel draft vary by vessel but are usually in the range of 14.5 to
15.5 meters. The beam is usually about 32.5 meters wide.
Due to the medium size of Aframax tankers, they are mainly used to serve in regions
that do not have very large port facilities, or offshore oil terminals where very large
crude carriers and ultra-large crude carriers cannot be accommodated because of
their large sizes. Aframax tankers are best used for short to medium-haul crude oil
and refined products transportation.

CAPESIZE
Capesize refers to vessels whose size does not allow them to travel through the
Panama and Suez canals. They have to pass through the Cape Horn in South
America or the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, hence their name is derived from
the route they take to complete their voyage.
They are mostly bulk carriers used to transport materials such as iron ore or coal to
deep-water terminals because of their large sizes and deep drafts. There are few
ports that have the infrastructure to accommodate them when fully loaded. They are
usually about 230 to 270 meters long with a draft of about 16 to 18 meters.
Capesize vessels have a tonnage range of 150,000 to 200,000 tons deadweight and
form a majority of bulk carrier ships, which also include Very Large Bulk Carriers
(VLBC) and Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC) with more than 200,000 tons DWT.
Presently, new ship sizes with up to 400,000 tons DWT are also classified under the
Capesize vessel category.

VLCC
The abbreviation VLCC stand for Very Large Crude Carriers. They are supertanker
ships with tonnage range of 150,000 to 320,000 tons deadweight, with a length of
about 330 meters and can carry about two million barrels of crude at a time.
VLCC ships cannot go through the Panama or Suez Canals. They are draft limited
and mostly used on offshore installations, sometimes requires terminals that are
specifically built for them. Depth limitation are usually avoided by transferring
cargoes into smaller ships (like Aframax seized ships) to complete deliveries.
They are suitable for transporting crude in areas such as the Mediterranean, West
Africa and the North Sea.
ULCC
The abbreviation ULCC stand for Ultra Large Crude Carriers. They are the largest
and longest class of Oil Tanker ships today, used exclusively for crude oil shipping.
They are larger than VLCC vessels with a tonnage range of 320,000 to 565,000 tons
deadweight and length of about 415 meters.
They cannot go through the Panama or Suez Canals. They are also draft limited and
requires terminals that are specifically built for them because of their enormous
sizes.
ULCC ships, also known as Supertankers are typically used to cover long-haul routes
from the Middle East to Europe, East Asia and North America through the Cape of
Good Hope or the Strait of Malacca.

Conclusion
Ships are designed to overcome geographical barriers, adapt to certain routes and to
optimise the transport of specific type of cargo. It is therefore essential to have
expert logistic knowledge of the pros and cons of different types of ships to suit
different needs.

References:
https://www.suezcanal.gov.eg
https://pancanal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/N01-2022.pdf
Reeds 21st Century Ship Management, by Capt. J.W. Dickie