Guide to Cargo Ships Types & Sizes

A lot of world’s cargo is transported on container ships. The container ship fleet has increased by 58% between 2000 and 2019. The reason is simple: containers are much cheaper than big bulk carriers.

There are many different types of ships that journey across the world’s oceans, each with its own purpose. There are various logistical reasons that certain types of ships are better for transporting one type of cargo than another. There are even more types of freight ships - such as ones dedicated to certain kinds of cargo or built to a specific standard - but let’s keep things light today and take a closer look at the world of container shipping, where we find out how it all started and what its current position is in the market share. 

Container Vessels: A Brief History

On April 26th, 1955, the first container vessel, the Ideal X, made its maiden voyage from Newark, New Jersey to Houston, Texas on a tanker ship. During its voyage, it transported about 60 containers. 

Over the last few years, containerships with the biggest capacities have been able to transport more than 20,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. It's amazing to see how large containerships have become with the increase in technology. When more cargo can be loaded on one ship, efficiency increases, and carbon dioxide emissions decrease. A containership's popularity stems from its multimodal nature, including its ability to be loaded onto a truck or be transported by rail. Thanks to the widespread availability of cranes in major ports worldwide, it is now easier and faster to load containerships.

Due to the way modern containerships are divided into bays using cell guides (also known as cellular ships), crane operators can fit 20- and 40-foot containers into hold areas. Consequently, loading is efficient and rapid. After container loading, 45-foot containers are then stored on top of the deck of the vessel.

 Container vessels may be divided into several categories by their design elements, but it is important to mention that some of them may have cranes. This structure is known as a geared ship (as opposed to a gearless ship that does not have a crane) or a lift-on/lift-off ship (LoLo). Furthermore, Lo Lo containerships are becoming rarer as more remote ports are being built, so they can travel to remote ports without cranes. 

These days, modern containerships all feature an automatic identification system (AIS) that enables them to be tracked electronically. This device will share your ship's GPS coordinates with another vessel, reducing the risk of collision between your ship and another vessel. In bad weather conditions, the device will keep your ship visible. It is also capable of providing track & trace services like myDHLi. 

Additional Key Vessel Types

A cargo ship is classified according to the type of cargo it carries, it's packaging or its boarding method.

• Cargo and breakbulk vessels
• Floats
• Ro/Ro vessels
• Multi-Purpose Vessels
• Reefer / refrigerated ships

 Typically, containership capacities are measured in TEUs, beginning with feeder's vessels and ranging up to Ultra-Large Container Vessels (UCVs). 

A ship's size determines its efficiency because it can load more containers on it, but that is not all. As critical to efficient seaborne cargo transportation as operating in certain terminals or navigating the Panama or Suez canals.

At the moment, Rotterdam and Singapore are the only ports that are equipped to handle ultra-large container vessels. Despite the existing restrictions, even giant Panamax vessels will not be able to dock in certain ports. The deepwater ports can accommodate vessels that are much larger or loaded than regular ports, which can only accommodate vessels less than 6 meters in depth. Feeder's vessels are crucial for maintaining good communications between terminals, as discussed above.

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