Cargo Ship - Types

Types

Cargo ships/freighters can be divided into four groups, according to the type of cargo they carry. These groups are:

1. General Cargo Vessels
2. Tankers
3. Dry-bulk Carriers
4. Multipurpose Vessels
5. Reefer Ships

General Cargo Vessels carry packaged items like chemicals, foods, furniture, machinery, motor vehicles, footwear, garments, etc.

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.

A Reefer (or Refrigerated) ship is specifically designed and used for shipping perishable commodities which require temperature-controlled, mostly fruits, meat, fish, vegetables, dairy products and other foodstuffs.

Specialized types of cargo vessels include container ships and bulk carriers (technically tankers of all sizes are cargo ships, although they are routinely thought of as a separate category). Cargo ships fall into two further categories that reflect the services they offer to industry: liner and tramp services. Those on a fixed published schedule and fixed tariff rates are cargo liners. Tramp ships do not have fixed schedules. Users charter them to haul loads. Generally, the smaller shipping companies and private individuals operate tramp ships. Cargo liners run on fixed schedules published by the shipping companies. Each trip a liner takes is called a voyage. Liners mostly carry general cargo. However, some cargo liners may carry passengers also. A cargo liner that carries 12 or more passengers is called a combination or passenger-cum-cargo line.