Vessel Types Reference Guide
A searchable reference of the standard merchant vessel classes — bulk carriers, container ships, tankers and specialized vessels — with typical capacity ranges and what each is built to carry.
TEU = Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit · DWT = Deadweight Tonnage (cargo + fuel + stores + crew capacity, in metric tons) · m³ = cubic meters of tank capacity.
Choosing the Right Vessel Size
Capacity ranges shown are approximate, standard chartering size classes — exact cutoffs vary slightly between brokers, class societies and shipping publications, and individual vessels can fall outside the typical range for their class. Confirm exact particulars against the vessel's own certificate for a specific fixture.
How ships are measured
- DWT (deadweight tonnage) — how much a ship can carry in metric tons, including cargo, fuel, water, stores and crew. Used for bulk carriers and tankers.
- TEU capacity — how many twenty-foot containers a container ship can carry. A 40ft container counts as 2 TEU.
- Gross tonnage (GT) — a measure of the ship's total enclosed volume, used for port dues, canal fees and regulation. It is not a weight.
- Draft — how deep the hull sits in the water. It decides which ports and canals a ship can use, and changes with the load.
Merchant vessel classes at a glance
| Class | Type | Typical size | What it carries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coaster | Bulk carrier | Up to ~10,000 DWT | Small coastal bulker/general cargo ship serving short-sea and regional trades between smaller ports with limited draft. |
| Handysize | Bulk carrier | ~10,000 to 35,000 DWT | Flexible, geared (self-cranes) bulker able to call at ports lacking shore cranes; common for grain, minor bulks and steel products. |
| Handymax | Bulk carrier | ~35,000 to 50,000 DWT | Larger geared bulker covering the same flexible trades as Handysize with greater cargo intake. |
| Supramax | Bulk carrier | ~50,000 to 60,000 DWT | Geared bulker optimized for grain and minor bulk cargoes, prized for strong port flexibility. |
| Ultramax | Bulk carrier | ~60,000 to 65,000 DWT | The largest of the modern geared, self-loading bulker classes; an evolution of the Supramax design. |
| Panamax (Bulk) | Bulk carrier | ~60,000 to 80,000 DWT | Sized to transit the original Panama Canal locks; a long-standing workhorse for coal and grain cargoes. |
| Kamsarmax | Bulk carrier | ~80,000 to 85,000 DWT | Panamax-beam vessel stretched to the maximum length allowed at the bauxite port of Kamsar, Guinea. |
| Post-Panamax (Bulk) | Bulk carrier | ~85,000 to 120,000 DWT | Too large for the original Panama Canal locks; common in coal and iron ore trades. |
| Capesize | Bulk carrier | ~150,000 to 400,000 DWT | The largest mainstream bulker class, historically too big for Panama/Suez and routed around the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn; dedicated to iron ore and coal. |
| Valemax | Bulk carrier | Up to ~400,000+ DWT | Ultra-large ore carriers built for Vale's dedicated Brazil-to-Asia/Europe iron ore trade — among the largest dry bulk ships ever built. |
| Feeder | Container ship | Up to ~1,000 TEU | Small containership shuttling boxes between smaller regional ports and major transshipment hubs. |
| Feedermax | Container ship | ~1,000 to 2,000 TEU | Larger feeder class covering longer regional or intra-Asia/intra-Mediterranean routes. |
| Panamax (Container) | Container ship | ~3,000 to 5,000 TEU | Sized to the original Panama Canal lock dimensions (beam around 32.3m) — the historic backbone size before canal expansion. |
| Post-Panamax | Container ship | ~5,000 to 10,000 TEU | Too wide or long for the original Panama Canal locks; common on major East-West trades before the 2016 canal expansion. |
| New Panamax (Neopanamax) | Container ship | ~10,000 to 14,500 TEU | Sized to the expanded 2016 Panama Canal locks (beam around 49m), now a common Asia-US East Coast size. |
| ULCS (Ultra Large Container Ship) | Container ship | ~14,500 to 24,000+ TEU | The largest boxships afloat, deployed mainly on Asia-Europe headhaul trades to maximize economies of scale. |
| General Purpose (GP) Tanker | Tanker | ~10,000 to 25,000 DWT | Small product/chemical tanker for short-haul and regional fuel and chemical trades. |
| MR / Handysize Tanker | Tanker | ~25,000 to 45,000 DWT | Medium Range tanker — the most common product tanker class, carrying refined fuels worldwide. |
| LR1 (Panamax Tanker) | Tanker | ~45,000 to 80,000 DWT | Long Range 1 product/crude tanker, sized near the original Panama Canal dimensions. |
| LR2 (Aframax) | Tanker | ~80,000 to 120,000 DWT | Long Range 2 tanker — the workhorse crude/product carrier for regional and medium-haul routes. |
| Suezmax | Tanker | ~120,000 to 200,000 DWT | The largest tanker class able to transit the Suez Canal fully laden. |
| VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) | Tanker | ~200,000 to 320,000 DWT | Dedicated long-haul crude oil carrier, the mainstay of Middle East-to-Asia crude trade. |
| ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier) | Tanker | ~320,000 to 550,000 DWT | The largest tankers ever built, now rare, reserved for the longest-haul crude routes. |
| Chemical Tanker | Tanker | Typically ~5,000 to 40,000 DWT | Coated or stainless-steel segregated tanks carrying multiple chemical cargoes on a single voyage. |
| LPG Carrier | Tanker | Typically ~20,000 to 80,000+ m³ | Pressurized or refrigerated tanks for transporting liquefied petroleum gas. |
| LNG Carrier | Tanker | Typically ~125,000 to 180,000+ m³ | Insulated membrane or Moss-type tanks carrying liquefied natural gas at around -162°C. |
| Asphalt / Bitumen Carrier | Tanker | Typically ~5,000 to 15,000 DWT | Heated tanks that keep bitumen liquid and pumpable for the duration of the voyage. |
| General Cargo Ship | Specialised / general cargo | Typically ~3,000 to 15,000 DWT | Mixed breakbulk cargo carrier, often self-geared with cranes for ports lacking shore-side equipment. |
| Multipurpose (MPP) Vessel | Specialised / general cargo | Varies by design | Combines general/breakbulk cargo, project cargo, and sometimes container capacity on one flexible hull. |
| Ro-Ro (Roll-on/Roll-off) | Specialised / general cargo | Measured in lane meters / CEU | Carries wheeled cargo — vehicles, trailers, heavy machinery — driven directly on and off via ramps. |
| Reefer Ship | Specialised / general cargo | Measured in cubic feet (refrigerated) | Dedicated refrigerated vessel for perishables, largely supplemented today by reefer containers carried on containerships. |
| Heavy-Lift Ship | Specialised / general cargo | Crane capacity often several hundred to 2,000+ tonnes | Carries oversized or overweight project cargo such as turbines, cranes and pre-fabricated modules. |
| Livestock Carrier | Specialised / general cargo | Measured in head of cattle/sheep | Purpose-built ventilated decks with feed and water systems for transporting live animals. |
| Wood Chip Carrier | Specialised / general cargo | Large-volume, low-density holds | Carries bulk wood chips for the pulp and paper industry, with holds sized for low-density cargo. |
Size bands are indicative; the names describe market segments, and exact limits vary between sources and over time.
Why vessel size matters to shippers
Size names such as Panamax, Suezmax and Capesize come from the canals and routes a ship can use. Larger ships lower the cost per ton, but only certain ports have the depth and cranes to handle them, so cargo for smaller ports often moves on feeder vessels or through a transshipment hub. Check port limits in the world sea ports directory and the carriers serving a route in the shipping line directory.
Frequently asked questions
What does Panamax mean?
Panamax is the largest size of ship that fits the original locks of the Panama Canal. The larger locks opened in 2016 created the New Panamax (Neopanamax) class, which can carry far more cargo.
What is a Suezmax ship?
The largest ship that can pass through the Suez Canal fully loaded. The term is mostly used for tankers, typically of about 120,000–200,000 DWT.
What is the difference between a VLCC and a ULCC?
Both are very large crude oil tankers. A VLCC (very large crude carrier) is roughly 200,000–320,000 DWT; a ULCC (ultra large crude carrier) is larger still.
Why is a ship called Capesize?
Capesize bulk carriers are too large for the older canal locks, so they historically sailed around the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. They carry iron ore and coal in very large parcels.
What is DWT?
Deadweight tonnage: the total weight a ship can carry, including cargo, fuel, fresh water, stores and crew, measured in metric tons.