Cargo Ships

Metric and U.S. Equivalents

1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour = 6076 feet per
hour = 1851,9648 m per hour
1 feet = 0.3048 m
1 barrel of crude oil = 41 gallons (U.S.)
1 gallon = 231 cubic inches= 5,615 cubic feet
1 cubic inch = 16,387 cubic centimetres
1 cubic centimetre = 0.061 cubic inch
1 short ton = 2000 lb = 907,18474 kg
1 long ton = 2,240 pounds (lbs)
 Ships
Bulk Carriers: All vessels designed to carry
bulk cargo such as grain, fertilizers, ore, and
oil.
Combination Passenger and Cargo Ships:
Ships with a capacity for 13 or more
passengers.
Freighters: Break bulk vessels both
refrigerated and un refrigerated,
containerships, partial containerships, roll
on/roll off vessels, and barge carriers.
 1
Ships
Barge Carriers: Ships designed to carry
barges; some are fitted to act as full
containerships and can carry a varying
number of barges and containers at the
same time.
At present this class includes two types of
vessels LASH (Lighter Above Ship) and
Sea-Bee.
 2
General Cargo Carriers: Break bulk
freighters, car carriers, cattle carriers, pallet
carriers and timber carriers.
Full Containerships: Ships equipped with
permanent container cells, with little or no
space for other types of cargo.
Partial Containerships: Multipurpose
containerships where one or more but not all
compartments are fitted with permanent
container cells. Remaining compartments
are used for other types of cargo.
 3

Roll-on/Roll-off vessels: Ships specially

designed to carry wheeled containers or
trailers using interior ramps.
Tankers: Ships fitted with tanks to carry
liquid cargo such as: crude petroleum and
petroleum products; chemicals, Liquefied
gasses (LNG and LPG), wine, molasses,
and similar product tankers.
 Principal dimensions
The length can be the length overall (LOA) or the
length between perpendiculars (LBP) at the water
line.
The depth is measured from the keel to the upper
continuous deck.
The draft (Pescaggio a pieno carico) is measured
from the keel to the water line of the loaded ship.
The beam is the width of the ship.
The front of the ship is the bows, the rear the
stern.
Ship dimensions
Tonnage, deadweight and barrels
The tonnage (stazza) of a ship is not a
weight, but a volume.
The total internal volume of a ship is its
gross tonnage (stazza lorda), and if we
subtract all the volume not used for cargo,
we get the net tonnage (stazza netta).
Tanker capacities are stated in terms of
cargo deadweight tonnage (DWT) or barrels
(BBL).
 La stazza
Misura del volume di una imbarcazione, si distinguono:
Stazza lorda comprende tutti i volumi interni della
nave, compresi gli spazi della sala
macchine, dei serbatoi carburante, le
zone riservate all'equipaggio. Si misura
partendo dalla superficie esterna delle
paratie.
Stazza netta totale dei volumi adibiti al trasporto del
carico pagante. Non comprende quindi
la parte di impianti e di servizi della
nave, e si misura dalla superficie interna
dei vani.
 Deadweight
CARGO DEADWEIGHT - Capacity is
determined by deducting from total
deadweight the weight of fuel, water, stores,
dunnage, crew passengers, and other items
necessary for use on a voyage.
DEADWEIGHT - The total lifting capacity of
a ship expressed in tons of 2240 lbs. It is the
difference between the displacement light
and the displacement loaded.
 Measures of Ship Capacity.
BALE CUBIC. The internal volume,
measured in cubic feet, of the below-deck
cargo compartments available for general or
"package" cargo.
SQUARE FOOTAGE. The total of those
deck areas that are considered usable for
the stowage of cargo.
LIQUID VOLUME. The total internal volume
of the ship's liquid cargo tanks, expressed in
standard barrels (BBLs) of 42 US gallons.
 Displacement (dislocamento)
DISLOCAMENTO - peso di una nave espresso in
tonnellate, corrispondente al peso dell’acqua
spostata dalla parte immersa dello scafo
DISPLACEMENT, LIGHT - The weight of the ship
excluding cargo, fuel, ballast, stores, passengers,
crew.
DISPLACEMENT, LOADED - The weight of the
ship including cargo, passengers, fuel, water,
stores, dunnage and such other items necessary
for use on a voyage, which brings the ship down to
her load draft.
 Broken Stowage
It is the cargo space left unoccupied after the ship is
considered “fully” loaded.
This occurs because cargo sizes and shapes do not
conform to those of the ship’s cargo compartments and
because of the space required for cargo bracing and tie-
down to prevent shifting and damage during the voyage.
It is expressed as a percentage of the total volume
available for cargo stowage (bale cubic).
For general cargo, broken stowage is normally estimated to
be 25 percent, indicating that the cargo actually occupies
75 percent of the volume of the holds in which it has been
stowed, even though the holds may be “full.”
 Stowage factor
It is the number of cubic m (ft3) occupied by long ton (LT)
(2,240 pounds (lbs)) of any given cargo, without allowance for
broken stowage.
For a given item or commodity, it is computed as follows:
Stowage factor (ft3/LT) = Cargo Density (lb/ft3) / 2,240 (lb/LT)
The stowage factor, in combination with the estimated
percentage of broken stowage, can be used to estimate either
the space required for loading a given cargo, or the amount of
cargo that can be loaded aboard a given ship.
It also can be used to maximize the utilization of both the
cargo space (bale cubic) and weight capacity (cargo
deadweight) of available shipping.
 Types of Cargo Ships
The types are based on the Eurostat
classification (ICSTCOM) harmonised with the
UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development) International Classification:
Liquid bulk carrier
This category includes oil tanker, chemical
tanker, LG tanker, tanker barge and other
tankers. Liquid bulk carriers should be further
subdivided into
• Single hulled liquid bulk carriers
• Double hulled liquid bulk carriers
 Types of cargo ships
Dry bulk carrier
This category includes bulk/oil carriers and bulk
carriers.
Container ship
Ship fitted throughout with fixed or portable cell
guides for the exclusive carriage of containers.
 Types of cargo ships
Specialised carrier
Ship specially designed for the carriage of particular
cargoes.
This category includes vehicle carrier, livestock
carrier, fuel carrier, barge carrier and chemical
carrier.
 Types of cargo ships
General cargo non-specialised
Ships designed to carry a wide range of goods.
This category includes reefer, ro-ro passenger, ro-
ro container, other ro-ro cargo, combination carrier
general cargo/passenger and combination carrier
general cargo/container.
This category should be subdivided into:
• High speed general cargo non-specialised
• Other general cargo non-specialised
 Types of cargo ships
Dry cargo barge (chiatta)
This category includes deck barges, hopper barges,
lash-seabee barges, open dry cargo barges,
covered dry cargo barges and other dry cargo
barges.
 Types of Dry Cargo Ships
• Breakbulk
• Roll-On/Roll-Off Ships
• Containerships
• Barge Ships
– Lighter Aboard Ship
– Seabarge
– Ocean-Going Barges
• Dry Bulk Carriers
• Float-On/Float-Off
 Breakbulk
The term “breakbulk ships” refers to ships
characterized by large open hatches and fitted with
boom-and-winch gear or deck cranes.
They are primarily used at ports, which either
because of low cargo volumes or local economic
factors, lack the modern facilities and inland
rail/highway connections required to support
efficient containership operations.
In competition with containerships, breakbulk ships
are no longer commercially viable.
 Breakbulk + and -
Advantages of general cargo or breakbulk ships
include flexibility in the load composition afforded
by open decks and multiple cargo holds and the
ability to discharge cargo without the use of
developed port facilities.
Disadvantages include time-consuming cargo
operations, the need for dunnage* to block and
brace pallets, and the requirement for large
numbers of trained personnel to load and unload.

* Loose packing material used to protect a ship's cargo

from damage during transport
Breakbulk ships
 Roll-On/Roll-Off Ships
A RO/RO ship is specifically designed to carry
wheeled and tracked vehicles as all or most of
its cargo.
Vehicles are driven or towed on and off the
ship by means of either the ship’s own ramps
or shore-based ramps.
It is designed to accommodate cargoes which
cannot be stacked and vary in height, below-
deck space and volume utilization is generally
less efficient than on a containership.
 Roll-On/Roll-Off Ships
Advantages of RO/RO ships include rapid
loading and discharge of vehicles and non-
self-deployable aircraft, and open deck
areas well suited to the carriage of outsized
cargo.
Disadvantages include their relative
unsuitability for carriage of sustaining
supplies (in comparison with general cargo
and containerships).
Large, Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-
off ships,
 Bulk carrier
An ocean-going vessel used to transport
bulk cargo items such as ferro or food
staples (rice, grain, etc.) and similar cargo.
It can be recognized by the large box-like
hatches on its deck, designed to slide
outboard for loading.
A bulk carrier could be either dry or wet.
Dry Cargo Ship
 Containerships
Containerships are specifically designed
to carry all of their cargo in standard
ocean shipping containers, which are
loaded into vertical “cells” below deck and
stacked and lashed on deck.
Some rely on shore-based cranes or tactical
auxiliary crane ships (T-ACS) for cargo
loading and discharge.
 Containerships
Standard ocean shipping containers are
weatherproof, made of steel or similar
material, constructed to withstand the high
forces and elements to which they may be
subjected in heavy seas, and usually
designed and sized to permit their efficient
interchange for connecting with intermodal
systems for inland rail or highway
movement.
 Containerships
Shipping containers are available in a
variety of configurations that include end
opening, side opening, half heights, open
top, flat rack, refrigerated, liquid bulk (tank).
Except in highly specialized trades, cargo
containers generally conform to
international standards.
Container ship
 Fast Sealift Ships
They are the fastest cargo ships in the world. The ships
can travel at speeds of up to 30 knots and are capable of
sailing from the U.S. East Coast to Europe in just six days,
and to the Persian Gulf via the Suez Canal in 18 days, thus
ensuring rapid delivery of equipment in a crisis.
The Fast Sealift Ships are roll-on/roll-off ships equipped
with on-board cranes and self-contained ramps which
enable the ships to off-load onto lighterage while anchored
at sea or in ports where shore facilities for unloading
equipment are unavailable.
The vessels are specially suited to transport heavy or bulky
unit equipment such as large wheeled vehicles and
helicopters.
Fast Sealift Ship
 Barge Ships
Barge ships are designed to carry specially
designed barges (lighters) or a combination of
such barges and containers.
Thus, they are necessarily large ships with a large
heavy lift capability.
Their design was intended to combine the flexibility
and self-sustained cargo handling capability of the
general cargo ship with the rapid port turnaround
time of the RO/RO and containership.
Barge Ship
 Float-On/Float-Off Ships
(FLO/FLO)
These specialized vessels, or semi submersible ships, provide
the capability to load, transport and offload outsized military
cargo independent of port equipment traditionally used for
handling large or extremely heavy cargo, such as tug boats,
barges, landing craft, floating cranes, and single anchor leg
mooring systems.
Lifts range from approximately 50 to as much as 45,000 tons.
These ships are designed to take on ballast water in floodable
tanks that partially submerges the vessel. Cargo is then floated
over the submerged portion of the vessel, which then deballasts
and surfaces under the cargo.
After the vessel is fully afloat, the cargo is secured for transport.
Float-On/Float-Off Ships
Float-On/Float-Off Ships
 Landing craft utility (LCU-1600
class)

Capacity Crew Length Speed Cargo Area Light Ramp

(stons) L x Max W Displ. (Width)
(x Min W) (tons)

160.0 12 135' 3" 12 kts lt 121'x25' 191.5 Bow 14'

(x 14') Stern 18'
Landing craft mechanized (LCM-8)

Capacity Crew Length Speed Cargo Area Light Ramp

(stons) L x Max W Displ. (Width)
(x Min W) (tons)

65.0 5 73' 7" 12 kts lt 42'9"x14'6" 67 14'6"

 Landing Craft Air Cushion

Capacity Crew Length Speed Cargo Area Light Ramp

(stons) L x Max W Displ. (Width)
(x Min W) (tons)
60.0 5 87' 11" 40 kts full 71'x27' 99 Bow 27‘ Stern 15'