A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually specially designed for the task, often being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload, and come in all sizes. Today, they are almost always built of welded steel, and with some exceptions generally have a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years before being scrapped.
A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have led to continued development of these ships, resulting in increased size and sophistication. Today's bulk carriers are specially designed to maximize capacity, safety, efficiency, and durability.
Capesize ships are the largest dry cargo ships with ball mark dimension: about 170.000 DWT capacity, 290 m long, 45 m beam (wide), 18m draught. They are too large to transit the Suez Canal or Panama Canal, and so have to pass either the Cape Agulhas or Cape Horn to traverse between oceans.
The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of East Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the world's busiest port by annual cargo tonnage. It was overtaken first in 2004 by the port of Singapore, and since then by Shanghai and other very large Chinese seaports. In 2020, Rotterdam was the world's tenth-largest container port in terms of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) handled. In 2017, Rotterdam was also the world's tenth-largest cargo port in terms of annual cargo tonnage.
MS Berge Istra was a ship owned by Norwegian shipping company Sig.ö Bergesen d.y. and registered in Liberia, an ore-bulk-oil carrier with 227,550 tonnes deadweight (DWT). She was carrying ore from Brazil to Japan, and returning with crude oil from the Persian Gulf to Europe or America. The ship had build number 296 at the Uljanik shipyard in the port city Pula in then SFR Yugoslavia where it was built in 1972.
MS Berge Vanga was an ore-bulk-oil carrier with 227,912 tonnes deadweight (DWT). The ship was owned by Norwegian shipping company Sig. Bergesen d.y. and registered in Liberia. The ship had build number 300 at the Uljanik shipyard in the port city Pula in Croatia where it was built in 1974.
Handysize is a naval architecture term for smaller bulk carriers or oil tanker with deadweight of up to 50,000 tonnes, although there is no official definition in terms of exact tonnages. Handysize is also sometimes used to refer to the span of up to 60,000 tons, with the vessels above 35,000 tonnes referred to as Handymax or Supramax.
An ore-bulk-oil carrier, also known as combination carrier or OBO, is a ship designed to be capable of carrying wet or dry cargoes. The idea is to reduce the number of empty (ballast) voyages, in which large ships only carry a cargo one way and return empty for another. These are a feature of the larger bulk trades.
Chinamax is a standard of ship measurements that allow conforming ships to use various harbours when fully laden, the maximum size of such a ship being 24 m (79 ft) draft, 65 m (213 ft) beam and 360 m (1,180 ft) length overall. An example of ships of this size is the Valemax bulk carriers.
MS Ore Brasil, previously known as Vale Brasil, is a very large ore carrier owned by the Brazilian mining company Vale. She is the first of seven 400,000-ton very large ore carriers (VLOC) ordered by Vale from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea and twelve from Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries in China, which are designed to carry iron ore from Brazil to Asia along the Cape route around South Africa. While close to the specifications of Chinamax, these ships are generally referred to as Valemax vessels by Vale. They are the largest bulk carriers ever built.
Valemax ships are a fleet of very large ore carriers (VLOC) owned or chartered by the Brazilian mining company Vale S.A. to carry iron ore from Brazil to European and Asian ports. With a capacity ranging from 380,000 to 400,000 tons deadweight, the vessels meet the Chinamax standard of ship measurements for limits on draft and beam. Valemax ships are the largest bulk carriers ever constructed, when measuring deadweight tonnage or length overall, and are amongst the longest ships of any type currently in service.
MV Vale Rio de Janeiro, owned by the Brazilian mining company Vale, is one of the world's largest very large ore carriers and a sister ship of Vale Brasil. Designed to carry iron ore from Brazil to Asia along the Cape route around South Africa, she is the second of seven 400,000-tonne very large ore carriers (VLOC) ordered by Vale from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in South Korea and twelve from Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries in China. While close to the specifications of Chinamax, these ships are generally referred to as Valemax vessels by Vale.
Algoma Mariner is a Canadian lake freighter delivered to Algoma Central on 31 May 2011. The bulk carrier was the first new Canadian-flagged vessel on the Great Lakes in 25 years. Algoma Mariner is a Seawaymax vessel, designed to carry dry bulk through the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes. The vessel was constructed at the Chengxi Shipyard in China and is currently in service.
The Eurogeul or Euromaasgeul is a channel dug in the North Sea in conjunction with the Port of Rotterdam. It has a length of 57 km and a depth of 23 meters.
MS Nordic Orion is a Danish bulk carrier registered in Panama City. A coal and ore carrier, Nordic Orion has a capacity of 75,603 tonnes deadweight (DWT). It was built in 2011 by Oshima Shipbuilding. Nordic Orion has an ice-strengthened hull, and it is notable for being the first large sea freighter to transit the Arctic Northwest Passage. It is owned and operated by Nordic Bulk Carriers.
Algoma Progress was a self-unloading lake freighter and bulk carrier operating on the North American Great Lakes, owned by Algoma Central. Launched in 1968, the ship was originally named Canadian Progress and operated by the Upper Lakes Shipping. At launch, the ship was the largest self-unloading vessel on the Great Lakes. Canadian Progress was used to transport coal, iron ore, barley and road salt on the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway. Canadian Progress ran aground twice, the first in 1985 and then again in 1988. In 2011, Upper Lakes Shipping sold its entire fleet to Algoma Central, which renamed the vessel Algoma Progress. In 2014, Algoma Progress was sold for scrap and broken up at Port Colborne, Ontario.
Nunavik is an icebreaking bulk carrier owned and operated by the Canadian shipping company Fednav. She is used to transport copper and nickel from the Nunavik Nickel Project, making 7–8 round trips per year.
MV Stellar Daisy was a South Korean-owned very large ore carrier (VLOC) that sank on March 31, 2017 in the South Atlantic off the coast of Uruguay while on a voyage from Brazil to China. She was the largest ship, by a factor of nearly 2 on gross tonnage, to be lost at sea.
