SOME INTERESTING SHIPPING TERMS

CAPESIZE VESSELS
 Capesize ships are cargo ships originally too large to transit the Suez Canal (i.e., larger than both panamax and suezmax vessels). To travel between oceans, such vessels used to have to pass either the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Vessels this size can now transit the Suez Canal as long as they meet the draft restriction (18.91m as of 2008)

Capesize vessels are typically above 150,000 long tons deadweight (DWT), and ships in this class include VLCC and ULCC supertankers and bulk carriers transporting coal, ore, and other commodity raw materials. The term "capesize" is most commonly used to describe bulk carriers rather than tankers. A standard capesize bulker is around 175,000 DWT, although larger ships (normally dedicated to ore transportation) have been built, up to 400,000 DWT. The large dimensions and deep drafts of such vessels mean that only the largest deep water terminals can accommodate them.

 

SUEZMAX VESSELS
 Suezmax is a naval architecture term for the largest ships capable of transiting the Suez Canal fully loaded, and is almost exclusively used in reference to tankers. Since the canal has no locks, the only serious limiting factors are draft (maximum depth below waterline), and height due to the Suez Canal Bridge. The current channel depth of the canal allows for a maximum of 16 m (53 ft) of draft, meaning many fully laden supertankers are too deep to fit through, and either have to unload part of their cargo to other ships ('transhipment') or to a pipeline terminal before passing through, or alternatively avoid the Suez Canal and travel around the Cape of Good Hope instead. Currently, the canal is being deepened to 18–20 m.

The typical deadweight of a Suezmax ship is about 150,000 tons and typically has a beam (width) of 46 m (151 ft). Also of note is the maximum head room - 'air draft' - limitation of 68 meters, which is the height above water of the Suez Canal Bridge. There is also a width limitation of 70.1 meters (230 ft), but only a handful of tankers exceed this size, and they are excluded from Suez by their draft in any case. The canal authority produces tables of width and acceptable draft, which are subject to change.

Suez Canal Bridge or Mubarak Peace Bridge Improvements are envisaged so that in 2010, the maximum draft will increase to 22 m, in order to allow supertankers. At the moment, supertankers must discharge part of their cargo at the entry of the channel and reload it at the other end, transported along the way by pipeline.

AFRAMAX VESSELS
An Aframax ship is an oil tanker with capacity between 80,000 metric tons deadweight (DWT) and 120,000 DWT. Aframax class tankers are largely used in the basins of the Black Sea, the North Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the China Sea and the Mediterranean. Non-OPEC exporting countries may require the use of Aframax tankers because the harbors and canals through which these countries export their oil are too small to accommodate very-large crude carriers (VLCC) and ultra-large crude carriers (ULCCs). The term is based on the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA) tanker rate system.

 

 

PANAMAX VESSELS
"Panamax" ships are of the maximum dimensions that will fit through the locks of the Panama Canal. This size is determined by the dimensions of the lock chambers, and the depth of the water in the canal. An increasing number of ships are built precisely to the Panamax limit, in order to transport the maximum amount of cargo in a single vessel. A lot of bulk merchandise, such as grain products, are moved primarily on Panamax (or sub-Panamax) ships.

The increasing prevalence of vessels of the maximum size is a problem for the canal. A Panamax ship is a tight fit that requires precise control of the vessel in the locks, possibly resulting in longer lock time, and requiring that these ships be transited in daylight. Because the largest ships cannot pass safely within the Gaillard Cut, the canal effectively operates an alternating one-way system for these ships.

Panamax is determined principally by the dimensions of the canal's lock chambers, each of which is 33.53 metres (110 ft) wide by 320.0 metres (1050 ft) long, and 25.9 metres (85 ft) deep. The usable length of each lock chamber is 304.8 metres (1000 ft). The available water depth in the lock chambers varies, but the shallowest depth is at the south sill of the Pedro Miguel Locks and is 12.55 metres (41.2 ft) at a Miraflores Lake level of 16.61 metres (54 feet 6 in). The height of the Bridge of the Americas at Balboa is the limiting factor on a vessel's overall height.

The maximum dimensions allowed for a ship transiting the canal are:

A Panamax cargo ship would typically have a displacement of around 65,000 tons

HANDYSIZE VESSELS
Although there is no official definition in terms of exact tonnages, Handysize most usually refers to a dry bulk vessel (or, less commonly, to a product tanker) with deadweight of about 15,000–35,000 tons. Above this size are Handymax bulkers (typically 35,000 - 58,000 tons deadweight); there is no well-defined or widely accepted size sector below 15,000 tons.

Handysize is numerically the most common size of bulk carrier, with nearly 2000 units in service totalling about 43 million tons. Handysize ships are very flexible because their size allows them to enter smaller ports, and in most cases they are 'geared' - i.e. fitted with cranes - which means that they can load and discharge cargoes at ports which lack cranes or other cargo handling systems. Compared to larger bulk carriers, handysizes carry a wider variety of cargo types. These include steel products, grain, metal ores, phosphate, cement, logs, woodchips and other types of so-called 'break bulk cargo'.

Handysize bulkers are built mainly by shipyards in Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines and India, though a few other countries also have the capacity to build such vessels. The most common industry-standard specification handysize bulker is now about 32,000 mt deadweight on a summer draft of about 10.0 metres, and features 5 cargo holds with hydraulically operated hatch covers, with four 30 metric ton cranes for cargo handling. Some handysizes are also fitted with stanchions to enable logs to be loaded in stacks on deck. Such vessels are often referred to as 'handy loggers'.

Despite multiple recent orders for new ships, the dysize sector still has the highest average age profile of the major bulk carrier sectors.

Handymax or Supramax is a naval architecture term for a bulk carrier, typically between 35,000 and 60,000 metric tons deadweight (DWT).

A handymax ship is typically 150-200 meters (492-656 feet) in length, though certain bulk terminal restrictions, such as those in Japan, mean that many handymax ships are just under 190 meters in overall length. Modern handymax designs are typically 52,000-58,000 DWT in size, have five cargo holds, and four cranes of 30 metric ton lifting capacity.