Editing Cargo ship (section)

== Definitions ==
{{redirect|Freight liner|other uses|Freightliner (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Container Ship.jpg|thumb|A container ship unloading at [[Zanzibar]], [[Tanzania]]]]
[[File:MV American Tern at McMurdo Sound.jpg|thumb|A [[United States|US]] cargo ship off [[McMurdo Station]], [[Antarctica]]]]
[[File:Namibia (2007).jpg|thumb|General cargo ship ''Namibia'']]
{{Admiralty law}}The words ''cargo'' and ''freight'' have become interchangeable in casual usage. Technically, "cargo" refers to the goods carried aboard the ship for hire, while "freight" refers to the act of carrying of such cargo, but the terms have been used interchangeably for centuries.

Generally, the modern ocean shipping business is divided into two classes:
# [[File:Kapal kontainer meninggalkan pelabuhan.jpg|thumb|Container ship leaving port]]Liner business: typically (but not exclusively) container vessels (wherein "general cargo" is carried in {{convert|20|or|40|ft|m|adj=on}} containers), operating as "common carriers", calling at a regularly published schedule of ports. A common carrier refers to a regulated service where any member of the public may book cargo for shipment, according to long-established and internationally agreed rules.
# Tramp-tanker business: generally this is private business arranged between the shipper and receiver and facilitated by the vessel owners or operators, who offer their vessels for hire to carry bulk (dry or liquid) or break bulk (cargoes with individually handled pieces) to any suitable port(s) in the world, according to a specifically drawn contract, called a [[charter party]].

Larger cargo ships are generally operated by [[shipping line]]s: companies that specialize in the handling of cargo in general. Smaller vessels, such as [[Coastal trading vessel|coasters]], are often owned by their operators.

=== Types ===
{{See also|TK Bremen}}
Cargo ships/freighters can be divided into eight groups, according to the type of cargo they carry.  These groups are:
# [[Feeder ship]]
# General cargo vessels
# [[Container ship]]s
# [[Tanker (ship)|Tankers]]
# Dry [[bulk carrier]]s
# [[Multi-purpose vessel]]s
# [[Reefer ship]]s
# [[Roll-on/roll-off]] vessels.

==== Rough synopses of cargo ship types ====
# General cargo vessels carry packaged items like [[Chemical industry|chemicals]], foods, [[furniture]], machinery, [[Motor vehicle|motor-]] and [[Military vehicle|military vehicles]], footwear, garments, etc.
# [[Container ship]]s (sometimes spelled '''containerships''') are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size [[intermodal container]]s, in a technique called [[containerization]]. They are a common means of commercial [[intermodal freight transport]] and now carry most seagoing non-bulk cargo. Container ship capacity is measured in [[twenty-foot equivalent unit]]s (TEU).
# [[Tanker (ship)|Tankers]] carry [[petroleum]] products or other liquid cargo.
# Dry [[bulk carrier]]s carry [[coal]], [[grain]], [[ore]] and other similar products in loose form.
# [[Multi-purpose vessel]]s, as the name suggests, carry different classes of cargo – e.g. liquid and general cargo – at the same time.
# A Reefer, [[Reefer ship]]s (or Refrigerated) ship is specifically designed<ref>{{cite web |url=http://crosstree.info/Documents/reefer%20vessels.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090326013334/http://crosstree.info/Documents/reefer%20vessels.pdf |archive-date=March 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |title=Article: from publication on types of Reefer Ships by Capt. Pawanexh Kohli}}</ref> and used for shipping perishable commodities which require [[air conditioning|temperature-controlled]], mostly [[fruit]]s, [[meat]], [[fish]], [[vegetable]]s, [[dairy product]]s and other [[foodstuff]]s.
# Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels.
# Timber (Lumber) carriers that transport [[lumber]], [[Trunk (botany)|logs]] and related wood products.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/understanding-lumber-carrier-vessels/ |title=Understanding Lumber Carrier Vessels |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Marine Insight |date=July 13, 2021 |access-date=28 February 2024}}</ref>

==== Specialized cargo ship types ====
Specialized types of cargo vessels include [[container ship]]s and [[bulk carrier]]s (technically tankers of all [[supertanker|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-run-cargo line.

=== Size categories ===
Cargo ships are categorized partly by cargo or shipping capacity ([[tonnage]]), partly by weight ([[deadweight tonnage]] DWT), and partly by dimensions. Maximum dimensions such as length and width ([[Beam (nautical)|beam]]) limit the canal locks a ship can fit in, water depth ([[Draft (hull)|draft]]) is a limitation for canals, shallow straits or harbors and height is a limitation in order to pass under bridges. Common categories include:

* Dry cargo
** Small Handy size, carriers of 20,000–{{DWT|28,000}}
**[[Seawaymax]], {{DWT|28,000}} the largest vessel that can traverse the [[St Lawrence Seaway]]. These are vessels less than {{convert|740|ft|m|1|order=flip}} in length, {{convert|78|ft|m|1|order=flip}} wide, and have a draft less than {{convert|26.51|ft|m|2|order=flip}} and a height above the waterline no more than {{convert|35.5|m}}.
** [[Handysize|Handy size]], carriers of 28,000–{{DWT|40,000}}
** [[Handymax]], carriers of 40,000–{{DWT|50,000}}
** [[Panamax]], the largest size that can traverse the original locks of the [[Panama Canal]], a {{convert|294.13|m|ft|abbr=on}} length, a {{convert|32.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} width, and a {{convert|12.04|m|ft|abbr=on}} draft as well as a height limit of {{convert|57.91|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Average deadweight between {{DWT|65,000}} and {{DWT|80,000}}, with cargo intake limited to {{DWT|52,500}}.
** [[Panamax#Neopanamax|Neopanamax]], [[Panama Canal expansion project|upgraded Panama locks]] with {{convert|366|m|ft|abbr=on}} length, {{convert|55|m|ft|abbr=on}} beam, {{convert|18|m|ft|abbr=on}} draft, {{DWT|120,000}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://shippingresearch.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/the-new-panamax-13200-teu-containership-120000-dwt-bulk-carrier/|title=The New Panamax; 13,200-TEU Containership, 120,000 dwt Bulk Carrier|work=Shipping Research and Finance|date=September 12, 2012}}</ref>
** [[Capesize]], vessels larger than Suezmax and Neopanamax, and must traverse [[Cape Agulhas]] and [[Cape Horn]] to travel between oceans, dimension: about 170,000 DWT, {{cvt|290|m|ft}} long, {{cvt|45|m|ft}} beam (wide), {{cvt|18|m|ft}} draft (under water depth).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://aone-maritime.com/vessel-sizes/ | title=Types of vessel sizes and Bulk Carriers - A One Maritime }}</ref>
** [[Chinamax]], carriers of 380,000–{{DWT|400,000}} up to {{convert|24|m|ft|abbr=on}} draft, {{convert|65|m|ft|abbr=on}} beam and {{convert|360|m|ft|abbr=on}} length; these dimensions are limited by port infrastructure in China
** [[Baltimax]], limited by the [[Great Belt]]. The limit is a draft of {{cvt|15.4|m|ft}} and an [[air draft]] of {{cvt|65|m|ft}}, which is limited by the clearance of the east bridge of the [[Great Belt Fixed Link]]. The length can be around {{cvt|240|m|ft}} and the width around {{cvt|42|m|ft}}. This gives a weight of around 100,000&nbsp;metric tons.

* Wet cargo
**[[Aframax]], oil tankers between 75,000 and {{DWT|115,000}}. This is the largest size defined by the average freight rate assessment (AFRA) scheme.
** [[Q-Max]],  [[liquefied natural gas]] carrier for [[Qatar]] exports. A ship of Q-Max size is {{convert|345|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and measures {{convert|53.8|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|34.7|m|ft|abbr=on}} high, with a shallow draft of approximately {{convert|12|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name=joongang>
{{cite news
 | newspaper = [[Korea JoongAng Daily]]
 | url= http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2892082
 | title= Korea launches new tankers. Qatar-bound Mozah is the biggest LNG carrier ever built
 | author = Cho Jae-eun
 | date=2008-07-09
 | access-date=2008-08-02
}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference
 |publisher    = [[United States Maritime Administration|Maritime Administration]]
 |conference   = Intertanko Conference
 |url          = http://www.marad.dot.gov/documents/DWP_--_Marine_Transportation_of_LNG.pdf
 |title        = Marine Transportation of LNG
 |first        = Bob
 |last         = Curt
 |date         = 2004-03-29
 |access-date  = 2011-07-30
 |archive-date = July 22, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110722080143/http://www.marad.dot.gov/documents/DWP_--_Marine_Transportation_of_LNG.pdf
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> 
** [[Suezmax]], typically ships of about {{DWT|160,000}}, maximum dimensions are a beam of {{convert|77.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}, a draft of {{convert|20.1|m|ft|abbr=on}} as well as a height limit of {{convert|68|m|ft|abbr=on}} can traverse the [[Suez Canal]]
** [[VLCC]] (Very Large Crude Carrier), [[supertanker]]s between 150,000 and {{DWT|320,000}}.
*** [[Malaccamax]], ships with a draft less than {{convert|20.5|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} that can traverse the [[Strait of Malacca]], typically {{DWT|300,000}}. 
** [[Ultra Large Crude Carrier|ULCC]] (Ultra Large Crude Carrier), enormous supertankers between 320,000 and {{DWT|550,000}}

[[File:Ship measurements comparison.svg|Comparison of ship sizes]]

The [[TI-class supertanker]] is an Ultra Large Crude Carrier, with a draft that is deeper than Suezmax, Malaccamax and Neopanamax. This causes Atlantic/Pacific routes to be very long, such as the long voyages south of Cape of Good Hope or south of Cape Horn to transit between Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

[[Lake freighter]]s built for the [[Great Lakes]] in North America differ in design from sea water–going ships because of the difference in wave size and frequency in the lakes. A number of these ships are larger than Seawaymax and cannot leave the lakes and pass to the Atlantic Ocean, since they do not fit the locks on the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]].