Types of ships

There are many different varieties of ships and the differences are mostly based upon the type of cargo the ship transports. Knowing the different types can be really helpful since each ship is unique in itself with quite similarities in between. In this presentation we will provide a brief overview of the foremost types of maritime vessels that are plying the oceans nowadays.

The traditional passenger ship is the passenger liner. Passenger ships, as the name suggests, are mainly used for transiting passengers. The passenger ships are broadly categorised in two classes namely: Ferry and Cruise Ships.

Cruise ships are large passenger ships offering pleasure trips adventure seeking people. They have onboard facilities of restaurants, bars, casinos, theatres, ball rooms, discos, swimming pools, fitness centers, and shops make them a complete floating resort. They are designed in a way to negotiate almost a major ports in the world.

Cruise ships are further subdivided on the basis of size into:

1. Large cruise ships: Large cruise ships are the ships with larger voyager carrying capacities

2.Small Cruise ships: Small cruise are the ships with smaller voyager carrying capacities.

3. Liners: These are the special sort of large cruises, equipped with best facilities. These look more or less like floating cities.

4. Special Cruise ships: These are the ships which are designed for a special destination. For example cruise ships for visiting Antarctica region.

Ferry ships are those vessels which are used to transit voyagers on short-natured water travel routes. Ferry ships can be dual in nature that is, either they can be vessels are only used for the purposes of transporting passengers or they can be ships that can also carry the vehicular load along with the intake of voyagers.

These ships go for their voyage on a regular schedule and have fixed fares.
The largest ferryboat can carry 2,500 passengers and over 200 automobiles.
Ferryboats usually have only one vehicle deck and carry passengers in the superstructure. Modern ferryboats are usually powered by diesel its engines.

Some of the main types of ferries it is a RO-RO Vessels

Roll on-Roll off or Ro-Ro vessels come in many forms including vehicle ferries and cargo ships carrying truck trailers but the major type used for the transport of road vehicles is the car carrier. These slab-sided vessels feature multiple vehicle decks comprising parking lanes, linked by internal ramps with access to the shore provided by one or more loading ramp.

Pure Car Carrier (PCC) and Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) RoRo Ships.The pure car carrier is used to transport only cars whereas PCTC is used to transport all types of vehicles.
Container Vessel + Ro-Ro (ConRo) ShipThe ConRo (or RoCon) vessel is a hybrid of a RORO and a container ship. This type of vessel has a below-deck area used for vehicle storage while stacking containerized freight on the top decks. ConRo ships can carry a combination of containers, heavy equipment, oversized cargo, and automobiles
General Cargo + Ro-Ro Ship (GenRo) Ships
RoPax The acronym ROPAX (roll-on/roll-off passenger) describes a RORO vessel built for freight vehicle transport along with passenger accommodation. Technically this encompasses all ferries with both a roll-on/roll-off car deck and passenger-carrying capacities, but in practice, ships with facilities for more than 500 passengers are often referred to as cruise ferries.

Cargo ships

Cargo chips can be divided into four groups, according to the kind of cargo they carry:
general cargo ships (carry goods that are put in packages);
tankers (carry petroleum or other liquid cargo);
dry bulk carriers (carry coal, grain, iron ore, etc.);
multipurpose ships (carry several kinds of cargo at the same time).
Cargo ships can also be divided into two types according to the service the offer to shippers:
liner service (regular routes, fixed schedule and rates);
tramp service (can be hired to haul almost anything, anywhere, anytime).

Although largely replaced by bulk and container carriers, general cargo vessels still operate throughout the world. There may be specialized handling facilities for such cargo, but usually loading and unloading are carried out using cranes and straps (for boxes) or slings (for bags).  General cargo vessels carry packaged items like chemicals, foods, furniture, machinery, motor- and military vehicles, footwear, garments

This type of ship carries different general cargoes. Examples of these cargoes are: wood, steel, building materials, rolls of paper, bulk cargo and other.

Bulk carriers are a type of ship which transports cargoes (generally dry cargo) in bulk quantities. Bulk cargo is unpacked cargo of one commodity. Dry bulk cargo, such as grain, ore, fertilizers is carried in specially designed vessels with holds that have been divided into compartments by longitudinal and transverse separations, so that the ship’s stability will not be affected by a full cargo. These usually large vessels are divided up into several separate holds covered by hatches.

Basic Bulk Carrier / Conventional Bulkers
A conventional bulker is a vessel that is built with hatchways. Alongside, the vessel is also equipped with cranes and transporters to facilitate ease in the loading and unloading processes.

Combined Bulk Carriers (Ore-bulk-oil carriers.The vessels have greater flexibility in order to carry Ore bulk and even oil as Cargo.

Gearless Bulk Carrier 
Bulkers that are unequipped with cranes and conveyor facilities are gearless bulkers.
Huge in size, these bulk carriers make port only on those ports of call which provide conveyor and crane facilities to discharge their bulk loads.

Self Dischargers
These type of bulkers have Self-discharging/Loading facilities on board in the form of Conveyors or Cranes.
These vessels can operate in any inaccessible waterway as they do not require any shore-based system to carry out operations.

BIBO or “Bulk-In, Bags Out”
This is a very special type of bulker, where the cargo is loaded as bulk but are equipped with equipment to bag those bulk cargo and discharge them in bags.

Open Hatch Bulk Carrier/Forest Product Carriers 
These type of bulk carriers don’t have upper & lower wing tank

Open Hatch Bulk Carriers (OHBCs) can also be regarded as a forest product carrier. These carriers are required to transport and handle a variety of cargoes, including packaged sawn timber, logs (bundled or loose), and refined products such as pulp, paper and boards.

Container ShipsAs the name suggests, a vessel structured specifically to hold huge quantities of cargo compacted in different types of containers is referred to as a container vessel

Container ships eliminate the individual hatches, holds and derricks of the traditional general cargo vessel. The hull of a container ship is simply an enormous warehouse divided into cells by vertical guide rails. The cells are designed to hold cargo in prepackaged units called containers

Reefer vesselReefer Vessels are ships designed to carry a refrigerated cargo usually comprising perishable goods such as fruit or meat. Cargo is stowed in holds which are then sealed and temperature controlled. Nowadays, traditional reefer vessels have been largely replaced by the use of reefer containers which may be carried on board a container vessel.

Liquid Cargo ShipsThese vessels, collectively known as tankers, carry a range of liquid cargoesTanker ships are specialized vessels for carrying a large amount of liquid cargo. Tankers are further sub-divided into different types based on the cargo they carry.

Oil Tankers: .

Oil tankers mainly carry crude oil and its by-products.
Oil tanker, however, is a generic terminology and includes not only crude oil but also petrol, gasoline, kerosene and paraffin.
Oil tankers are further sub-divided into two main types: product tankers and crude tankers
Product tankers are used to transport the above-mentioned petroleum-based chemicals
Product Tankers are used to carry refined oil (various grades) to the point near the engrossing market. They are smaller in size as compared to the Crude oil tankers.
Crude tankers are specifically used to transport crude oil from the excavation site to the crude oil refining industrial plant.These tankers move a large quantity of unrefined crude oil from its elicitation point to the oil refineries, where they are refined and various grades are products are extracted and distributed later on

Specialized tankers

 A gas carrier (or gas tanker) is designed to transport LPG, LNG or liquefied chemical gases in bulk.

 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) 

These tankers carry Liquified gases at low temperature and atmospheric pressure. They have a very significant prismatic shaped cargo tanks made up of 3.5% nickel steel, which allows them to carry cargo at a temperature as lower as -48°C.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

These types of tankers require careful and delicate handling owing to the precariousness of the material they carry.

A chemical tanker is a type of tanker ship designed to transport chemicals in bulk. As defined in MARPOL Annex II, chemical tanker means a ship constructed or adapted for carrying in bulk any liquid product listed in chapter 17 of the International Bulk Chemical Code. As well as industrial chemicals and clean petroleum products, such ships also often carry other types of sensitive cargo which require a high standard of tank cleaning, such as palm oil, vegetable oils, tallow, caustic soda, and methanol.

A major problem with giant tankers is the severe environmental damage of oil spills, resulting from collision, storm damage, or leakage from other causes.

Liners and Tramps

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LINER AND TRAMP SERVICE?
The name liners have been derived from the word ‘Line Voyages’ that means a voyage or trip that follows a set schedule and route.  The ships that move shipments across the routes are called liners, following strict routes, schedules and delivering on time under all circumstances unless there is a delay caused by natural events.
A tramp service, also called a tramper is a service that is even available at a short notice, so it does not follow any strict schedule or routes. With tramp service, goods can be on and off loaded at any port. Trampers are also used to carry bulk cargo, apart from usual cargoes.

Specialized types of vessels

Specialized types of vessels are designed and built to do particular jobs to help ships and shipping and to carry certain types of cargo.


Icebreakers are vessels designed to make or keep open a navigable passage through ice. Icebreakers are equipped with a heavy, usually overhanding bow, and armored sides. These ships also normally have both forward and aft propellers to provide greater maneuverability and to create suction under the ice to facilitate its breaking.

is a small, powerful, sturdy ship used mainly to manoeuvre large oceangoing ships in the confines of harbours, to move barges on invalid waterways, and to tow salvage and dredging equipment.

Tugboats are divided into four basic types:
river tugs (work on rivers);
harbor tugs (help ships in and out of ports);
coastal tugs (help ships in difficulty at sea);
oceangoing tugs (take part in rescue and salvage work).

The ferryboat usually operates over short distances, as across a river, bay, or from point to point in a harbor. Ferryboats usually have only one vehicle deck and carry passengers in the superstructure. Modern ferryboats are usually powered by diesel its engines.

are necessary to remove the sand and mud from the beds of channels and harbours. They are of three main types:

1. bucket dredgers (scoop up the sand and mud with a series of buckets);
2. suction dredgers (suck up sand and mud);
3. grab dredgers (operate like cranes).

Cable Layers  

They are special types of vessels used to carry out a variety of research at sea. Some of the most common types of research vessels are – seismic vessels, hydrographic vessels, oceanographic vessels, polar vessels etc.

Cable laying vessels help in laying cables onto the sea bed. 

Salvage vessels are vessels engaged in salvage operation; recovery of lost property at sea.

A light vessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction.

Barge Carriers: A barge is a flat-bottomed boat built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods.

Timber Carriers: Vessels that carry timber

Livestock Carriers: Vessels that carry livestock/animals

are crafts employed in commercial fisheries. In general, fishing vessels are small, usually under 18 m (under 60 ft) in length.
Types of modern fishing boats are less numerous than the old sailing models, but recent years have seen a revolution in the design, mechanization, and automation o hulls and gear.

Fishing vessels are mainly classified into two types – trawlers and non-trawling vessels.

 A fishing trawler, also known as a dragger, is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. A purse seine is a large wall of netting deployed around an entire area or school of fish. The seine has floats along the top line with a lead line threaded through rings along the bottom. Once a school of fish is located, a skiff encircles the school with the net.

Factory Ships. Non-trawling Vessels

A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish These are highly effective fishing vessels with nets which cannot be pulled against the ocean water, but instead, fish swim to the net and get themselves caught. These nets can be a kilometre long.

Offshore VesselsOffshore vessels mainly help in oil exploration and construction jobs at sea. Offshore vessels are of several types.

Some of the main ones are:
Supply Ship: Vessels that supply to offshore rigs
Pipe Layers: Vessels engages in laying pipes and cables
Crane Barges or floating cranes: A crane vessel, crane ship or floating crane is a ship with a crane specialized in lifting heavy loads
Semi-submersible Drill Rigs: These are Mobile Offshore Drilling Units to make stable platforms for drilling oil and gas
Drill Ships: A drillship is a merchant vessel designed for use in exploratory offshore drilling of new oil and gas wells or scientific drilling purposes
Accommodation Barges: Could be a stand-alone floating hotel or can include accommodation as well as space for Cargo
Production Platforms: To extract and process oil and natural gas or to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing
Floating Storage Unit (FSU) – Floating vessel mainly used for storage of oil and by-products.
Floating Production and Storage Unit (FPSO): A floating production storage and offloading unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore oil and gas industry for the production and processing of hydrocarbons and the storage of oil
Anchor handling vessels – These are used for offshore construction and installation operations.
Diving vessels – Are vessels used by divers for diving in the ocean for underwater jobs.