Ship Types

📏 Measured in DWT · Standard STCW certificates

Carries loose, unpackaged cargo — iron ore, coal, grain — in large box-shaped holds. The most numerous ship type in the world fleet by count.

📏 Measured in DWT · Standard STCW certificates

The generalist of the fleet — break-bulk, palletised goods, machinery and project cargo that doesn't fit a container or a bulk hold. Often has its own cargo gear so it can work ports without shore cranes.

📏 Measured in Cubic feet (cbft) · Standard STCW certificates

A dedicated refrigerated cargo ship for bananas, fruit and other perishables that need precise temperature control — largely replaced by reefer containers on box ships, but still used on some fruit trades.

📏 Measured in DWT · 2 endorsements needed

Carries crude oil in bulk from the oilfield to the refinery, often on long ocean passages with few port calls. Needs a tanker endorsement beyond standard STCW certificates.

📏 Measured in DWT · 2 endorsements needed

Carries refined products — petrol, diesel, jet fuel — from refineries to distribution ports. Smaller and calls more frequently than a crude carrier, on the same family of tanker endorsements.

📏 Measured in DWT · 2 endorsements needed

Carries bulk liquid chemicals — everything from vegetable oil to acids and solvents — often several different, incompatible cargoes at once in separate coated tanks. Needs its own chemical tanker endorsement.

📏 Measured in Cubic metres (cbm) · 3 endorsements needed

Carries natural gas cooled to about −162°C so it becomes liquid, in insulated tanks, for long-haul export from gas fields to import terminals. Many newer LNG carriers also burn boil-off gas as fuel.

📏 Measured in Cubic metres (cbm) · 2 endorsements needed

Carries propane and butane, either under pressure or refrigerated, from gas fields and refineries to distribution terminals.

📏 Measured in TEU · Standard STCW certificates

Carries standardised containers on fixed liner routes and schedules — the backbone of world trade and usually the fastest cargo ships at sea.

📏 Measured in CEU · Standard STCW certificates

A Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) drives vehicles on and off through ramps rather than lifting cargo, measured in Car Equivalent Units (CEU) — roughly the deck space one standard car takes up.

📏 Measured in DWT / Bollard pull · 2 endorsements needed

Offshore support vessels that keep oil and gas platforms supplied, or handle anchors and towing for rigs — a different world from deep-sea trading, with short runs from a supply base to the field.

📏 Measured in Storage / water depth · 2 endorsements needed

An FPSO processes and stores oil from subsea wells before offloading to a shuttle tanker, and stays moored on one field for years at a time. A drillship is a self-propelled vessel built to drill new wells in deep water, and often relies on Dynamic Positioning instead of anchors.

📏 Measured in GT / passengers · Standard STCW certificates

A floating hotel and entertainment venue as much as a ship — hundreds of hospitality, entertainment and technical crew alongside the deck and engine departments that run it.

📏 Measured in GT / passengers & vehicles · Standard STCW certificates

Carries passengers and often vehicles on fixed, frequent short-sea or coastal routes — usually round trips measured in hours rather than the weeks-long voyages of deep-sea trading.