Part A Unit Outline

This unit provides an overview of cargo ships. Ships, ship technology, and ship operations have an impact on decisions by the shippers regarding the carriage of goods.

● The structures of different ships are almost the same. Hull and machinery are the two main parts of a ship.

● The types of ships determine the kind of goods which may be shipped and how the cargo can be handled. In compliance with the purpose of transporting cargoes and passengers, there are many types of cargo ships, such as liners and tramps, general cargo ships, bulk carriers, container ships, and Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro/Ro) ships.

● In accordance with the number of decks the ship is equipped with, there are four kinds of cargo ships. They are single deck vessels, tween deck vessels, shelter deck vessels, and specialized cargo carrying vessels.

● Ships can be measured by volume and by weight. Gross tonnage and net tonnage are the two ways of volume measurement. The cargo capacity in volume of a ship is measured in grain capacity or bale capacity depending on the cargo. Weight measurement also has two ways, deadweight tonnage and displacement tonnage.

● Types of ships, classification society, and Rotterdam port are expounded as the further reading materials.