Glossary
Dry Bulk
Dry bulk is non-liquid cargo that is typically shipped loose (also including bagged goods such as rice) as opposed to being shipped in packages or containers, and does not require temperature control. Typically classified into Major and Minor Bulk commodities such as grain, coal, iron ore, sugar, fertilizer etc.
Handysize
Handysize vessels have a carrying capacity of 10,000 to 44,999 DWT (10,000 DWT to 39,999 DWT for vessels built prior to 2014), with a typical draught of 10m and a range in length from 170m to 190m. They typically contain five cargo holds for diversified storage with four on-deck cranes. Their shallow draught and small size allow them to operate in most ports across the world, making them the most common bulk carrier over 10,000 DWT. Handysize vessels typically carry Minor bulk cargoes and grains including mainly grains, fertilizers, agribulk, finished steel products, logs, cement, phosphate and other cargoes. These vessels are typically built in Japan and China..
Supramax/Ultramax
Supramax and Ultramax vessels are medium-sized vessels with a carrying capacity between 45,000 and 59,999 DWT for Supramax vessels and between 60,000 to 64,999 DWT for Ultramax vessels, with a typical draught of 12.2m and 199m length. Supramax and Ultramax vessels carry a wide variety of cargoes including grain and minor bulk cargoes.
DWT – tonnes
Deadweight tonnage is the carrying capacity of a vessel, and denotes the weight of cargo, stores and bunker fuels a vessel can safely transport.
Commercial Manager
The Commercial manager is responsible for commercially operating the fleet, handling insurance and claims, ship accounting and corporate administration amongst other services and also oversees the technical manager.
Charter
Chartering is an activity within the shipping industry whereby a shipowner hires out the use of their vessel to a charterer.
Geared Vessels
Geared Vessels have their own loading equipment installed on the vessel (cranes etc). This allows vessels to call at smaller ports which do not have permanent loading and unloading equipment.
Charterer
The entity given the use of the whole carrying capacity of a ship for the transportation of goods or passenger for a specified time.
IMO
The International Maritime Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping.
Drydocking
Periodic major maintenance event that requires a ship to come out of the water.
Depreciated Replacement Cost ‘DRC’
The theoretical value of a second hand ship based on the nominal newbuilding price given its current age. This uses an annual depreciation charge based on a 28yr life for a handysize vessel and residual scrap value. DRC is also known as Newbuild Parity (‘NBP’) in the shipping industry.
Minor Bulk
Dry bulk cargoes consumed and carried in smaller volumes (relative to the Major Bulks) and the primary cargo for Handysize ships such as metal ores and concentrates, bauxite and alumina, petcoke, salt and other minerals, agricultural products such as non-major grains (e.g., rice and barley), fertiliser and sugar, and construction materials such as logs and forest products, cement, steel products and scrap.
Major Bulk
Dry bulk cargoes iron ore, coal and grain which are the largest traded of the dry bulk commodities in terms of volume and are typically shipping on larger vessels.
Draught
The vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull (keel).
Time Charter – per day
A Charter for an agreed period of time where the shipowner is paid on a per day basis while the Charterer bears the risk of change in fuel price and of any delays at port or during the voyage except where caused by a defect of the ship.