Capesize on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Capesize ships are the largest dry cargo ships with ball mark dimension: about 170,000 DWT (
Ships in this class are
Ship sizes
{{Ship measurements Ship types Ship measurements
Capesize ships are the largest dry cargo ships with ball mark dimension: about 170,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, pro ...
) capacity, 290 m long, 45 m beam (wide), 18m draught (under water depth). They are too large to transit the Suez Canal ( Suezmax limits) or Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
( Neopanamax limits), and so have to pass either Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas (; pt, Cabo das Agulhas , "Cape of the Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa.
It is the geographic southern tip of the African continent and the beginning of the dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian ...
or Cape Horn to traverse between oceans.
When the Suez Canal was deepened in 2009, it became possible for some capesize ships to transit the Canal and so change categories.
Routes
Major capesize bulk trade routes include: Brazil to China, Australia to China, South Africa to China and South Africa to Europe.Classification
Ships in this class are bulk carrier
A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, eco ...
s, usually transporting coal, ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...
and other commodity raw materials. The term ''capesize'' is not applied to tankers. The average size of a capesize bulker is around , although larger ships (normally dedicated to ore transportation) have been built, up to . The large dimensions and deep drafts of such vessels mean that only the largest deep-water terminals can accommodate them..
Subcategories of capesize vessels include very large ore carrier
A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, econom ...
s (VLOC) and very large bulk carriers (VLBC) of above 200,000 DWT. These vessels are mainly designed to carry iron ore.
See also
*Cape Route
The European-Asian sea route, commonly known as the sea route to India or the Cape Route, is a shipping route from the European coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Asia's coast of the Indian Ocean passing by the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Agulhas ...
* List of Panamax ports
* Cargo ship size categories
* Suezmax
References
External links
Ship sizes
{{Ship measurements Ship types Ship measurements