Handymax and Supramax are

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and o ...

terms for the larger

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, econom ...

s in the

Handysize Handysize is a naval architecture term for smaller bulk carriers or oil tanker with deadweight of up to 50,000 tonnes, although there is no official definition in terms of exact tonnages. Handysize is also sometimes used to refer to the span of ...

class. Handysize class consists of Supramax (50,000 to 60,000 DWT), Handymax (40,000 to 50,000 DWT), and Handy (<40,000 DWT). The ships are used for less voluminous cargoes, and different cargoes can be carried in different holds. Larger capacities for dry bulk include Panamax,

Capesize Capesize ships are the largest dry cargo ships with ball mark dimension: about 170,000 DWT ( deadweight tonnage) capacity, 290 m long, 45 m beam (wide), 18m draught (under water depth). They are too large to transit the Suez Canal (Suezmax lim ...

and Very Large Ore Carriers and

Chinamax Chinamax is a standard of ship measurements that allow conforming ships to use various harbours when fully laden, the maximum size of such a ship being draft, beam and length overall. An example of ships of this size is the '' Valemax'' bul ...

. A handymax ship is typically in length, though certain bulk terminal restrictions, such as those in Japan, mean that many handymax ships are just under in overall length. Modern handymax and supramax designs are typically 52,000 in size, have five cargo holds and four cranes of around 30 tonnes working load, making it easier to use in ports with limited infrastructure. The average speed depends on size and age. The cost of building a handymax is driven by the laws of supply and demand. In early 2007 the cost building a handymax was around $20 million. As the global economy boomed, the cost doubled to over $40 million, as demand for vessels of all sizes exceeded available yard capacity. After the Global Economic Crisis in 2009, the cost fell back to $20M. As of 2018, the average price was £23 million.

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Ship sizes
{{Ship measurements Ship types Ship measurements