Capesize ships are the largest dry cargo ships with ball mark dimension: about 170,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) capacity, 290 m (950 ft) long, 45 m (148 ft) beam (wide), 18 m (59 ft) draught (under water depth). They are too large to transit the Suez Canal (Suezmax limits) or Panama Canal (Neopanamax limits), and so have to pass either Cape Agulhas 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 carriers, usually transporting coal, ore and other commodity raw materials. The term capesize is not applied to tankers. The average size of a capesize bulker is around 156,000 DWT, although larger ships (normally dedicated to ore transportation) have been built, up to 400,000 DWT. The large dimensions and deep draughts of such vessels mean that only the largest deep-water terminals can accommodate them. Subcategories of capesize vessels include very large ore carriers (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 – Shipping route around the Cape of Good Hope List of Panamax ports Cargo ship size categories Suezmax – Largest ships that can transit the Suez Canal
References
External links Ship sizes Archived 2021-05-03 at the Wayback Machine