Sea cargo reference
Post-Panamax
Wider than the old Panama locks. The notes below cover the cargo, the way the hull is arranged, and the limit that puts a ship in this class.
- Typical deadweight
- Typically about 85,000-120,000 DWT
- Length overall
- Up to 366 m through the new locks
- Beam
- Over 32.31 m; up to 51.25 m through the new locks
- Draft
- Up to 15.2 m through the new locks
- The limit that names it
- Too wide for the original locks; sized for the Neopanamax locks
- Ship's gear
- Gearless
- Typical draught
- About 14.6 m
- Cargo holds
- 7
Names such as Handysize, Supramax and Capesize are market habits, not a written standard. Brokers, exchanges and owners do not all use the same deadweight band. Canal and berth limits below are published figures and stay fixed. The deadweight ranges are a guide.
Post-Panamax bulkers
The beam is wider than the 32.31 metres of the original Panama Canal locks. The class is defined by the limit it breaks, not by a deadweight band.
For decades that meant giving up the canal for a wider, more efficient hull. The Neopanamax locks, opened in 2016, changed the sum: they accept up to 366 metres length, 51.25 metres beam and 15.2 metres draft, so most of this tonnage can use the canal again.
The wider hull costs less per tonne than a classic Panamax. That is why the segment grew quickly once the new locks were committed.
Cargo on board
How the hull is arranged
- One deck, with large holds closed by steel hatch covers that roll or fold aside for grabs and conveyors.
- Ballast sits in the double bottom and in the topside and hopper tanks. Those tanks also shape the hold so the cargo trims itself as it settles.
- Corrugated bulkheads stand between the holds. They take the push of a dense cargo without extra frames inside the space.
- Engine and accommodation sit aft, so the forward length stays free for cargo.
- Geared ships carry deck cranes or derricks between the hatches and can work where the port has no gear of its own.
Why this trade uses it
- A dry commodity moves with no bags, boxes or lashings, which keeps the cost per tonne low.
- Where the shore gear is good, grabs, conveyors and shiploaders shift thousands of tonnes an hour.
- A geared ship can call at ports that have no cranes.
- Holds can take several parcels of different commodities on one voyage.
Settle these points before you fix
- Iron ore and other dense cargoes load the hull hard. The loading order is strict, so the ship is not overstressed.
- Some concentrates and fines can turn liquid. They have to be checked against the transportable moisture limit before loading.
- Draft and air draft decide which berths and waterways the ship can use. Both shift with the season and the fresh-water allowance.