Sea cargo reference
Supramax
The geared bulker the market quotes against. 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 50,000-59,999 DWT
- Length overall
- Typically about 199 m
- Beam
- About 32.2 m
- The limit that names it
- Geared, sized to remain widely acceptable in port
- Ship's gear
- Geared, typically four cranes
- Usual trade
- Worldwide
- Typical draught
- About 12.2 m
- Cargo holds
- 5
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.
Supramax bulkers
This class replaced Handymax as the standard geared bulker. It is one of the most actively traded sizes in the market.
At roughly 190 metres it still fits the length and draft limits of a very wide range of ports, and it carries meaningfully more than a Handymax. The cranes stay, so it does not depend on shore gear.
Supramax tonnage is the workhorse of the minor bulk trades, and the size against which many dry bulk freight indices are quoted.
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.