Maritime glossary
Bulk Carrier
A single-deck ship built to carry unpackaged dry bulk cargo like grain, coal, ore, and cement in large holds.
Definition
A bulk carrier, or bulker, carries dry commodities loose in the hold rather than in containers or packages. The hull is a series of large box-shaped holds under weathertight hatch covers, with topside and hopper tanks that help trim the cargo. Bulkers are sized in classes from Handysize up to Capesize and Valemax. They move the world’s iron ore, coal, grain, bauxite, and cement, and trade mostly on the voyage charter spot market.
How Vessel Hunter uses Bulk Carrier
Bulkers are the single largest segment in Vessel Hunter. Filter by class, builder, age, and owner to find the tonnage your yard or service desk is targeting.
Related terms
- Capesize
A large dry bulk carrier above roughly 150,000 DWT, too big for the Suez and Panama canals.
- Panamax
A vessel sized to the original Panama Canal locks, with a beam limit of 32.31 metres.
- Handysize
A small, flexible dry bulk carrier of roughly 10,000 to 40,000 DWT, often fitted with its own cranes.
- Supramax
A geared dry bulk carrier of roughly 50,000 to 60,000 DWT, between Handymax and Panamax.
- Voyage Charter
A charter for one or more specific voyages, priced per tonne of cargo or as a lumpsum freight.
The bigger picture
Bulk Carrier is one piece of the commercial maritime picture Vessel Hunter pulls together for shipyards, suppliers, service providers, and port agents. Every vessel record bundles AIS, ownership, inspections, dry-dock history, casualty record, classification status, and a verified contact for the operator decision-maker behind the ship, so the team that reaches out first wins the work.
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