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Maritime & Shipping vocabulary · Ship Types & Ship Structure

Bulk carrier

Meaning in maritime & shipping, with examples

nounCore term

In maritime & shipping, bulk carrier means: A ship built to carry unpacked dry cargo, such as grain, coal, iron ore or fertiliser, loose in its holds.

In Turkish: dökme yük gemisi, bulker

How it is used

Often called a 'bulker'. Size classes include Handysize, Supramax, Panamax and Capesize. Bulk carriers usually work in the tramp trade under voyage or time charters rather than on fixed routes.

Example sentences

  1. The bulk carrier loaded 55,000 tonnes of wheat for Alexandria.

  2. We are looking for a Supramax bulk carrier to carry coal from Indonesia.

Common collocations

  • dry bulk carrier
  • Capesize bulk carrier
  • bulk cargo
  • tramp trade
  • cargo holdA large space inside a ship's hull where cargo is carried. Holds are numbered from the bow, and each one is closed from above by a hatch cover.
  • hatch coverThe strong, watertight steel lid that closes the opening on top of a cargo hold. It is opened for loading and discharging and kept closed at sea.
  • deadweightThe total weight a ship can safely carry, including cargo, fuel, fresh water, stores and crew, measured in tonnes. It is usually written DWT.
  • charter partyThe contract between a shipowner and a charterer for hiring a ship, either for a voyage or for a period of time. It sets out the freight or hire, the cargo, the ports and the laytime.

More terms: Ship Types & Ship Structure

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