Ship Types and General Characteristics

The table below indicates characteristics relating to several types of Merchant Ships in operation at the present time. The first indicator for size of a ship is usually the Deadweight (DWT). This is the weight a ship actually carries. With some designs, like Passenger Liners, it can be the Gross Tonnage (GT). With Gas Carriers it is usually the maximum cu.m. of gas carried. Other indicators for the size of a vessel are the LBP and the block coefficient (Cb).