Types Of Merchant Ships...

Merchant Ship Categories....

• Roll on/ Roll off ship:

                     Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers and railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels. This is in contrast to lo-lo (lift-on/lift-off) vessels which use a crane to load and unload cargo.

                  RORO vessels have built-in ramps which allow the cargo to be efficiently "rolled on" and "rolled off" the vessel when in port. While smaller ferries that operate across rivers and other short distances often have built-in ramps, the term RORO is generally reserved for larger ocean-going vessels. The ramps and doors may be stern-only, or bow and stern for quick loading.

                                       Roll on/ Roll off ship

                 There are various types of ro-ro vessels, such as ferries, cruise ferries, cargo ships, and barges. The ro-ro vessels that are exclusively used for transporting cars and trucks across oceans are known as Pure Car Carriers (PCC) and Pure Truck & Car Carriers (PCTC) respectively. Unlike other cargos that are measured in metric tonnes, the ro-ro cargo is measured in a unit called lanes in meters (LIMs). LIM is calculated by multiplying cargo length in meters by the number of decks and by its width in lanes. The lane width will differ from vessel to vessel and there are a number of industry standards.
 Advantages of a ro-ro ship:

1. For the shipper, the advantage is speed. Since cars and lorries can drive straight on to the ship at one port and then drive off at the other port within a few minutes of the ship docking, it saves a lot of time of the shipper.
2. It can also integrate well with other transport development, such as containers. The use of Customs-sealed units has enabled frontiers to be crossed with the minimum of delay. Therefore, it increases the speed and efficiency for the shipper.
3. The ship has also proved extremely popular with holiday makers and private car owners. It has significantly contributed to the growth of tourism. A person can take his car from one country to another by sea with the help of a ro-ro vessel.

• TUGBOAT (Tugs):

                         A tugboat (tug) is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal, or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, log rafts, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for their size and strongly built, and some are ocean-going. Some tugboats serve as icebreakers or salvage boats. Early tugboats had steam engines, but today most have diesel engines. Many tugboats have firefighting monitors, allowing them to assist in firefighting, especially in harbors.

• Another types:

1. Refrigerated cargo ship: Use to carry fruit, meat and other food product across the sea in fresh & clean manner.

  2.  Livestock carriers: Use to transport live animals from one country to another.