Feeder vessels or feeder ships are medium-size freight ships. In general, a feeder designates a seagoing vessel with an average capacity of . Feeders collect

shipping container A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...

s from different ports and transport them to central container terminals where they are loaded to bigger vessels, or for further transport into the hub port's

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...

. In that way the smaller vessels feed the larger liners, which carry thousands of containers. Over the years, feeder lines have been established by organizations transporting containers over a predefined route on a regular basis. Feeder ships are often run by companies that also specialize in short sea shipping. These companies not only ship freight to and from major ports like

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

for further shipment, but also carry containers between smaller ports, for example, between terminals located on the north-west European seaboard and ports situated in the Baltic sea.

Feeder Class

Container ships are distinguished into seven major size categories: small feeder, feeder, feedermax, Panamax, post-Panamax, new Panamax and ultra-large.MAN Diesel, 2009, p.6. Container ships under 3,000 TEU are generally called feeders.

References

Ship types {{ship-type-stub