A multi-purpose vessel (MPV) is a

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

going

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

that is built for the carriage of a wide range of

cargoes ''Salt-Water Poems and Ballads'' is a book of poetry on themes of seafaring and maritime history by John Masefield. It was first published in 1916 by Macmillan Publishers, Macmillan, with illustrations by Charles Pears. Many of the poems had b ...

. Examples of these cargoes are: wood, steel, building materials, rolls of paper and

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oi ...

. Multi-purpose vessels can be divided into four categories: vessels with and without cargo gear, coastal trade liners and sea-

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

vessels. Bigger multi-purpose vessels are able to carry different kinds of loading on the same voyage. Smaller multi-purpose vessels do not have this advantage but they are employed to get into smaller harbours because of their limited draught. Because of their varying operating conditions, these ships have complex designs that are difficult to build. Their all-round design must be able to carry heavy loads, large objects and unitised cargo as bulk cargo. These cargoes can be rolled or lifted on board so this requires different types of loading gear, as well. According to DNV, there are some 15,000 MPVS in existence and they range in size from small coastal vessels up to large ships with a heavy lift capability.

References

{{reflist Ship design Cargo ships

See also

References