With the development of maritime technology, the types of modern ships are becoming more and more abundant, and there are various classification methods.

For example, according to the hull material, there are wooden ships, steel ships, cement ships, etc.; according to the navigation area, there are ocean-going ships, Offshore ships, coastal ships inland river/lake ships, etc.

The following is an introduction to some of the main types of ships:

1. General Cargo Ship:

A single- or multi-deck cargo ship primarily used to transport various types of dry cargo. Single-deck ships typically have box-shaped cargo holds, with cargo loaded and unloaded through open deck hatches.

2. Oil Tanker:

A ship constructed or modified to primarily carry bulk oil in its cargo space. This includes combination ships that carry bulk oil in whole or in part, any "NLS tanker" as defined in MARPOL Annex II, and any gas carrier as defined in regulation II-1/3.20 of SOLAS 1974, as amended.

3. Bulk Carrier:

A ship that typically has a single deck, topside tank, and hopper tank in the cargo space, primarily used to transport dry bulk cargo.

4. Chemical Tanker:

A cargo ship built or adapted for the bulk transport of any liquid cargo listed in Chapter 17 of the International Bulk Chemicals Code.

5. Gas Carrier:

A cargo ship built or adapted for the bulk transport of any liquefied gas or other flammable goods listed in Chapter 19 of the International Gas Carrier Code, including liquefied petroleum gas carriers (LPG) and liquefied natural gas carriers (LNG).

6. Container ship:

A ship specialized in transporting container cargo. It can be divided into three types: a full container ship is a ship specially designed to carry containers and does not carry other types of goods; a semi-container ship uses the middle area of the ship as a dedicated cargo hold for containers, while the cargo holds at both ends of the ship carry other types of cargo.

General cargo; the convertible container ship is a multi-purpose vessel. The cargo hold of this kind of ship can be changed at any time as needed. It can carry both containers and other general groceries to improve the utilization rate of the ship.

7. Heavy Load Carrier:

A cargo ship capable of loading, unloading, and transporting heavy cargo or oversized cargo. The cargo can be loaded on the deck or in the hold using lifting equipment or ro-ro ramps.

8. Special Purpose Ship:

A mechanically self-propelled ship designed to carry more than 12 special personnel (including passengers) due to the specific functions of the ship.