Multipurpose ship

A multi-purpose vessel (MPV) is a seagoing ship that is built for the carriage of a wide range of cargoes. Examples of this cargoes are: wood, steel, building materials, rolls of paper and bulk cargo. Bigger multi-purpose vessels are able to carry different kinds of loading on the same voyage. This makes that these ships can sail more economic. Smaller multi-purpose vessels don’t have this advantage but they are employed to get into smaller harbours because of their limited draught. Their varying operating conditions make that these ships have a very complex design that is 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 vessels with different types of loading gear. These different types of heavy duty cranes can be used simultaneously so the process is faster and more economically. [Multi-purpose vessel. Wikipedia]