Cargo ships

In the mid-1960s, shipping companies transported the first containers between the United States and Europe. At the end of that decade, around 1,000 20-foot containers fitted on a container ship. Today's mega ships have a cargo capacity of around 24 000 containers!

Container ships sail on fixed line connections between major seaports on different continents. These ships also call at Antwerp and Bruges. Smaller cargo ships sail on the connection between these two major seaports and regional ports. These container feeders fit up to 3,000 containers.

Dry bulk cargo ships transport dry bulk cargo loose in their cargo space, such as sand, grain or coal. The hold is closed with hatches, so that the cargo is protected.

The cargo often comes on board via conveyor belts.

Unloading is usually done with grab cranes. Sometimes bulldozers sweep up the cargo in the hold so that the crane can grab it more easily.

Breakbulk is transported individually or in boxes, crates, barrels or bales. Examples are large steel tubes, heavy rolls of steel, large pieces of wood or pallets with boxes of fruit. It is the traditional method of transport, which made up the bulk of shipping before the advent of the container.

Today, this transport category specialises in goods that do not fit in a container because they are too big or too heavy. Many breakbulk ships have their own cranes to load and unload independently at ports that are not so well equipped.