What is a general cargo vessel?
A general cargo vessel is a ship built to carry mixed, unitised and breakbulk cargo in fitted holds, rather than a single homogeneous commodity poured into open bulk holds. Where a bulk carrier is optimised for one cargo that behaves as a continuous mass, a general cargo ship is optimised for variety: steel products, machinery, bagged goods, packaged equipment and project units, often loaded together on the same voyage and each piece stowed, chocked and lashed as an individual unit.
The modern form of this family is the multipurpose vessel, usually abbreviated MPP. The MPP is a geared general cargo ship that can carry breakbulk, project cargo and a part-cargo of bulk in the same hold structure, and it almost always carries its own cranes so it can work cargo at ports without shore cranage. In day-to-day broking the terms “general cargo vessel” and “MPP” are used almost interchangeably, because most general cargo tonnage trading today is MPP tonnage.
These ships sit between the container fleet and the dry bulk fleet. Containers handle standardised boxed cargo on fixed liner schedules. Bulk carriers handle homogeneous commodities such as grain, coal and iron ore. General cargo and MPP tonnage handles everything that fits neither mould: cargo that is too heavy, too long, too irregular or too mixed for a container, but too unitised and too valuable to throw into a bulk hold. That commercial niche is the heart of project cargo and breakbulk chartering.
The main general cargo and MPP sub-types
The general cargo family spans gearless workhorses to heavy-lift specialists. The table below sets out the main sub-types a charterer is likely to meet, with the typical deadweight band, gear configuration and the cargo each one is built around.
| Sub-type | Typical DWT | Gear | Built around |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-deck general cargo ship | 3,000 to 15,000 | Often gearless or light derricks | Simple breakbulk, bagged and palletised goods at equipped ports |
| Tween-decker | 5,000 to 25,000 | Geared, cranes 30 to 120 t | Mixed steel parcels, machinery, cargo that cannot be stacked deep |
| Geared multipurpose (MPP) | 8,000 to 30,000 | Cranes 30 to 120 t, combined lifts higher | Breakbulk plus part-cargo bulk, the everyday workhorse |
| Heavy-lift MPP | 8,000 to 25,000 | Cranes 150 to 350 t, tandem to 700 t | Single heavy project units: transformers, plant modules, port cranes |
| Open-hatch / box-hold vessel | 10,000 to 50,000 | Geared, gantry or jib cranes | Long indivisible items, forest products, over-the-top loading |
A tween-decker carries one or more intermediate decks that split the hold height into layers. The intermediate deck stops heavy units from crushing lighter cargo beneath them and adds lashing surface and stowage flexibility, which is why fitted tween-deck tonnage is the preferred home for mixed steel parcels and packaged machinery.
A geared MPP is the everyday workhorse of the segment. Onboard cranes rated roughly 30 to 120 tonnes let the ship self-load and self-discharge at ports that lack heavy shore cranage, and box-shaped holds take both unitised breakbulk and a part-cargo of bulk such as grain or fertiliser to fill spare volume.
A heavy-lift MPP is the same hull philosophy scaled up on the crane side, with cranes rated 150 to 350 tonnes singly and 700 tonnes or more in tandem with a lifting beam. This is the tonnage that moves single indivisible project pieces that no shore crane at the port can handle.
What general cargo vessels carry
General cargo and MPP tonnage earns its premium on cargo that a bulk carrier cannot stow or secure and a container cannot hold. The recurring cargo families are:
- Steel products. Coils, plates, billets, rebar bundles and structural beams, almost always as a mixed parcel for one receiver with mill certificates per unit. Steel is the classic breakbulk cargo for tween-deck and fitted MPP tonnage. See steel shipping for the cargo-side detail.
- Machinery and packaged equipment. Crated industrial machines, generators, pumps, drummed and palletised goods, and packaged spares that need individual lashing rather than bulk handling.
- Project units. Transformers, plant modules, pressure vessels, port cranes and prefabricated structures. These are the heavy and out-of-gauge pieces that push a fixture toward heavy-lift MPP tonnage and into project cargo and breakbulk territory.
- Bagged and unitised commodities. Bagged cement, fertiliser, rice and sugar, baled and bundled goods, and forest products such as sawn timber, plywood and packaged paper.
- Part-cargo bulk. Spare hold volume is routinely filled with a homogeneous bulk parcel that travels alongside the breakbulk, which is precisely the flexibility a single-commodity bulk carrier cannot offer.
How general cargo vessels differ from bulk carriers
The two fleets look superficially similar, and a geared MPP and a geared Handysize bulk carrier can even compete for the same steel parcel. But they are built around opposite cargo assumptions, and that drives every design and operational difference.
| General cargo / MPP vessel | Bulk carrier | |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo assumption | Mixed, unitised, breakbulk and project units | One homogeneous bulk commodity |
| Holds | Fitted with tween-decks, eye-plates and lashing points | Open box holds, smooth and self-trimming |
| Cargo gear | Own cranes on most modern tonnage, often heavy-lift | Usually gearless above Handymax; shore-gear dependent |
| Securing | Each unit chocked, dunnaged and lashed individually | Trimmed and largely self-securing once loaded |
| Loading | Piece by piece, lift by lift | Continuous pour, grab or conveyor |
| Cost per tonne | Higher; you pay for flexibility and gear | Lower; optimised for cheap homogeneous tonnage |
| Typical size | Handysize-scale, 3,000 to 50,000 DWT | Handysize to Capesize, up to 200,000 DWT plus |
The decisive difference is the hold and the securing regime. A general cargo vessel has fitted holds with intermediate decks, eye-plates and ring bolts so each unit can be chocked, dunnaged and lashed to a securing plan. A bulk carrier has smooth open holds designed for a cargo that trims itself and needs little securing once trimmed. The second difference is gear: most modern MPP tonnage carries its own cranes, often heavy-lift, while larger bulk carriers are gearless and depend on shore cranage. Those two differences are why a general cargo vessel can carry a transformer, a steel parcel and a part-cargo of grain on one voyage, and why it costs more per tonne to do so.
When you need a general cargo vessel
The vessel choice follows the cargo, not the rate. Reach for general cargo or MPP tonnage when the cargo is unitised, mixed, heavy or out-of-gauge: steel products, machinery, project modules, bagged or palletised goods, or any parcel that needs individual securing. Reach for a bulk carrier when the cargo is a single homogeneous commodity that behaves as a continuous mass, because a gearless bulk carrier will move that parcel far more cheaply per tonne.
For the heaviest and most irregular pieces, the choice narrows further to heavy-lift MPP tonnage and the engineering discipline of project chartering: lift-point analysis, sea-fastening, and a stowage plan signed off by master and surveyor. That work is the commercial core of project cargo and breakbulk, and it sits alongside the specialist handling covered under specialised products. Where the parcel is finished steel that borders project-cargo size, the typing decision and lane detail live on the steel shipping page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a general cargo ship and a multipurpose vessel?
Do general cargo vessels carry their own cranes?
Can a general cargo vessel carry bulk cargo like grain or coal?
What is a tween-decker and why does it matter for steel?
When should I use a general cargo vessel instead of a bulk carrier?
Related references