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[[File:Wenceslas Hollar - A Flute (State 2).jpg|thumb|right|Historical merchant trading ship: a Dutch [[Engineering:Fluyt|fluyt]] cargo vessel from the late 17th-century]]
A '''merchant vessel''', '''trading vessel''' or '''merchantman''' is a boat or ship that transports [[Engineering:Cargo|cargo]] or carries passengers for hire. This excludes pleasure craft that do not carry passengers for hire; [[Engineering:Warship|warship]]s are also excluded.

They come in a myriad of sizes and shapes, from twenty-foot inflatable [[Engineering:Dive boat|dive boat]]s in Hawaii, to 5,000 passenger [[Engineering:Riverboat casino|casino vessel]]s on the Mississippi River, to tugboats plying New York Harbor, to 1,000 foot oil tankers and [[Engineering:Container ship|container ship]]s at major ports, to a passenger carrying [[Engineering:Submarine|submarine]] in the U.S. Virgin Islands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.access-board.gov/pvaac/commrept/report-summary.htm|title=Summary of the Report from the Passenger Vessel Access Advisory Committee|accessdate=24 April 2012|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414185603/http://www.access-board.gov/pvaac/commrept/report-summary.htm|archivedate=14 April 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Most countries of the world operate fleets of merchant ships. However, due to the high costs of operations, today these fleets are in many cases sailing under the flags of nations that specialize in providing manpower and services at favourable terms. Such flags are known as "flags of convenience". Currently, Liberia and Panama are particularly favoured. Ownership of the vessels can be by any country, however.

The Greek-owned fleet is the largest in the world. Today, the Greek fleet accounts for some 16 per cent of the world’s [[Tonnage|tonnage]]; this makes it currently the largest single international merchant fleet in the world, albeit not the largest in history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/rmt2007_en.pdf|title=Review of Maritime Transport 2007, Chapter 2, Structure and ownership of the world fleet, p. 45|publisher=}}</ref>

During wars, merchant ships may be used as auxiliaries to the navies of their respective countries, and are called upon to deliver military personnel and [[Engineering:Materiel|materiel]].

==Definitions==
The term "commercial vessel" is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel (i.e. boat or ship) engaged in commercial [[Social:Trade|trade]] or that carries passengers for hire.

In English, "Merchant Navy" without further clarification is used to refer to the British Merchant Navy; the United States merchant fleet is known as the United States Merchant Marine.

== Name prefixes ==
Merchant ships names are prefixed by which kind of vessel they are:{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}}
* '''CS''' = Cable Ship or [[Engineering:Cable layer|Cable layer]]
* '''MS''' = Motorship
* '''MV''' = Motor Vessel / Merchant Vessel [https://www.ccamlr.org/en/organisation/glossary-acronyms-and-abbreviations][http://www.allwords.com/nautical-glossary-M-words-29-135-239.php][https://books.google.com/books?id=KEqXR9fh-p4C&pg=PT2078&lpg=PT2078&dq=glossary+%22MV%22+%22merchant+vessel%22&source=bl&ots=cBFy3vziFW&sig=0nW2BtUGAXRy0R5wWbikKpTkXHo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF7qXW9NfJAhXIpx4KHZeBCbsQ6AEINDAE#v=onepage&q=%22MV%22%20%22merchant%20vessel%22&f=false]
* '''MFV''' = Motor Fishing Vessel
* '''SS''' = Single-screw Steamship
* '''MT''' = Motor Tanker or Motor Tug Boat
* '''MSV''' = Motor Stand-by Vessel
* '''MY''' = Motor Yacht
* '''RMS''' = Royal Mail Ship
* '''RRS''' = Royal Research Ship
* '''SV''' = Sailing Vessel (although these can be sub coded as type of sailing vessel)
* '''LPG''' = [[Engineering:Gas carrier|Gas carrier]] transporting liquefied petroleum gas{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}
* '''LNG''' = Gas carrier transporting [[Chemistry:Liquefied natural gas|liquefied natural gas]]{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}
* '''RV''' = Research Vessel

For more detailed information see [[Engineering:Ship prefix|ship prefix]]

== Merchant ship categories ==
The [[Organization:UNCTAD review of maritime transport|UNCTAD review of maritime transport]] categorizes ships as: oil tankers, bulk (and combination) carriers, general cargo ships, container ships, and "other ships", which includes "liquefied petroleum gas carriers, liquefied natural gas carriers, parcel (chemical) tankers, specialized tankers, reefers, offshore supply, tugs, dredgers, cruise, ferries, other non-cargo". General cargo ships include "multi-purpose and project vessels and roll-on/roll-off cargo".<ref name = UNCTAD>
{{Citation
 | last = Hoffmann
 | first = Jan
 | first2 = Regina
 | last2 = Asariotis
 | first3 = Hassiba
 | last3 = Benamara
 | first4 = Anila
 | last4 = Premti
 | first5 = Vincent
 | last5 = Valentine
 | first6 = Frida
 | last6 = Yousse
 | title = Review of Maritime Transport 2016
 | publisher = United Nations
 | pages = 104
 | date = 2016
 | url = http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/rmt2016_en.pdf
 | isbn = 978-92-1-112904-5
 | issn = 0566-7682 }}</ref>
===Dry cargo ships===
{{Details|Cargo ship}}
[[Image:Sabrina I.jpg|right|thumb| ''Sabrina I'' carries bulk cargo inside her holds.]]
A '''cargo ship''' or '''freighter''' is any sort of ship or vessel that carries [[Engineering:Cargo|cargo]], goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of [[Finance:International trade|international trade]]. Cargo ships are usually specially designed for the task, often being equipped with [[Engineering:Crane (machine)|cranes]] and other mechanisms to load and unload, and come in all sizes.

Dry cargo ships today are mainly [[Engineering:Bulk carrier|bulk carrier]]s and [[Engineering:Container ship|container ship]]s. Bulk carriers or bulkers are used for the transportation of homogeneous cargo such as [[Earth:Coal|coal]], [[Chemistry:Rubber|rubber]], copra, [[Chemistry:Tin|tin]], and [[Biology:Wheat|wheat]]. Container ships are used for the carriage of miscellaneous goods.

====Bulk carriers====
{{Details|bulk carrier}}
A '''bulk carrier''' is an [[Earth:Ocean|ocean]]-going vessel used to transport bulk cargo items such as [[Earth:Iron ore|iron ore]], bauxite, coal, cement, grain and similar cargo.  Bulk carriers can be recognized by large box-like hatches on deck, designed to slide outboard or fold fore-and-aft to enable access for loading or discharging cargo.  The dimensions of bulk carriers are often determined by the ports and sea routes that they need to serve, and by the maximum width of the Panama Canal.  Most lakes are too small to accommodate bulk carriers, but a large fleet of [[Engineering:Lake freighter|lake freighter]]s has been plying the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway of [[Earth:North America|North America]] for over a century.

====Container ships====
{{Details|Container ship}}
[[File:Colombo.Express.wmt.jpg|thumb|right|''Colombo Express'', one of the largest container ships in the world, owned and operated by Hapag-Lloyd of {{wipe|Germany}}]]'''Container ships''' are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial [[Engineering:Intermodal freight transport|intermodal freight transport]].

===Tankers===
{{Details|Tanker (ship)}}
[[Image:Supertanker AbQaiq.jpg|right|thumb|Commercial crude oil supertanker ''AbQaiq'']]
A '''tanker''' is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk.

[[Engineering:Oil tanker|Oil tanker]]s for the transport of fluids, such as crude oil, [[Chemistry:Petroleum|petroleum]] products, liquefied petroleum gas, [[Chemistry:Liquefied natural gas|liquefied natural gas]] and chemicals, also vegetable oils, wine and other food - the tanker sector comprises one third of the world tonnage.

Tankers can range in size from several hundred [[Tonnage|tons]], designed to serve small harbours and coastal settlements, to several hundred thousand tons, with these being designed for long-range haulage. A wide range of products are carried by tankers, including:
* [[Chemistry:Hydrocarbon|hydrocarbon]] products such as [[Chemistry:Oil|oil]], LPG, and [[Chemistry:Liquefied natural gas|LNG]]
* [[Chemistry:Chemical substance|Chemicals]], such as [[Chemistry:Ammonia|ammonia]], [[Chemistry:Chlorine|chlorine]], and [[Chemistry:Styrene|styrene monomer]]
* [[Earth:Fresh water|fresh water]]
* wine

Different products require different handling and transport, thus special types of tankers have been built, such as "[[Engineering:Chemical tanker|chemical tanker]]s" and "[[Engineering:Oil tanker|oil tanker]]s". Gas Carriers such as "[[Engineering:LNG carrier|LNG carrier]]s" as they are typically known, are a relatively rare tanker designed to carry [[Chemistry:Liquefied natural gas|liquefied natural gas]].

Among oil tankers, supertankers were designed for carrying oil around the [[Place:Horn of Africa|Horn of Africa]] from the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]]; the FSO ''Knock Nevis'' being the largest vessel in the world, a ULCC supertanker formerly known as ''Jahre Viking'' (Seawise Giant). It has a deadweight of 565 thousand metric tons and length of about 458 meters. The use of such large ships is in fact very unprofitable, due to the inability to operate them at full cargo capacity; hence, the production of supertankers has currently ceased. Today's largest oil tankers in comparison by gross tonnage are ''TI Europe'', ''TI Asia'', ''TI Oceania'', which are the largest sailing vessels today. But even with their deadweight of 441,585 metric tons, sailing as VLCC most of the time, they do not use more than 70%  of their total capacity.

Apart from [[Physics:Pipeline transport|pipeline transport]], tankers are the only method for transporting large quantities of oil, although such tankers have caused large environmental disasters when sinking close to coastal regions, causing [[Earth:Oil spill|oil spill]]s. See {{MV|Braer||2}}, ''Erika'', ''[[Engineering:Exxon Valdez|Exxon Valdez]]'', ''Prestige'' and {{SS|Torrey Canyon||2}} for examples of tankers that have been involved in oil spills.

===Coasters===
{{Details|Coastal trading vessel}}
Coasters, smaller ships for any category of cargo which are normally not on ocean-crossing routes, but in coastwise trades. Coasters are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through [[Earth:Reef|reef]]s where seagoing ships usually cannot (seagoing ships have a very deep hull for supplies and trade etc.).

===Passenger ships===
{{Details|Passenger ship}}
A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. The category does not include [[Engineering:Cargo ship|cargo vessels]] which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the formerly ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters in which the transport of passengers is secondary to the carriage of freight. The type does however include many classes of ships which are designed to transport substantial numbers of passengers as well as freight. Indeed, until recently virtually all [[Engineering:Ocean liner|ocean liner]]s were able to transport mail, package freight and express, and other cargo in addition to passenger luggage, and were equipped with cargo holds and derricks, kingposts, or other cargo-handling gear for that purpose. Modern [[Engineering:Cruiseferry|cruiseferries]] have car decks for lorries as well as the passengers' cars. Only in more recent [[Engineering:Ocean liner|ocean liner]]s and in virtually all [[Engineering:Cruise ship|cruise ship]]s has this cargo capacity been removed.

A [[Engineering:Ferry|ferry]] is a [[Engineering:Boat|boat]] or ship carrying passengers and sometimes their vehicles. Ferries are also used to transport freight (in [[Engineering:Truck|lorries]] and sometimes unpowered freight [[Finance:Containerization|containers]]) and even [[Engineering:Railroad car|railroad car]]s (in the case of a [[Engineering:Train ferry|train ferry]]).

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Organization:American Bureau of Shipping|American Bureau of Shipping]]
*[[Engineering:Armed merchantman|Armed merchantman]]
*[[Engineering:Boat|Boat]]
*[[Earth:Canal|Canal]]
*[[Engineering:Gas carrier|Gas carrier]]
*[[Engineering:Glossary of nautical terms|Glossary of nautical terms]]
*Great Lakes Waterway
*[[Engineering:Lake freighter|Lake freighter]]
*Marine fuel management
*Navigability
*Ship
*Ship transport
*The American Waterways Operators
*[[Engineering:Watercraft|Watercraft]]
*[[Earth:Waterway|Waterway]]
*[[Engineering:Whaleback|Whaleback]]
*Tramp steamer
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.americanwaterways.com/ The American Waterways Operators (AWO)]
*[http://myship.com/seafarers/gallery/January2010.html Photos show the specificity of working on merchant ships]
*[http://www.ship-photos.de Photos of merchant ships]

{{ModernMerchantShipTypes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchant Vessel}}
[[Category:Ship types]]

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