How does MarineTraffic categorise Commercial Market and Commercial Size Class?

MarineTraffic is able to define vessels by type according to:

  • the information they transmit via their AIS transponders
  • the information stored in our comprehensive maritime database.

Using those 2 sources, we can separate them into different Commercial Markets. Although specifying the exact definition of each Commercial Market and it's most important components is not an easy task, the following table shows the Markets that MarineTraffic uses in a number of services:

COMMERCIAL MARKETS
CONTAINER SHIPS
DRY BREAKBULK
DRY BULK
LNG CARRIERS
LPG CARRIERS
WET BULK
PASSENGER SHIPS
OFFSHORE/RIGS
RO/RO
SUPPORTING VESSELS 
PLEASURE CRAFT 
FISHING
OTHER MARKETS

Furthermore, larger vessels, such as freighters and tankers, can be further categorised into Commercial Size Classes based on their means of measuring their size. This information has been gathered in our database and it's solely responsible for this categorisation. 

Consequently, the categorisation is not universal. You may come across slightly different size-ranges per Category. The size-ranges, as mentioned in the table below, are used by MarineTraffic to further categorise the recorded vessels in its database. An example of putting such information to use is the Port Congestion charts, that can be found in the Ports' Detail Page, or the Data Exploration Tool, where various options have a filter for Commercial Market and Commercial Size Class. Additionally, they can be used as input parameters of the Port congestion API service.

MarineTraffic makes use of such information, as follows:

VESSEL TYPE SIZE CATEGORY SIZE (in TEU)
CONTAINER SHIPS SMALL FEEDER 0 – 999
CONTAINER SHIPS FEEDER 1,000 – 1,999
CONTAINER SHIPS FEEDERMAX 2,000 – 2,999
CONTAINER SHIPS PANAMAX 3,000 - 5,099
CONTAINER SHIPS POST PANAMAX 5,100 – 9,999
CONTAINER SHIPS NEW PANAMAX 10,000 – 14,499
CONTAINER SHIPS ULCV ≥ 14,500

 

VESSEL TYPE SIZE CATEGORY SIZE (in DWT)
DRY BREAKBULK
HANDYSIZE 0 - 39,999
DRY BREAKBULK HANDYMAX 40,000 - 59,999
DRY BREAKBULK PANAMAX 60,000 - 79,999
DRY BREAKBULK POST PANAMAX 80,000 - 119,999
DRY BREAKBULK CAPESIZE 120,000 - 199,999
DRY BREAKBULK VLBC/ULBC ≥ 200,000
DRY BULK HANDYSIZE 0 - 39,999
DRY BULK HANDYMAX 40,000 - 59,999
DRY BULK PANAMAX 60,000 - 79,999
DRY BULK POST PANAMAX 80,000 - 119,999
DRY BULK CAPESIZE 120,000 - 199,999
DRY BULK VLBC/ULBC ≥ 200,000 
WET BULK HANDYSIZE 0 - 39,999
WET BULK HANDYMAX/MR 40,000 - 59,999
WET BULK PANAMAX/LR1 60,000 - 79,999
WET BULK AFRAMAX/LR2 80,000 - 119,999
WET BULK SUEZMAX 120,000 - 199,999
WET BULK VLCC/ULCC ≥ 200,000 

 

VESSEL TYPE SIZE CATEGORY SIZE (in Liquid Gas)
LNG CARRIERS SNGC 0 - 59,999
LNG CARRIERS HNGC 60,000 - 99,999
LNG CARRIERS MNGC 100,000 - 139,999 
LNG CARRIERS LNGC 140,000 - 199,999 
LNG CARRIERS VLNGC ≥ 200,000 
LPG CARRIERS SGC 0 - 14,999 
LPG CARRIERS HGC 15,000 - 24,999 
LPG CARRIERS MGC 25,000 - 49,999 
LPG CARRIERS LGC 50,000 - 60,999 
LPG CARRIERS VLGC ≥ 61,000