General Cargo Ship
A General Cargo Ship is a versatile merchant vessel designed to carry a wide variety of packaged, break-bulk and unitised cargo — bagged and boxed goods, palletised freight, steel, timber, machinery, project cargo and some containers — rather than a single homogeneous commodity. Modern versions, often called multi-purpose vessels (MPV/MPP), have large open holds, tween decks (intermediate decks) for flexible stowage, and their own cranes/derricks so they can load and discharge at ports lacking shore cranes.
Once the dominant ship type before containerisation, general cargo/multi-purpose ships remain important for trades and ports not fully containerised, for break-bulk and heavy or oversized cargo, and for project shipments. Their onboard gear and flexible holds let them serve remote or less-developed ports and carry cargoes that don't fit the container mould. They overlap with heavy-lift and break-bulk shipping, and are a flexible, enduring segment of the merchant fleet bridging the containerised and specialised trades.
Not every cargo fits a container and not every port has cranes — the general cargo (multi-purpose) ship handles both, with its own gear and flexible holds for break-bulk, project and mixed cargo. It bridges the containerised and specialised trades and keeps less-developed and project trades moving, making it an enduring, versatile workhorse.
What is a tween deck?
An intermediate deck within a hold that gives flexible stowage for varied general and break-bulk cargo.
Why do general cargo ships have their own cranes?
So they can load and discharge at ports that lack adequate shore cranes, serving remote or less-developed trades.