Ship types

Field guides to the vessels you will see on the water — what each one is for, and how to tell it from the others at a distance.

• Bulk carrier — The workhorse of the dry trades: a long flat deck punctuated by rectangular hatch covers, machinery and accommodation squeezed right at the stern.
• Container ship — The most recognisable ship afloat: a wall of stacked steel boxes, often six or seven high above the deck and as many again below it.

Every one of these is on the live map right now, somewhere.