Capesize

Capesize denotes the largest conventional dry-bulk carriers — broadly those above about 150,000 deadweight tonnes — which are too big for the Suez and Panama Canals and so must route around the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, giving the class its name. Capesizes are dedicated almost entirely to the two highest-volume dry bulks: iron ore and coal, on routes such as Brazil and Australia to China. Because they are gearless and deep-drafted, they load and discharge only at a limited number of deep-water bulk terminals, and their earnings are a closely watched barometer of the dry-bulk market.