A multipurpose vessel with cargo holds, tween decks, and derricks or cranes, designed to carry a variety of break-bulk and unitised cargoes.
In practice
The decline of breakbulk trade in favour of containerisation has reduced the number of general cargo ships in service, but they remain essential on routes that cannot economically be served by container liners or where the cargo dimensions or nature prevent container stowage. Cargo securing under the IMO Cargo Securing Manual — mandatory under SOLAS VI/5 — is a key responsibility of cargo officers and the ship's engineers who maintain securing equipment. Classification societies survey derricks and cranes at prescribed intervals, and the safe working load certificate must be current before any cargo operation.
Regulatory detail & full definition
General cargo ships, sometimes called multipurpose freighters, are versatile vessels equipped with cargo holds, tween decks, and ship's own lifting gear — derricks or pedestal cranes — able to load and discharge a wide variety of cargo types without shore equipment. They carry bagged goods, timber, steel products, project cargo, machinery, and refrigerated cargo in a single voyage, with different cargo types secured and separated by dunnage, securing gear, and wooden separation. Vessels in the 3,000 to 15,000 DWT range dominate the breakbulk trade serving ports with limited infrastructure, while larger multipurpose heavy-lift vessels serve project cargo trades in the energy and construction sectors.
The decline of breakbulk trade in favour of containerisation has reduced the number of general cargo ships in service, but they remain essential on routes that cannot economically be served by container liners or where the cargo dimensions or nature prevent container stowage. Cargo securing under the IMO Cargo Securing Manual — mandatory under SOLAS VI/5 — is a key responsibility of cargo officers and the ship's engineers who maintain securing equipment. Classification societies survey derricks and cranes at prescribed intervals, and the safe working load certificate must be current before any cargo operation.