Chinamax

Chinamax is a standard of ship measurements that allow conforming ships to use various harbours when fully laden, the maximum size of such a ship being 24 m (79 ft) draft, 65 m (213 ft) beam and 360 m (1,180 ft) length overall.^[1][2] An example of ships of this size is the Valemax bulk carriers.

General characteristics
Tonnage	400,000 DWT
Length	360 m (1,181 ft)
Beam	65 m (213 ft)
Draft	24 m (79 ft)

Comparison of bounding box of Chinamax with some other ship sizes in isometric view.

The standard was originally developed to carry very large loads of iron ore to China from Brazilian port facilities operated by mineral firm Vale.^[1][2]

Correspondingly, harbours and other infrastructure that are "Chinamax-compatible" are those at which such ships can readily dock.^[1][2] Unlike Suezmax and Panamax, Chinamax is not determined by locks or channels, or bridges—the Chinamax standard is aimed at port provisions and the name is derived from the massive dry-bulk (ore) shipments that China receives from around the globe.

In container shipping, recent classes intended for trade with China have all focused on a ~400 meter length, which deep water container terminals can cater for.

Examples

• Lolabé, Cameroon—iron ore port.

See also

• List of Panamax ports
• Cargo ship sizes Handymax, Panamax, Suezmax, Capesize

References

1. "What are Chinamax Ships?". Marine Insight. 2016-07-22. Retrieved 2016-12-16. Brazil has been a key operator since the initial heydays of ore supplying operations to China with the Vale conglomerate strongly helping to address this demand. Although initially the most commonly utilised vessels to supply ores to the Oriental nation were the Capesize ships, in the year 2011, the company came up with its first purpose-built ore carrier ships, which came to be referred to as Chinamax ships and later on as Valemax ore carrying vessels.
2. "The Ultimate Guide to Ship Sizes". Maritime Security Asia. 2013-03-01. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-16. These vessels were initially custom built to cater between the Chinese port facilities and the South American nation of Brazil, though presently the development of appropriate harbor facilities have ensured their applicability beyond these two regions. Also commonly famous as Valemax vessels, Chinamax ships have a Dead Weight Tonnage (DWT) of up to 4,00,000 tonnes and measure about 360 meters lengthwise with a breadth of about 65 meters and a draft of about 25 meters.

External links

• Tanker ships
• Ship sizes Archived 2021-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
• Chinamax Archived 2020-05-14 at the Wayback Machine