A confusion usually seen in our courses is in the interpretations of these terms bulk and break bulk, which many times are erroneously used in the market.
Bulk is a cargo loaded loose, dropped or poured into the into holds unpackaged, by means of grabs or shiploaders, lines, and may be dry or liquid, usually in large quantities. Ships that carry
dry bulk cargoes are known as bulk carriers, and tankers are the ships specialized in bulk liquids.
A typical bulk carrier is gearless, i.e., without cranes. However, a considerable number of bulk carriers have cranes on board. They are geared, therefore, and suitable for certain trades that use ports with no cranes on shore to handle bulk cargoes.
Examples of bulk cargoes:
– Ores such as coal, manganese, iron ore, etc.
– Grains in general, such as rice, barley, maize, soya and its derivatives, etc.
– Fertilizers in its various types
– Petroleum, ethanol, chemical products, vegetable oils, etc.
– Wood pellets, wood chips, etc.
– Sugar in its various grades
– Etc.
On the other hand, break bulk – or general cargo – is a term that covers a wide range of unitized products loaded individually. This term derives from “breaking bulk”, that is the
extraction of a portion of cargo from ship’s holds, or the “commencement of discharge of a ship”. Along the years, this expression ended up being adopted to refer to general cargoes, forming the term break bulk cargo.
Break bulk cargo may be loaded in bags, boxes, drums, barrels, bales, etc., Depending on the cargo, it may be unpackaged units as well, such as vehicles, machinery, equipment, pipes of large diameter, metallic structures, and several other cargoes that do not require packaging.
Ships that carry this type of cargo are known as break bulk ships, general cargo ships or multipurpose ships. They may be single deckers or tween deckers. However, is it important to point out that the fact of being specialized in break bulk cargo does not prevent them from carrying part cargoes in bulk, as it commonly seen in multipurpose ships. Conversely, bulk carriers may also ship a part cargo or even full cargo of break bulk, a relatively common situation, too.
Some examples of break bulk cargoes:
– Metals in bars, billets, plates, ingots, coils, etc., on pallets, bundles or loose
– Loose or palletized drums
– Wood logs in bundles
– Palletized sawn timber
– Bagged cargo in general, loaded loose, pre-slung or on pallets
– Sisal, wood pulp, cotton, etc. in bales
– Paper on reels or on pallets
– Big bags or jumbo bags with chemicals
– Etc.
