ABSTRACT
So far we have said much about shipping economics, but little about the ships themselves. The classification systems used by statistical organizations such as Lloyd's Register of Shipping recognize literally hundreds of ship types. This wealth of different designs confronts shipowners with the difficult question 'What type of ship should I order?'. To help them in their decisions, they often ask shipping economists questions like 'What will be the future demand for container ships?'. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the different types of merchant ships and how their design features fit into the economic model discussed in Chapter 4.
