ABSTRACT
So far we have said much about shipping economics, but little about the ships themselves. A ship is a major investment, and with a wealth of different types and sizes on offer, investors are confronted with the difficult question of what type of ship to order. To help them in their decisions, they often ask shipping economists what will be the future demand, for example, 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.
