Hopper barge

Hopper barge

• Hopper barge is a kind of non-mechanical ship or vessel that cannot move around by itself, unlike some other types of barges. Designed to carry materials, like rocks, sand, soil and rubbish, for dumping into the ocean, a river or lake for land reclamation.
• Hopper barges are seen in two distinctive types; raked hopper or box hopper barges. The raked hopper barges move faster than the box hoppers; they are both designed for movement of dry bulky commodities
• There are several "hoppers" or compartments between the fore and aft bulkhead of the barge. On the bottom of the barge hull there is (are) also a large "hopper door(s)", opening downwards. The doors are closed while the vessel is moving, so she can carry the materials that are to be dumped. The door(s) open when the ship has arrived at the spot where the materials are to be dumped.

Reefer ship

• type of ship typically used to transport perishable commodities which require temperature-controlled transportation, mostly fruits, meat, fish, vegetables, dairy products and other foodstuffs.
• Reeferships may be split into two categories:

1. Sidedoor vessels have sidedoors that are lowered to the quay and serve as loading and discharging ramps for the forklifts. In the rear of the sidedoor there is a double pallet elevator, which brings the cargo to the respective decks. This special design makes the vessels particularly well suited for short distance trade. 
2. Conventional vessels have a traditional cargo operation with hatches and cranes/derricks well suited for the handling of palletized and loose cargo. 

Roll Off Roll On (RoRo)

• Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are ferries designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars. 
• This is in contrast to lo-lo (lift on-lift off) vessels which use a crane to load and unload cargo.
• RORO vessels have built-in ramps which allow the cargo to be efficiently "rolled on" and "rolled off" the vessel when in port. 
• While smaller ferries that operate across rivers and other short distances still often have built-in ramps, the term RORO is generally reserved for larger ocean-going vessels. 
• The ramps and doors may be stern-only, or bow and stern for quick loading.

Variations of RORO 

• ROPAX (roll on/roll off passenger) describes a RORO vessel built for freight vehicle transport but also with passenger accommodation. Technically this encompasses all ferries with both a roll on/roll off car deck and passenger-carrying capacities, but in practice ships with facilities for more than 500 passengers are often referred to as cruiseferries.
• ConRO vessel is a hybrid between a RORO and a container ship. This type of vessel has a below-decks area used for vehicle storage while stacking containerized freight on the top decks. Examples of ConRo ships such as those in the fleet of Atlantic Container Line can carry a combination of 1,900 twenty-foot-equivalent-units (TEUs) of containers, up to 1,000 TEUs of heavy equipment, as well as project and oversized cargo on three decks and up to 2,000 automobiles on 5 decks. Separate internal ramp systems within the vessel segregate automobiles from other vehicles, mafi trailers and breakbulk cargo.
• A RoLo (roll-on lift-off) vessel is another hybrid vessel type with ramps serving vehicle decks but with other cargo decks accessible only by crane