Seize the High Seas Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bulk carriers

While these named classes technically apply to all seagoing ships, they are almost exclusively used for bulk carriers. The categories are defined for the largest facilities (ports and canals) the respective ship can safely use. The Panamax (and now Neo-Panamax) sizes are among the most common and refer to ships that can use the Panama Canal with the old and new sets of locks respectively. Suezmax is much larger and can traverse the lockless Suez Canal. Capesize (not to be confused with capsize) is the largest and effectively unlimited specification - it cannot use any of the main canals and thus has to sail around the capes to go from one ocean to another.

Answer: Roll-on/Roll-off

Roll-on/Roll-off vessels are designed to transport vehicles who will enter the vessel under their own power and park as if in a garage for the duration of the transit. Many of these have rails on at least some decks so they can take railcars as well as trucks.

A special subclass of this group is, of course, the seagoing passenger ferry which includes both vehicle decks and passenger accommodation with the latter ranging from basic for short transits such as English Channel crossings to luxurious for longer voyages. Ferries sailing internationally almost always include ample duty free shops and casino facilities to generate some additional revenue off the passengers while in international waters.

Answer: Cruise ships

The largest 21st century cruise ships are effectively huge, moving, all-inclusive vacation resorts including water parks, cinemas, stage entertainment, sports facilities and even roller coasters. Cruises usually last from 7 to 20 days and stop at various interesting ports, but round the world cruises are being offered as well and, partially inspired by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, "cruises to nowhere" where the ship just sails the open sea without stopping before returning to the embarkation port, have found some popularity as well. Cruise ships have attracted some negative press due to their environmental impact.

Answer: Tankers

Tankers make up the largest section of the world's seagoing fleet, almost having as much tonnage as container and bulk vessels combined. Most tankers transport petroleum products - crude oil is the most common commodity, but refined products make up a significant portion as well. Smaller tankers also carry a variety of other products.

The ULCC classification stands for "ultra large crude carrier" and currently represents the largest group of vessels with almost ten times the tonnage of the largest tankers when the scale was originally developed in the 1950s.

The Seawise Giant, largest ship of the world up to 2021, was able to carry more than half a million metric tons of crude oil. She was sunk by Iraqi bombs in 1988 but salvaged and restored, sailing until 2004.

Answer: Tugboats

While tugboats can be primarily found in ports, rivers and canals to aid in the precise manoeuvring of large vessels, there are actually quite a few oceangoing tugboats. Especially in the case of vessels losing power far from the coast, onsite repairs are often not possible, so the disabled ship will have to be towed to port even over thousands of nautical miles. Manoeuvring tugs can be very demanding as, unlike for other ships, the configuration drastically changes depending on the vessels towed and, for larger towed ships, tugboats often have to work in groups - for a large tanker, it is not uncommon to have six tugs at one time.

Answer: Barges

Barges have been around since at least the middle ages where they were developed from simple rafts. Used mainly on rivers and canals, barges could float freely downstream or be pulled by animals on canals or upstream. Nowadays, ocean-going barges do exist and provide for both storage and transport capacity especially for goods that may be loaded and unloaded very slowly - the hull of the barge can be moored for loading while the expensive power unit (often a tugboat class specifically fitted to the barge type) takes another loaded hull to sea.

Barges are also commonly used near ports to take over partial or complete loads from ships too large for the port or which would have too deep a draft to enter the port fully loaded.

Answer: Container ships

Container ships are the backbone of the world's sea transport network, taking on all the cargo that is not shipped as bulk. All cargo is pre-packed in rectangular steel containers usually measuring 20 or 40 feet in length (although 45, 48 and 53 foot length containers exist, they are not used at sea).

The standard size, sturdy structure and rectangular format allows for those containers to be stacked like Lego bricks on the vessels with the largest vessels able to carry over 20,000 of the 20-foot kind. One 20-foot container is the aforementioned TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit). Container ships are very fast to load and unload and have a relatively high sea speed of up to 25 knots (46 kph / 29 mph), thus providing fast and versatile sea transport.

Answer: Ocean liner

While ocean liners were the primary (and rather luxurious) mode of intercontinental travel in the late 19th and early 20th century, air travel quickly displaced them beginning from the 1950s. For those passengers who wanted to enjoy the experience of sea travel, cruise ships took over the market segment, providing pre-packaged holidays with a return to the starting point while for those just wanting to get to their destinations, planes are far more convenient. During their heyday, ocean liners also carried mail and cargo.

Many of the last ocean liners were converted to cruise ships or permanently docked as hotels or museums. Since 2008, the last major ship to offer traditional ocean liner one-way passages is the Queen Mary 2, although she does not exclusively sail as a liner, but also offers cruises. When operating as an ocean liner, the Queen Mary 2 reaches over 30 knots, much faster than a cruise ship and has been constructed with additional structural reserves that allows her to sail in far worse weather than a cruise ship can.

Answer: Cable layers

If the idea of loading passengers or cargo at one port and unloading at another is not your seafaring dream and you do not mind sailing at slow speeds, a cable layer would be a great ship for you because you will be unloading your cargo at sea.

Cable layers are the ships that place the huge transoceanic communication cables into their desired place under the water. While relatively sturdy, those cables are still prone to breakage and thus, a cable layer's crew will need to be very skilled at smooth maneuvers, especially in rougher weather. Cable layers usually also carry equipment for locating and raising cables from the ocean floor from depths of up to 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) to make repairs in case a cable breaks.

Answer: Multi-purpose ships

A multi-purpose ship might be a great starting point for a captain looking to own and operate the first ship of her own. While not as large as some of the other classes, these ships provide versatile operations mostly at short and medium range. Typical multi-purpose ships carry a combination of containers and non-standard packaged goods with some also having bulk holds and/or tanks for liquid cargo.

Many multi-purpose ships, especially the ones serving smaller ports and variable routes carry their own loading gear (cranes) suitable for the typical load, thus keeping ship and crew busy even while at port.