Ship Types Guide
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The Ship Types Guide provides a structured reference for navigating ship classification across the frameworks that drive maritime compliance costs. Drawing on IMO MARPOL Annex VI, EU MRV and FuelEU Maritime, IHS StatCode5, DNV, World Ships, and Ship Knowledge, the guide documents the Sustainable Ships classification — 20 categories, 72 types, and 52 sizes — and sets it side-by-side with each source framework, showing where they agree, where they diverge, and what the differences mean for regulatory scope.
Rather than treating ship type as an administrative label, the guide anchors classification in its commercial consequence: the wrong ship type assumption can mean the wrong regulatory framework, the wrong compliance cost, and the wrong business case.
Regulatory scoping – Determine which frameworks apply to your vessel: IMO CII/EEXI, EU ETS, FuelEU Maritime, or none.
Framework translation – Map vessel classifications across IMO, EU MRV, IHS StatCode5, DNV, and Clarkson's in a single reference table.
Example ship database – Browse 130+ real-world reference vessels, one per Category × Type × Size combination, drawn from a database of 31,000+ ships.
FAQ and definitions – Resolve classification ambiguities with authoritative source citations, including where to find the official IMO ship type definitions.
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The Ship Types Guide provides a structured reference for navigating ship classification across regulatory and commercial frameworks. Drawing on IMO MARPOL Annex VI, EU MRV, IHS StatCode5, DNV, World Ships, and Ship Knowledge, the guide maps the Sustainable Ships classification: 20 categories, 72 types, and 52 sizes, against each source framework and documents where they agree, where they diverge, and why.
A downloadable spreadsheet with more detailed information on ship types is included
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References
Hyperlinks and downloads for premium users only
IMO - 2021 IMO Resolution MEPC.328(76)
IMO - 2025 IMO Circular Letter No. 5005 (April 2025)
IMO - Safety regulations for different ship types
EU ETS - 2015 Regulation EU 2015-757 EU ETS
EU - 2016 Commission Implementing Regulation EU 2016-1928
FuelEU Maritime - 2023 Regulation EU 2023-1805 FuelEU
UK - 2020 UK Shipping Fleet Statistics Notes and Definitions
IHS Markit - StatCode 5 Shiptype Coding System
World Ships - Ship Database
Ship Knowledge - Klaas van Dokkum