Suezmax is a
naval architectureNaval architecture is an engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and repair of marine vehicles. Naval architecture involves basic and applied research, design, development, design evaluation and calculations during all stages of the life of a marine vehicle...
term for the largest ships capable of transiting the
Suez CanalThe Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened on November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa...
fully loaded, and is almost exclusively used in reference to
tankersAn oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
. Since the canal has no
locksA lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber whose water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is the...
, the only serious limiting factors are
draftThe draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
(maximum depth below waterline), and height due to the
Suez Canal BridgeThe Suez Canal Bridge, also known as the Mubarak Peace Bridge or the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge, is a road bridge crossing the Suez Canal at El Qantara. The Arabic "al qantara" means "the bridge".-Design and construction:...
. The current channel depth of the canal allows for a maximum of of draft, meaning many fully laden supertankers are too deep to fit through, and either have to unload part of their cargo to other ships ("transhipment") or to a pipeline terminal before passing through, or alternatively avoid the Suez Canal and travel around
Cape AgulhasCape Agulhas is on the geographic southern tip of Africa, and the official dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Historically, the cape has been known to sailors as a major hazard on the traditional clipper route and is sometimes regarded as one of the great capes...
instead.
Suezmax is a
naval architectureNaval architecture is an engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and repair of marine vehicles. Naval architecture involves basic and applied research, design, development, design evaluation and calculations during all stages of the life of a marine vehicle...
term for the largest ships capable of transiting the
Suez CanalThe Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened on November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa...
fully loaded, and is almost exclusively used in reference to
tankersAn oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
. Since the canal has no
locksA lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber whose water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is the...
, the only serious limiting factors are
draftThe draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
(maximum depth below waterline), and height due to the
Suez Canal BridgeThe Suez Canal Bridge, also known as the Mubarak Peace Bridge or the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge, is a road bridge crossing the Suez Canal at El Qantara. The Arabic "al qantara" means "the bridge".-Design and construction:...
. The current channel depth of the canal allows for a maximum of of draft, meaning many fully laden supertankers are too deep to fit through, and either have to unload part of their cargo to other ships ("transhipment") or to a pipeline terminal before passing through, or alternatively avoid the Suez Canal and travel around
Cape AgulhasCape Agulhas is on the geographic southern tip of Africa, and the official dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Historically, the cape has been known to sailors as a major hazard on the traditional clipper route and is sometimes regarded as one of the great capes...
instead. Currently, the canal is being deepened from.
The typical deadweight of a Suezmax ship is about 150,000 tons and typically has a beam (width) of . Also of note is the maximum head room—"
air draftAir draft is the distance from the water line to the highest point on the vessel. Air draft, plus a safety margin, determines the height required for a vessel above the water -- this is typically quoted for bridges over waterways as well as any other restrictions such as power lines....
"—limitation of , which is the height above water of the
Suez Canal BridgeThe Suez Canal Bridge, also known as the Mubarak Peace Bridge or the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge, is a road bridge crossing the Suez Canal at El Qantara. The Arabic "al qantara" means "the bridge".-Design and construction:...
.
Suez Canal Authorityis a state owned authority which owns, operates and maintains the Suez Canal. It was set up by Egypt to replace the Suez Canal Company in the 1950s which resulted in the Suez Crisis...
produces tables of width and acceptable draft, which are subject to change. Currently the wetted surface cross sectional area of the ship is limited by 945 m
2, which means of draught for ships with the beam no wider than or of draught for ships with maximum allowed beam of .
Improvements are envisaged so that in 2010, the maximum draft will increase to , in order to allow supertankers. Until then supertankers must discharge part of their cargo at the entry of the channel and reload it at the other end, transported along the way by pipeline.
Similar terms of
Panamax"Panamax ships" are the largest ships that can pass through Panama Canal. The size is limited by the dimensions of the lock chambers and the depth of the water in the canal...
,
MalaccamaxMalaccamax is a naval architecture term for the largest size of ship capable of fitting through the -deep Strait of Malacca. Because the Sunda Strait is even shallower at minimum depth, a post-Malaccamax ship would need to use even longer alternate routes such as:*Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait,...
and
SeawaymaxThe term Seawaymax refers to vessels which are the maximum size that can fit through the canal locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Seawaymax vessels are in length, wide, and have a draft of . A number of lake freighters larger than this size cruise the Great Lakes and cannot pass through to the...
are used for the largest ships capable of fitting through the
Panama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal which joins the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific ocean. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn...
, the
Strait of MalaccaThe Strait of Malacca is a narrow, 805 km stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra...
and
Saint Lawrence SeawayThe St. Lawrence Seaway is the common name for a system of canals that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior. Legally it extends from Montreal to Lake Erie, including the Welland Canal and the locks at Sault Ste....
, respectively.
AframaxAn Aframax ship is an oil tanker smaller than and with a breadth above 32.31 m. Aframax class tankers are largely used in the basins of the Black Sea, the North Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the China Sea and the Mediterranean...
tankers are those with a capacity of to .