Cargo liner

A cargo liner is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to container ships and other more specialized carriers in the latter half of the 20th century.

Characteristics

A cargo liner has been defined as:

Cargo liners transported general freight, from raw materials to manufactures to merchandise. Many had cargo holds adapted to particular services, with refrigerator space for frozen meats or chilled fruit, tanks for liquid cargos such as plant oils, and lockers for valuables. Cargo liners typically carried passengers as well, usually in a single class. They differed from ocean liners which focussed on the passenger trade, and from tramp steamers which did not operate on regular schedules. Cargo liners sailed from port to port along routes and on schedules published in advance.

History

The cargo liner developed in the mid-19th century with the advancement of technology allowing bigger steamships to be built. As cargo liners were generally faster than cargo ships, they were used for the transport of perishable and high-value goods, as well as providing a passenger service. At first, they were used in Europe and between Europe and America. Longer routes, such as that to Australia, remained in the hands of sailing ships, due to the inefficiency of the steamship of the time.