Beamy bulker (Kamsarmax)

A beamy bulker is a Kamsarmax-type carrier of about 80,000 to 85,000 dwt that abandons the 32.3 meter Panama Canal beam limit and widens the hull instead. Because the original Panamax locks closed at 32.31 meters, designs sized for that beam carried a length-driven penalty; once a ship no longer needs the old locks, widening the beam adds deadweight and cargo cubic on a shorter, more efficient hull. The Neopanamax locks opened in 2016 at 49 meters beam, which freed designers to draw wider Kamsarmax variants. These beamy hulls trade the same coal, grain, and bauxite cargoes as a standard Kamsarmax with better stowage and stability.