Chinamax is a standard of shipmeasurements, that allow conforming ships to use multiple harbours at maximum capacity. Inversely, harbours and other infrastructure that are "Chinamax-compatible" can receive such ships economically, i.e. all harbours accept the same maximum measurements: Maximum 24 m (78.7 ft) draft

Draft

Draft or draught may mean:* Draught beer or other beverage, served from a bulk keg or cask rather than a bottle or can-Watercraft dimensions:* Draft , distance from waterline to keel* Draft , degree of curvature in a sail...

, 65 m (213.3 ft) beam

Beam

Beam may refer to:*Beam , a construction element*Beam , the most extreme width of a nautical vessel, or a point alongside the ship at the mid-point of its length*A narrow, propagating stream of particles or energy:...

 and 360 m (1,181.1 ft) length overall.

The deadweight tonnage

Deadweight tonnage

Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew...

 of Chinamax vessels is 380,000–400,000 DWT. The Brasilian iron ore company Vale is currently building a fleet of 35 very large ore carriers (VLOC) with a deadweight tonnage within this range, referred to as the Valemax

Valemax

Valemax is a class of very large ore carriers operated by the Brazilian mining company Vale S.A.. The 400,000-ton Chinamax ships, designed to transport iron ore from Brazil to European and Chinese ports, are the largest bulk carriers ever built and among the longest ships currently in service....

vessels. Berge Bulk has also ordered four ships of similar size.

The name is derived from the massive dry-bulk (ore) shipments to China from multiple locations around the world.

In contrast to Suezmax

Suezmax

Suezmax is a naval architecture term for the largest ship measurements capable of transiting the Suez Canal, and is almost exclusively used in reference to tankers. Since the canal has no locks, the only serious limiting factors are draft , and height due to the Suez Canal Bridge...

 and Panamax

Panamax

Panamax and New Panamax are popular terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. Formally, the limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority titled "Vessel Requirements"...

, Chinamax is not determined by locks or channels. It is aimed at port provisions.