A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds.
Multipurpose cargo ships can carry bulk cargo, but can also carry other cargoes and are not specifically designed for bulk carriage. The term "dry bulk carrier" is used to distinguish bulkers from bulk liquid carriers such as oil, chemical, or liquefied petroleum gas carriers.