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Combined ships have been built in order to minimize ballast voyages and to take advantage of the highest freight rates on either market, oil or dry cargo market. Then their versatility should have been very attractive for shipowners. So why has the combined¯eet shrunk to such an extent? This paper provides an analysis of the employment of combined ships, how this has been in¯uenced since the 1970s, and how these ships may have in¯uenced oil and dry market balances. The research identi® es the decisive role that grain trade seems to be able to play about shifting markets, and that combined ships were the largest bulk carriers in the 1970s. It is an opportunity to stress that freight rates are not always the only salient point for a shipowner's decision and to consider the importance of combination ships contribution to shipping markets.

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