| Firstly, an OBO would be able to switch between the dry and wet bulk trades based on market conditions. |
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| On one hand, due to a less specialized design, an OBO suffers more from wear and tear during dry cargo onload than a bulker. |
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| Secondly, an OBO could carry oil on one leg of a voyage and return carrying dry bulk, reducing the number of unprofitable ballast voyages it would have to make. |
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| In practice, the flexibility which the OBO design allows has gone largely unused, as these ships tend to specialize in either the liquid or dry bulk trade. |
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