Abstract: A novel bulbous bow for bulk carriers comprises a conical bulb with a faired nose, with the axis of the cone substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ship. In a preferred embodiment the cone is a right circular cone and the faired nose is substantially a hemisphere. More particularly, the included angle of the cone is in the range of five to twenty degrees. Although the cone could be faired into the hull, preferably it is not. The longitudinal centerline of the bulb is located between 45 and 60 percent of the design draft below the design waterline. The preferred extension of the bulb, beyond the forward perpendicular, is proportional to the square of design speed with the proportionality factor in the range of 0.015 to 0.04 and preferably 0.035. The cross-sectional area of the bulb at the forward perpendicular may be in the range from 10 to 20 percent of the amidships cross-sectional area.