In cargo vessels, hatch covers are used to prevent sea water from penetrating into the cargo hold and to keep the vessels buoyant. And also they can be used as cargo loading devices as in container ships. In this paper, hatch covers are classified according to their operation method and their characteristics are briefly demonstrated. Systematic description on the scantling of the hatch cover panel and how to determine the capacity of the hydraulic power system fir folding hatch cover panels are also presented. The hydraulic power system is selected from the result of dynamic analysis of the movements of the hatch cover panels when stored on the upper deck. The hatch coaming height is determined as shortly as the hydraulic cylinders can be installed. This study deals with the hatch cover system of the medium sized multi-purpose cargo vessel, but the results of this study can be applied to large-sized cargo vessels with a slight change of the input data in the calculations. Further research on the high pressure pump, hydraulic cleating system and hydraulic piping will realize domestic production of the whole hatch cover system which have been supplied from foreign makers until now