One of these is the naval replenishment oiler, a tanker which can fuel a moving vessel. Some specialized types of oil tankers have evolved. Second only to pipelines in terms of efficiency, the average cost of transport of crude oil by tanker amounts to only US$5 to $8 per cubic metre ($0.02 to $0.03 per US gallon). Tankers move approximately 2.0 billion metric tons (2.2 billion short tons) of oil every year. The size classes range from inland or coastal tankers of a few thousand metric tons of deadweight (DWT) to ultra-large crude carriers (ULCCs) of 550,000 DWT. Oil tankers are often classified by their size as well as their occupation.
Product tankers, generally much smaller, are designed to move refined products from refineries to points near consuming markets. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers.
Handysize, Panamax, Aframax, Suezmax, Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC)Īn oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. The commercial oil tanker AbQaiq, in ballast
