Crude Oil Tanker
A Crude Oil Tanker is a tanker built to carry unrefined crude oil in bulk from oil-producing regions to refineries. These are among the largest ships afloat, because moving crude in the biggest possible parcels minimises cost per barrel over long ocean routes (the Middle East to Asia and Europe, West Africa, the Americas).
They are classed by size: Aframax (~80,000–120,000 dwt), Suezmax (~120,000–200,000 dwt, the largest that can transit the Suez Canal laden), and the giant VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier, ~200,000–320,000 dwt, around two million barrels) and ULCC. Crude tankers carry high pollution risk, so they are tightly regulated (double hulls under MARPOL) and subject to tanker vetting (SIRE) by the oil majors that charter them. Rates are highly volatile, tracked by benchmarks like Worldscale. Crude oil tankers are the backbone of the seaborne oil trade that fuels the global economy.
Crude oil tankers move the raw energy that powers economies, in the largest ships on the sea to squeeze cost per barrel. Their size classes, double-hull rules and oil-major vetting shape the whole crude trade, and their volatile rates are watched as an economic barometer. They are a cornerstone of energy shipping.
How big is a VLCC?
A Very Large Crude Carrier is roughly 200,000–320,000 dwt and carries around two million barrels of crude oil.
What is a Suezmax?
A crude tanker of about 120,000–200,000 dwt — the largest size that can transit the Suez Canal fully laden.