An oil tanker is also called a petroleum tanker. These ships are merchant vessels that are specifically designed to carry oil. There are two different types, those that carry crude oil and those that carry a finished product. The crude tankers will be in charge of moving huge quantities of unrefined crude oil from the point on the globe that it was extracted to the refineries so it can be used. The tankers responsible for moving the finished product are much smaller and take the refined oil from the refineries to ports that are equipped to bring the oil to the consumers.
Supertankers | The Largest Ship Tankers – Geographic History
Oil tankers are also described by their size as well as what sort of oil that they carry. There are also different sizes of oil tankers in each sub-category of the journey. The inland tankers are much smaller than the coastal tankers, which are dwarfed by the gigantic crude carriers. Tankers move around 2,000,000,000 metric tons of oil every year, and they are a highly efficient way of moving the oil to the refineries and then on to the consumers. The average cost to transport a gallon of oil to be transported by a tanker is only about two or three cents in US dollars.
World Biggest Ship – Jahre Viking Supertanker
Since this is an ever-evolving line of work, some special types of oil tankers have been developed. One of which is a naval replenish unit, which is a tanker that is used to re-fuel a moving vessel. This is used by the US navy rather often. The normal tankers usually have around eight to twelve different tanks to store oil in while it is being transported. Each tank has individual bulkheads for safety and these can be controlled and held in quarantine in case of accidents. There are also places called cofferdams on these oil tankers. These are areas left open between two bulkheads giving leeway and a safety net in case of fire, heat damage, or collision that can cause the oil to spill out into the ocean.
Full loaded Oil Tanker in storm
Oil tankers have come under fire lately because they sometimes get into very costly accidents in which the oil can be released into the area of the ocean that the tanker was in. these oil spills are very hazardous to both humans and the animals that live in the area. Therefore, the tankers are frequently inspected and face very high regulations in order to attempt to minimize such oil spills. These are completely devastating on the local population of fish and wildlife in the area, and as a result of previous oil spills, new ships are redesigned to minimize these risks. There are also many regulations in place and there are independent regulating committees that come onto the ships and evaluate its safety measures.
The oil tankers are both a necessity and a liability. Although they supply the oil our modern life so desperately needs, they also endanger the oceans if there is an accident. New regulations on safety are minimizing this threat, however it is still present
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