A tanker (or tank ship or tankship ) is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in bulk . Major types of tankship include the oil tanker (or petroleum tanker ), the chemical tanker , cargo ships , and a gas carrier . Tankers also carry commodities such as vegetable oils, molasses and wine. In the United States Navy and Military Sealift Command , a tanker used to refuel other ships is called an oiler (or replenishment oiler if it can also supply dry stores) but many other navies use the terms tanker and replenishment tanker . Tankers were first developed in the late 19th century as iron and steel hulls and pumping systems were developed. As of 2005, there were just over 4,000 tankers and supertankers 10,000 LT DWT or greater operating worldwide.
43-642: Exxon Valdez was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound , spilling her cargo of crude oil into the sea. On 24 March 1989, while owned by the former Exxon Shipping Company , captained by Joseph Hazelwood and First Mate James Kunkel, and bound for Long Beach, California , the vessel ran aground on the Bligh Reef , resulting in the second largest oil spill in United States history. The size of
86-497: A book by William Davies , an early tanker captain, was published in 1903, although Davies had printed earlier versions himself. Including his calculations on the expansion and contraction of bulk oil, and other information for tanker officers, it went into multiple editions, and in 1915 The Petroleum World commented that it was "the standard book for computations and conversions." China Ocean Shipping (Group) Corporation China Ocean Shipping Company (abbreviated as COSCO )
129-558: A company from COSCO Development. That company was the operator of Boao Forum for Asia . In 1997, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer , United States senators from California, had asked the Clinton administration to investigate COSCO's leasing on a former naval base in Long Beach. The site was developed into a container port terminal, Pacific Container Terminal. In 2002, another subsidiary, COSCO Shipping Co., Ltd. , became
172-512: A container fleet with a capacity of 1,580,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), and a tanker fleet of 120 vessels. The fleet calls at over a thousand ports worldwide. It ranks among the largest in both number of container ships and aggregate container volume in the world. In 2012, it was among China's top 15 brands. It was the largest dry bulk carrier in China and one of the largest dry bulk shipping operators worldwide. In addition,
215-470: A listed company in Shanghai. In 2004, COSCO formed a joint venture with fellow Central Government owned Ansteel Group ( Angang Group). In 2005, the flagship subsidiary of COSCO, China COSCO Holdings , became a listed company. The A share of China COSCO Holdings was listed in Shanghai since 2007. After the post- 2008 financial crisis collapse of global shipping, COSCO began gradually acquiring
258-549: A listed company in Singapore Exchange. The company was a component of Straits Times Index until 2010. COSCO acquired a Shanghai -listed company in 1997 as a vehicle of backdoor listing . It became COSCO Development , which engaged in real estate. The direct parent company of COSCO Development was sold in 2005, thus COSCO Development was no longer part of the COSCO Group. Also in 2005, COSCO Group acquired
301-433: A relatively new concept, dating from the later years of the 19th century. Before this, technology had simply not supported the idea of carrying bulk liquids. The market was also not geared towards transporting or selling cargo in bulk, therefore most ships carried a wide range of different products in different holds and traded outside fixed routes. Liquids were usually loaded in casks—hence the term " tonnage ", which refers to
344-735: A single product or simultaneously transport mixed cargoes such as several different chemicals or refined petroleum products. Among oil tankers, supertankers are designed for transporting oil around the Horn of Africa from the Middle East . The supertanker Seawise Giant , scrapped in 2010, was 458 meters (1,503 ft) in length and 69 meters (226 ft) wide. Supertankers are one of the three preferred methods for transporting large quantities of oil, along with pipeline transport and rail . Tighter regulation means that tankers now cause fewer environmental disasters resulting from oil spills than in
387-506: A terminal in Kwai Tsing Container Terminals , Hong Kong since 1991. COSCO Pacific acquired 49% stake of COSCO Logistics from the parent company in 2003. COSCO retained the remaining 51%. COSCO Pacific also owned 20% stake of Hong Kong-based Chong Hing Bank from 1997 to 2007. In 2007 the stake was sold to the parent company, COSCO HK. In 1995, another subsidiary, COSCO Corporation (Singapore) Limited, became
430-403: Is COSCO which continues to ship to Russia, and was the largest shipping company to do so. In 2005, a smaller Central Government owned company, China Ocean Shipping Tally (known as China Tally in short), was merged into COSCO Group. In 2008, China COSCO Holdings was part of Financial Times Global 500 for the first time. By 2015, after more than 5 decades, COSCO Group expanded into one of
473-643: The Yinhe incident , United States military vessels and aircraft followed the Yinhe, disrupting its normal travel route. The United States unilaterally disabled the Yinhe 's civilian GPS, causing it lose direction and anchor on the high seas for twenty-four days until it agreed to inspection. The Yinhe experienced shortages of water and fuel. The inspection, which occurred in Saudi Arabia did not find any improper chemicals and on September 4, representatives of
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#1732764841772516-552: The Guinness brewery used tankers to transport the stout across the Irish Sea . Different products require different handling and transport, with specialised variants such as " chemical tankers ", " oil tankers ", and " LNG carriers " developed to handle dangerous chemicals, oil and oil-derived products, and liquefied natural gas respectively. These broad variants may be further differentiated with respect to ability to carry only
559-537: The United States Maritime Administration 's statistics count 4,024 tankers of 10,000 LT DWT or greater worldwide. 2,582 of these are double-hulled. Panama is the leading flag state of tankers, with 592 registered ships. Five other flag states have more than two hundred registered tankers: Liberia (520), The Marshall Islands (323), Greece (233), Singapore (274) and The Bahamas (215). These flag states are also
602-480: The average freight rate assessment (AFRA) system, which classifies tankers of different sizes. To make it an independent instrument, Shell consulted the London Tanker Brokers' Panel (LTBP) . At first, they divided the groups as General Purpose for tankers under 25,000 tons deadweight (DWT); Medium Range for ships between 25,000 and 45,000 DWT and Large Range (later Long Range) for
645-415: The 1970s. Amoco Cadiz , Braer , Erika , Exxon Valdez , Prestige and Torrey Canyon were examples of accidents. Oil spills from tankers amounted to around 1,000 tonnes in 2020 from three incidents (an all-time low), down from 636,000 tonnes from 92 incidents in 1979 - a fall of 99.8%. Many modern tankers are designed for a specific cargo and a specific route. Draft is typically limited by
688-526: The Chinese, Saudi and United States governments jointly signed a certification that the ship's cargo did not contain materials related to chemical weapons. The company became a holding company and renamed as China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company in 1993. Two other government owned companies, China Marine Bunker Supply Company ( Chimbusco in short) and China Road Transport Company, which engaged in oil tanker and road transport businesses respectively, became
731-497: The Greek port of Piraeus . Under COSCO, Piraeus has become a busy port, rising from traffic of 400,000 containers in 2008 to nearly five million containers in 2018. Most European trade with China occurs via Greek ships, including through Piraeus. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , most shipping companies halted all container shipping to Russia, except for basic food products, medicine and humanitarian aid. The exception
774-578: The Group is the largest liner carrier in China. COSCO division COSCO Shipping Port Company manages the company's port operations. China Ocean Shipping Company, or COSCO in short, was founded in 1961 as a Chinese government agency . In the same year, a subsidiary was formed in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. The Guangzhou subsidiary purchased a British vessel and renamed it as Guanghua ( Chinese : 光华 ). Guanghua made its maiden voyage to Jakarta for
817-526: The Hong Kong–based shipping company, Hong Kong Bloom Shipping Ltd., which renamed the ship, once again, to Dong Fang Ocean ( Chinese : 东方海 ; lit. 'Oriental Sea'), under Panama registry. In 2008, she was refitted and converted from an oil tanker to an ore carrier. Hong Kong Bloom Shipping is a subsidiary of Chinese government-owned company China Ocean Shipping (Group) Corporation (COSCO). On 29 November 2010, Dong Fang Ocean collided in
860-760: The Ninth Circuit Court reduced the punitive damages to US$ 2.5 billion. Exxon then appealed the punitive damages to the Supreme Court which capped the damages to US$ 507.5 million in June, 2008. On 27 August 2008, Exxon Mobil agreed to pay 75% of the US$ 507.5 million damages ruling to settle the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska. In June 2009, a federal ruling ordered Exxon to pay an additional US$ 480 million in interest on their delayed punitive damage awards. After repairs, Exxon Valdez
903-630: The People's Republic of China in April 1961. After the US resumed diplomatic relations with China in the 1970s, China Ocean Shipping Company signed an agreement with American company Lykes Brothers Steamship Company in 1979. The agreement opens the commercial sea routes between the United States and the People's Republic of China. In the same year, COSCO became the Chinese side representative to collaborate with International Telephone and Telegraph on repairing
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#1732764841772946-715: The South China Sea with the Malta-flagged cargo ship, Aali . Both vessels were severely damaged in the incident, and Aali was towed to Weihai and Dong Fang Ocean was towed to Longyan Port in Shandong . In March 2012, Dong Fang Ocean was purchased by Global Marketing Systems, Inc. for scrap at an estimated US$ 16 million and sailed under her own power to a ship breaker in Singapore. She changed hands again among scrap merchants (a common occurrence) and
989-654: The communication facilities in the coastal cities of China. In 1981, COSCO won a contract from the Pakistani Government owned National Tanker Company of Pakistan, for crude oil transport. In 1991 COSCO was asked by the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to submit information regarding Chinese Government restricting U.S.-flag carriers on doing business in China. COSCO asked FMC to drop its probe instead. FMC also investigated COSCO for its pricing behavior in 1997, but stated there
1032-513: The depth of water in loading and unloading harbors; and may be limited by the depth of straits or canals along the preferred shipping route. Cargoes with high vapor pressure at ambient temperatures may require pressurized tanks or vapor recovery systems. Tank heaters may be required to maintain heavy crude oil , residual fuel , asphalt , wax , or molasses in a fluid state for offloading. Tankers used for liquid fuels are classified according to their capacity. In 1954, Shell Oil developed
1075-495: The division acquired a HK-listed company Shun Shing Holdings in February 1997. Hong Kong was a British colony until June 30, 1997, and has been a special administrative region of China with a separate jurisdiction system since July 1. Another subsidiary of COSCO HK at that time, COSCO Pacific , was a HK-listed company since 1994. COSCO Pacific has a joint venture with Hongkong International Terminals Limited, which operates
1118-483: The eve of 2015 merger, COSCO Group has a few listed companies : Moreover, China International Marine Containers is an associate company of the group, which COSCO indirectly owned 22.77% shares of that listed company as of December 2015. The stake was owned by COSCO Pacific until 2013. As of 2000, COSCO also owned 30% stake of China Cargo Airlines . COSCO also had an unlisted business unit in Hong Kong, which
1161-432: The major shipping company of the country. It also had a few listed subsidiaries: COSCO Pacific, COSCO International Holdings , China COSCO Holdings , China International Marine Containers , etc., . Real estate developer, Sino-Ocean Group , was an associate company of COSCO until 2010. In December 2015, COSCO Group merged with fellow Chinese Government owned China Shipping Group to form China COSCO Shipping. COSCO Group
1204-700: The same design, Exxon Long Beach , never left that route. It then served in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In 2002, the ship was again removed from service. In 2005, it began operating under the Marshall Islands flag of convenience . Since then, European Union regulations have also prevented vessels with single-hull designs such as the Valdez from entering European ports. In early 2008, SeaRiver Maritime, an ExxonMobil subsidiary, sold Mediterranean to
1247-499: The spill is estimated to have been 40,900 to 120,000 m (10.8 to 31.7 million US gal; 257,000 to 755,000 bbl). In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was listed as the 54th-largest spill in history . The tanker was over 301 meters long, 51 meters wide, and 26 meters deep (987 ft x 166 ft x 88 ft), with a deadweight of 214,861 long tons and a full-load displacement of 240,291 long tons. The ship
1290-405: The subsidiaries of the group in 1988 and 1992 respectively. China Road Transport Company was renamed into COSCO Logistics in 2001 (now part of COSCO Shipping Logistics). As of 2003, COSCO Logistics engaged in shipping agency, freight forwarding, third party logistics and supporting services. While Chimbusco became a joint venture with PetroChina since 2003. COSCO has a Hong Kong division which
1333-516: The tanker. Its single-hull design remained unaltered. The Exxon Valdez spill occurred under President George H. W. Bush , whose Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, William K. Reilly , reportedly played a significant role in mobilizing presidential support for action to contain and clean up the spill. Litigation was filed on behalf of 38,000 litigants. In 1994, a jury awarded plaintiffs US$ 287 million in compensatory damages and US$ 5 billion in punitive damages. Exxon appealed and
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1376-499: The then-enormous ships that were larger than 45,000 DWT . The ships became larger during the 1970s, and the list was extended, where the tons are metric tonnes : At nearly 380 vessels in the size range 279,000 t DWT to 320,000 t DWT , these are by far the most popular size range among the larger VLCCs. Only seven vessels are larger than this, and approximately 90 between 220,000 t DWT and 279,000 t DWT . [REDACTED] As of 2005,
1419-673: The time of the spill, Exxon Valdez was employed to transport crude oil from the Alyeska consortium 's pipeline terminal in Valdez , Alaska, to the lower 48 states of the United States. At the time it ran aground, the vessel was carrying about 201,000 m (1.26 million bbl; 53 million US gal) of oil. After the spill, the vessel was towed to San Diego arriving on 10 June 1989, and repairs were started on 30 June 1989. Approximately 1,600 tons of steel were removed and replaced that July, totaling US$ 30 million of repairs to
1462-561: The top six in terms of fleet size in terms of deadweight tonnage . Greece, Japan, and the United States are the top three owners of tankers (including those owned but registered to other nations ), with 733, 394, and 311 vessels respectively. These three nations account for 1,438 vessels or over 36% of the world's fleet. Asian companies dominate the construction of tankers. Of the world's 4,024 tankers, 2,822 (over 70%) were built in South Korea, Japan and China. Petroleum Tables ,
1505-581: The volume of the holds in terms of how many tuns or casks of wine could be carried. Even potable water, vital for the survival of the crew, was stowed in casks. Carrying bulk liquids in earlier ships posed several problems: Tankers were first used by the oil industry to transfer refined fuel in bulk from refineries to customers. This would then be stored in large tanks ashore, and subdivided for delivery to individual locations. The use of tankers caught on because other liquids were also cheaper to transport in bulk, store in dedicated terminals, then subdivide. Even
1548-739: Was a former shipping corporation from 1961 to 2016, owned by the State Council of China. The company merged with China Shipping Group Company to form China COSCO Shipping Corporation in January 2016. COSCO was founded in 1961 as a state-owned shipping and logistics services supplier company. COSCO headquarters is in Ocean Plaza in the Xicheng District in Beijing . It owns 1114 ships, including 365 dry bulk vessels,
1591-506: Was able to transport up to 235,000 m (1.48 million bbl ) at a sustained speed of 30 kilometres per hour (16 kn; 19 mph), powered by a 23.60 MW (31,650 shp) diesel engine . Her hull design was of the single-hull type, constructed by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego , California. She was a relatively new tanker at the time of the spill, having been delivered to Exxon on 16 December 1986. At
1634-588: Was eventually routed to Alang , India, under the ownership of Priya Blue Industries and at some point renamed Oriental Nicety . Before being beached, some tried to halt the action, arguing that the vessel was in breach of the Basel Convention . On 30 July 2012, the Supreme Court of India granted permission for the owners of Oriental Nicety to beach her on the Gujarat coast to be dismantled. She
1677-603: Was known as COSCO (Hong Kong) Group Limited. COSCO (H.K.) Group was the direct parent company of COSCO Pacific (valid until December 2004 ) and COSCO International . COSCO (H.K.) Group bought the 20% stake of Chong Hing Bank and the entire stake of Shun Shing Construction from COSCO Pacific and COSCO International respectively in 2007. On 31 July 2009, the Panama -flagged bulk carrier , Full City , operated by COSCO Group's HK division, experienced engine failure and ran aground near Langesund , Telemark , Norway , during
1720-417: Was not enough evidence to launch a formal probe on alleged under-pricing its service to eliminate competitor. In August 1993, COSCO's ship Yinhe , was anchored off the coast of Oman . US government alleged that the ship carried material exported to Iran, which could be used to make chemical weapons. COSCO claimed that the ship only contained "paper goods, hardware and machine parts". In what became known as
1763-445: Was renamed Exxon Mediterranean , then SeaRiver Mediterranean in the early 1990s, when Exxon transferred its shipping business to a new subsidiary company, River Maritime Inc. The name was later shortened to S/R Mediterranean , then to simply Mediterranean in 2005. Although Exxon tried briefly to return the ship to its North American fleet, it was prohibited by law from returning to Prince William Sound even though her sister ship with
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1806-629: Was retained as an intermediate holding company . In December 2017, COSCO Group (China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company) was re-incorporated from "An industrial enterprise owned by the whole people" to simply a limited company . The name of the company, also changed to China Ocean Shipping Company, Limited ( Chinese : 中国远洋运输有限公司 ). COSCO contains several listed companies and has more than 300 subsidiaries locally and abroad, providing services in freight forwarding , ship building , ship repair, terminal operation, container manufacturing, trade, financing, real estate , and information technology . On
1849-525: Was then beached at Alang on 2 August 2012. Tanker (ship) Tankers can range in size of capacity from several hundred tons , which includes vessels for servicing small harbours and coastal settlements, to several hundred thousand tons, for long-range haulage. Besides ocean- or seagoing tankers there are also specialized inland-waterway tankers which operate on rivers and canals with an average cargo capacity up to some thousand tons. A wide range of products are carried by tankers, including: Tankers are
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