Tankers Explained – Part II: Crude Carriers
Crude Carrier Tanker
At Link Ship Chandlers, we find ourselves immersed in the world of shipping every day. Our team offers expert chandling support in Cape Town, Saldanha, Port Elizabeth, Coega, Durban and Richards Bay to clients from far and wide. As such, we often speak in lingo that ‘normal folks’ can find a little hard to understand if they don’t spend a lot of time near the docks.
This is why we like to use this blog to create a glossary of sorts, where people can look up industry terms that seem a little vague. We previously discussed dry cargo vessels, and recently switched gears to tankers. Today we take a look at crude carriers, and how it fits into the tanker lineup.
CRUDE CARRIERS: A CONCISE INTRODUCTION
With crude oil, there is no risk of cargo contamination, because even if two different grades of oil are shipping simultaneously, the end product is going to be refined upon receipt regardless. Sizes vary from 50 000 MT to 500 000+ MT deadweight and their pipeline systems are quite simple in comparison with those of product tankers.
DID YOU KNOW? Almost every man-made product either includes crude oil in its makeup or manufacturing process, or came in your possession via a mode of transport that requires oil to operate. For instance, the smart phone, laptop or desktop computer you are reading this article on now was shipped to the store where you bought it via aeroplane, truck or train. It also incorporates plastics (a product of crude oil), and the machines that put it together needed lubricants (also a product of crude oil).
There you have it – the gist of what you need to know about crude carriers. In our next blog on this topic, we’ll discuss chemical and gas tankers. In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with a member of the Link Ship Chandlers team if you would like to learn more about the services we provide from South African ports.
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