Last updated: 26 October 2026 · By Steve Joury, cargo trip advisor at CargoHolidays
An oil tanker is a ship designed to carry oil in bulk, either crude oil from oilfields or refined products like petrol, diesel and jet fuel. The largest, called VLCCs, carry around two million barrels. Here’s how tankers work and the main types.
Key facts at a glance
What is an oil tanker? It’s a cargo ship whose hull is divided into large tanks for liquid oil, loaded and unloaded by powerful pumps through pipelines on deck. Unlike container ships, tankers have a low, flat deck covered in pipes, with the accommodation block at the stern.
| Class | Approx. deadweight | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Handysize | 10,000 – 50,000 t | Products, regional trades |
| Panamax | 60,000 – 80,000 t | Fits the old Panama Canal locks |
| Aframax | 80,000 – 120,000 t | Crude and products, medium routes |
| Suezmax | 120,000 – 200,000 t | Largest able to transit the Suez Canal loaded |
| VLCC | 200,000 – 320,000 t | Long-haul crude, about 2 million barrels |
| ULCC | 320,000 t + | The very largest crude carriers |
After major spills in the past, international rules required new oil tankers to have double hulls – an inner and outer skin with a gap between. Tankers also use inert gas to keep oxygen out of cargo tanks and reduce fire risk, and crews follow strict safety procedures in port.
Almost never. Because of the hazardous cargo and strict safety rules, tanker companies generally don’t carry paying passengers. Freighter travellers sail on container and ro-ro ships instead – see Arten von Frachtschiffen und shipping lines that take passengers.
A ship designed to carry oil in bulk, either crude oil or refined products, in separate tanks.
Roughly two million barrels.
To reduce the risk of oil spills if the outer hull is damaged.
Crude tankers carry unrefined oil; product tankers carry refined fuels like diesel and jet fuel.
Almost never, because of the hazardous cargo.
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