Oil tanker · Tank ships that move crude and products — the liquid spine of global energy trade.
Scores are relative 0–100 marks within this atlas. Use them to browse, not as an engineering spec.
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No. The six scores are relative editorial 0–100 marks across the 48 types on this site.
Lead images resolve from Wikimedia Commons via Wikipedia titles on the English masters, with licences recorded on the credits page.
Metric is the default. Regional notes (US customary, local brand culture) appear in culture and market chapters.
Each type gets seven fixed-depth chapters, comparable scores and cross-type labs — structured for browsing, not a single freeform page.
Icons are not always the best sellers — they are the ones that stuck in culture, engineering lore or both.
Use the comparison lab on this page to weigh their stats side by side.
Seawise Giant stands among the reference oil tanker designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1979–2010 placed Seawise Giant in Japan / Norway's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
NOAA's National Ocean Service · Public domain
Exxon Valdez stands among the reference oil tanker designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1986– placed Exxon Valdez in United States's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
Maurice F Scholten, MSF Photography · Public domain
TI class supertanker stands among the reference oil tanker designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 2002– placed TI class supertanker in Europe's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
Knock Nevis stands among the reference oil tanker designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1979– placed Knock Nevis in Norway's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
Unknown author · Public domain
VLCC fleets stands among the reference oil tanker designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1970s– placed VLCC fleets in Global's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
Unknown author · Public domain
Product tanker MR stands among the reference oil tanker designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1990s– placed Product tanker MR in Global's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
Pline · CC BY-SA 3.0
LNG dual-fuel tankers stands among the reference oil tanker designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 2010s– placed LNG dual-fuel tankers in Global's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
BoH · CC BY-SA 3.0
Shuttle tanker stands among the reference oil tanker designs that shaped how the world pictures this mode.
Production or service life 1980s– placed Shuttle tanker in North Sea's transport story.
“Icons teach constraints: cost, regulation and infrastructure matter as much as peak performance.”
Stats are relative 0–100 marks within this type, for comparison only.
Toggle icons on and off — every bar rescales to the leader of your selection.
Should a oil tanker be judged by passenger-km and uptime, or by how completely it owns the public imagination?
Some legends dominate one corridor; others become templates copied worldwide.
Cellular freighters that carry the TEU boxes of globalized trade.
Overall 57 🚢Floating resorts built for itineraries, not point-to-point migration.
Overall 47 ⛴️Scheduled water links for people and vehicles across straits and islands.
Overall 59 ⛵Wind-driven hulls from dinghies to ocean racers — sport, cruise and heritage.
Overall 53 🛟Vessels designed to operate submerged — naval power and research platforms.
Overall 46 🛳️Floating airfields that project naval air power across oceans.
Overall 50 🧊Ships built to crush and ride over ice — keeping polar and winter ports open.
Overall 43 🚤Compact high-thrust harbour craft that push, pull and pivot ships many times their size.
Overall 45 🚢Single-hold freighters for dry bulk — ore, coal, grain and cement — distinct from tankers and boxships.
Overall 49