Anatomy of a
supertanker
How It Works takes an exploded
diagram of one of these mighty
vessels and details the key parts
Double hull
To prevent spills from low-energy
collisions or groundings, all modern
oil tankers are built with an outer
hull and inner hull separated by a
2-3m (6.6-9.8ft) crumple zone.Vents
Flammable vapours can build
up in the cargo tanks and must
be expelled through on-deck
venting systems. The vents
ensure that vapours aren’t
released into confined spaces.Cargo tanks
The immense hold of the
supertanker is divided into a
dozen or more storage tanks. No
tanks are allowed to straddle the
ship’s centreline, as this could
destabilise the vessel.Baffl es
Each large cargo tank is
divided by a series of
vertical baffles that
minimise the
dangerous sloshing
effect of fluid cargo.Deck pipelines
These fixed lengths of pipe
running along the tanker’s
deck are used to pump crude
oil to and from the shore.Droplines
These vertical runs of pipe
transport oil from the deck
pipelines down into the deep
storage tanks.Oil tanker timeline
Wind-powered tankers
A large sailing vessel like the
Elizabeth Watts could hold
several hundred tons of crude oil,
but ocean travel was slow.First steam tanker
The SS Vaderland is believed to be
the first oil tanker powered by a
steam engine. They had featured
on other t y pes of ship since 1843.Prototype modern tanker
The British-built Gluckauf was one
of the first to have many large,
permanent storage tanks in its
hold, instead of stacking in barrels.1860s 1873 1886
One of the massive
storage tanks that can
be found on a super tanker© Science Photo Librar ySEA