Tanker Charter
Tankers carry liquid cargo in bulk. This guide covers the tanker types you can request and how a tanker charter is normally set up.
Tanker types
Crude oil tankers carry crude. Oil products tankers carry refined products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Chemical tankers and chemical/oil products tankers carry chemicals and clean products in coated or stainless steel tanks. Vegetable oil tankers carry food-grade liquids, bitumen tankers carry heated bitumen and LPG tankers carry liquefied gas.
How tankers are chartered
Tanker cargoes are usually fixed on a voyage charter for a single parcel or full cargo, or on a time charter when a charterer needs a ship for a period. A trip time charter covers one trip on time charter terms.
What ship operators ask for
Cargo grade and quantity, loading and discharging ports, the laycan, and any special requirements such as coating, tank cleanliness or heating. The more exact your description, the better the offers.
Size classes
Crude tankers run from Aframax (about 80,000 to 120,000 DWT) and Suezmax (about 120,000 to 200,000 DWT) to VLCC (about 200,000 to 320,000 DWT). Product and chemical tankers are smaller, from about 10,000 to 120,000 DWT, because their cargoes are smaller and their ports more varied. The guide to Aframax, Suezmax and VLCC tankers shows the classes and where each is used.
Clean and dirty cargoes
Tanker cargoes are called clean or dirty. Clean cargoes are refined products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel; they need clean tanks and often coated tanks that keep the product free of rust. Dirty cargoes are crude oil and heavy fuel oil. A ship that has carried a dirty cargo must have its tanks cleaned before it takes a clean one, and this takes time and money, so the last cargoes of the ship matter when you choose it.
Inspections and approvals
Oil companies and terminals approve ships before they let them load. The ship operator can tell you which approvals the ship holds and when it was last inspected. Say in your request if a particular company approval is needed, because it narrows the ships that can answer.
Search tankers for your cargo
Shipfixing connects charterers and ship operators. We scan for suitable ships. Voyage requests for ships below 10,000 DWT need no signup and no membership.
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