Our team of Crude Oil Tankers includes professionals with extensive experience in cargo handling for petroleum vessels, and is able to cover all aspects of petroleum consulting (time charters, freight contracts, etc.) on all sizes of vessels and cargo, from small tankers to supertankers.
Chartering
The act of chartering a ship to transport goods is called chartering. Tankers are chartered by four types of lease agreements (contracts):
A charter contract according to the voyage or (voyage charter contract).
A fixed-term Charter agreement or (the time charter).
The contract for chartering an unequipped vessel or (the bareboat charter).
Contract of affreightment
in rental contracts based on flights; The charterer rents the vessel from the port of loading to the port of discharge. In fixed-term leases the vessel is chartered for voyages for a specified period of time as directed by the charterer. In non-equipped charter contracts, the charterer acts as the operator and manager of the vessel and assumes all responsibilities such as providing crew and maintaining the vessel. Finally, in the freight contract the lessee specifies the total volume of goods to be transported in a specific time period and in specific volumes, for example a freight contract could specify one million barrels (160,000 cubic metres) of jet fuel transported within a year at 25,000 barrels (4,000 metres). cube). A completed lease is known as a lease agreement.
One of the most important parts of any rental agreement is the freight rate or fees specified for the carriage of goods. The shipping fees for the tanker’s charterer are determined in one of the following four ways: Pay the freight fees in full (that is, inclusive of all expenses), pay the freight fees for each ton, pay the freight fees for the period of time, pay the freight fees according to international fees, if the freight fees are paid in full, the negotiation The ship owner/operator is responsible for paying all port costs and other voyage expenses. Paying freight charges per ton is mostly used in chartering chemical tankers, and it differs from paying full freight charges in that port costs and trip expenses are generally paid by the ship charterer. Whereas the payment of freight charges for the time period is on a per-day fee basis and the charterer pays port costs and voyage expenses in general.
The Payment of Shipping Fee by Global Fee (which is often referred to as the global scale) was created and managed jointly by the World Federations in London and New York. The global scale sets a base price for transporting a metric ton of product between any two ports in the world. In global scale negotiations, operators and tenants set the price based on a percentage of the global scale rate. The minimum (base) price is expressed as WS 100. If the lease agreement specifies the price as 85% of the global scale, it is expressed as WS 85 . Similarly, if the rental agreement specifies the price as 125% of the global scale, it is expressed as WS 125
Markets for crude oil tankers
The market has a variety of variables such as the supply and demand for oil as well as the supply and demand for oil tankers. Some of the special variables include winter temperatures, increased tanker tonnage, fluctuations in supplies in the Persian Gulf, and interruptions in refinery services.
In 2006, time charters tend toward the longer term. Among the charters executed in that year, 58% were for periods of 24 months or more, 14% were for periods of 12 to 24 months, 4% were for periods of 6 to 12 months, and 24% were for periods of less than 6 months. Since 2003, the demand for new ships has started to grow, which in 2007 broke records in backlog of shipyards’ orders, exceeding their capacity with new shipbuilding prices rising as a result. This led to a glut of ships when the demand for them fell due to the weak global economy and the demand for ships fell dramatically in the United States.
The charter rate for VLCCs, carrying 2 million barrels of oil, peaked at $309,601 per day in 2007, but had fallen to $7,085 per day by 2012, which is well below the costs of operating these vessels. As a result, many tanker operators docked their ships without work. Prices rose significantly in 2015 and early 2016, but the delivery of new tankers was expected to keep prices in check. Until 2018, in the time of Corona, it decreased and then rose again over time with the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Cargo Movement
In 2005, 2.42 billion metric tons of oil were shipped by tanker. 76.7% of this oil was crude oil, and the rest was refined petroleum products. This accounted for 34.1% of the total seaborne trade for the year. Combining the amount carried and the distance moved, oil tankers carried 11,705 billion metric tons a mile in 2005.
By comparison, in 1970 1.44 billion metric tons of oil were shipped by tanker. This constituted 34.1% of the total seaborne trade that year. In terms of quantity carried and distance carried, oil tankers carried 6,487 billion metric tons per mile in 1970. The United Nations also maintains statistics on oil tanker productivity, stated in terms of metric tons moved per metric ton of dwd weight plus metric ton-mile of transport per metric ton of deadweight. In 2005, 1 ton of deadweight was transported by oil tankers for 6.7 metric tons of cargo. Likewise, every 1 ton of deadweight transported by oil tankers a mile corresponds to 32,400 metric tons of cargo carried over a mile.
The main loading ports in 2005 were located in West Asia, West Africa, North Africa and the Caribbean, with 196.3, 196.3, 130.2 and 246.6 million metric tons of cargo loaded in these regions. The main ports of discharge are located in North America, Europe and Japan with 537.7, 438.4 and 215.0 million metric tons of cargo unloaded in these areas.
Flag State
International law requires that every merchant ship be registered in a country called a flag state. The ship’s flag state exercises regulatory control over the ship and is required to inspect it regularly, certify the ship’s equipment and crew, and issue safety and pollution prevention documents. As of 2007, CIA statistics counted 4,295 oil tankers with 1,000 deadweight tons or larger worldwide. Panama was the largest flag country for oil tankers in the world, with 528 ships registered. Six other flag countries with more than 200 registered oil tankers are: Liberia (464), Singapore (355), China (252), Russia (250), the Marshall Islands (234) and the Bahamas (209). The flags of Panama, Liberia, the Marshall Islands and the Bahamas are open records and are considered by the ITF flags of convenience. By comparison, the United States and the United Kingdom had 59 and 27 registered oil tankers, respectively
The Current Structural Design
Oil tankers generally have 8 to 12 tanks. Each tank is divided into two or three independent compartments by front and rear bulkheads. The tanks are numbered with the first tank in the foreground. Individual compartments are indicated by the tank number and position on the ship, such as “one port”, “three starboard” or “six center”.
A cofferdam is a small space left open between two bulkheads to provide protection from heat, fire, or collision. Tankers generally have bulkheads aft and aft of cargo tanks, sometimes between individual tanks. The pumprooms contain all the pumps connected to the tanker’s shipping lines. Some large tankers have two pumping chambers. The pumping chamber generally spans the entire width of the vessel.
chassis designs
The design of the hull or external structure is one of the main components of the structure of a tanker. The conveyor with the only outer shell between the product and the ocean is said to be a “mono-hull”. Most of the new tanks are ‘double hulled’, with additional space between the hull and storage tanks. Hybrid designs such as “double bottom” and “double sided” combine aspects of single and double-hulled designs. All monohull tankers will be phased out worldwide by 2026, according to the 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). The United Nations has decided to phase out single-hull tankers by 2010.
In 1998, the Maritime Council surveyed industry experts regarding the pros and cons of twin hull design. Some of the advantages of the dual structure design mentioned include:
easy handling of the ballasting (ballast) in emergency situations,
Reducing the use of salt water as a counterweight in payload tanks which reduces corrosion,
increased environmental protection,
Discharging the load faster, more complete and easier,
tank washing is more efficient,
Better protection in light collisions and beach drifts.
Our same reports list the following as some of the flaws in the dual chassis design, including:
high construction costs,
greater operating expenses (for example, higher tariffs for canal and ports),
Difficulties in aerating the counterweight tank,
The fact that counterweight tanks need constant monitoring and maintenance,
increasing transverse free surface,
a greater number of surfaces to be maintained,
Risk of explosions in double-hull wipers if a vapor detection system is not installed,
The cleaning of the ballast tanks is more difficult for double-hull vessels.
In general, double-hull tankers are said to be safer than single-hull tankers in a grounding incident, especially when the beach is not very rocky. The safety benefits are less obvious on larger ships and in high-speed collisions.
Although the double hull design excels at losses in low-energy impacts and prevents spillage in small casualties, in high-energy losses where both hulls are compromised, oil can seep through the double hull into the sea and spillage can occur from a twin tanker The chassis is far superior to designs such as the mid-deck tanker, the Coulombi egg tanker, and even the pre-MARPOL tanker, the latter having a lower oil column and reaching hydrostatic equilibrium sooner.
Inert Gas System
One of the most important parts of its design is the inert gas system of an oil tanker. Fuel oil itself is very difficult to ignite, but its hydrocarbon vapors are explosive when mixed with air at certain concentrations. The purpose of the system is to create an atmosphere inside the tanks in which hydrocarbon oil fumes cannot burn.
When an inert gas is introduced into a mixture of hydrocarbon vapors and air, it increases the lower flammable limit or the lowest concentration at which the vapors can ignite. At the same time, lower the upper flammable limit, or the highest concentration at which vapors can ignite. When the total concentration of oxygen in the tank drops to about 11%, the upper and lower flammable limits converge and the flammable range disappears.
Inert gas systems provide air with an oxygen concentration of less than 5% by volume. When the tank is pumped out, it is filled with inert gas and kept in this safe state until the next charge is loaded. The exception is in cases where the tank must be inserted. Safe degassing of the gas into the tank is achieved by purging hydrocarbon vapors with an inert gas until the hydrocarbon concentration inside the tank is less than 1%. Thus, when the inert gas is replaced by air, the concentration cannot rise to the lower flammable limit and be safe.
Payload Operations
Operations on board oil tankers are governed by a set of best practices and a wide body of international law. Goods can be transported in or out of an oil tanker in several ways. One way is to have the ship moor by the quayside, and connect to shipping hoses or marine loading booms. Another method involves mooring on offshore buoys, such as single point mooring, and creating a shipping link via underwater cargo hoses. The third method is ship-to-ship transfer, also known as lightering. In this method, two vessels come side by side at sea and the oil is transferred to the manifold via flexible hoses. The lightering method is sometimes used when the loaded carrier is too large to enter a particular port.
Preparation Before Loading
Prior to any freight transport, the chief officer must develop a transportation plan detailing the details of the process such as how much freight will be moved, the tanks that will be cleaned, and how the ship’s counterweight will change. The next step before the transfer is the pre-transfer conference. The pre-transport conference covers issues such as the products to be transported, the order of movement, the names and titles of key people, details of ship and shore equipment, critical situations for transportation, applicable regulations, emergency and spill containment procedures, viewing and shift arrangements, and closing procedures.
After the conference is over, the person in charge of the ship and responsible for the installation on shore goes through a final checklist for examination. In the United States, the checklist is called the Declaration of Inspection (DOI). Outside the United States, the document is called the Ship/Shore Safety Checklist. Items on the checklist include appropriate signs and markings displayed, docking is safe for the vessel, selection of language for communication, all connections secured, emergency equipment is in place, and that no repair work is in progress.
Payload Loading
The loading of an oil tanker consists mainly of the cargo being pumped into the vessel’s tanks. When the oil enters the tank, the vapors inside the tank must be expelled in some way. Depending on local regulations, vapors may be expelled into the atmosphere or discharged back to the pumping station via a vapor recovery line. It is also common for a vessel to move a water counterweight while loading cargo to maintain proper balance and trim. Loading starts slowly at low pressure to ensure equipment is working properly and connections are secure. Then a constant pressure is achieved and maintained until the “close” stage when the tanks are nearly full. Getting started is a very dangerous time to work with oil, and the procedure is treated with special care. Tank metering equipment is used to tell the person in charge how much space is left in the tank, and all tankers have at least two independent ways to measure the tank. When the tanker is full, crew members open and close valves to direct product flow and maintain close contact with the pumping facility to reduce liquid flow to eventual shutdown.
Unloading The Load
The process of unloading oil from an oil tanker is similar to the process of loading oil to it, but there are some key differences. The first step in the process is to follow the same pre-transfer procedures used for loading. When unloading begins, the ship’s payload pumps are used to transport the product to shore. As in loading, unloading begins at low pressure to ensure equipment is working properly and connections are secure. Then a constant pressure is achieved and maintained during the operation. During pumping, tank levels are carefully monitored and key sites, such as the delivery in the shipping complex and the ship’s pump room, are constantly monitored. Under the direction of the person in charge, crew members open and close valves to direct the flow of the product and maintain close contact with the receiving facility to reduce fluid flow to its final shutdown.
Pollution
Oil spills have devastating effects on the environment. Crude oil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are difficult to clean and accumulate for years in sediments and the marine environment. PAHs can cause growth problems, susceptibility to disease, and abnormal reproductive cycles in marine species to which they are constantly exposed.
Modern oil tankers can pose a danger to the environment due to the volume of oil they carry. For example, a supertanker can carry two million barrels (320,000 cubic meters) of crude oil, which is eight times the amount that leaked in the widely known Exxon Valdez accident, the accident that occurred in March 1989 when the tanker ran aground and leaked 10,800,000 gallons American oil (41,000 m3) in the ocean, and despite the efforts of scientists, managers and volunteers, more than 400,000 seabirds, about 1,000 sea foxes and huge numbers of fish died. Yet tanker owners’ unions often argue that the safety record is excellent given the volume of oil transported by sea, with only a fraction of the oil being transported spilling. According to the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, accidental oil spills in this decade were at record low levels – about a third of accidents in the previous decade and a tenth of accidents in the 1970s – at a time when the amount of oil transported has more than doubled since the mid-1980s.
Oil tankers are the only source of oil spills. According to the US Coast Guard, 35.7% of the oil spilled in the United States from 1991 to 2004 came from tankers (ships/barges), 27.6% from installations and other non-vessels, 19.9% from non-tankers and 9.3 % of pipelines 7.4% are oil leaks of unknown origin. Only 5% of actual spills were caused by oil tankers, while 51.8% of spills originated from other types of ships. Detailed statistics published in 2004 showed that tankers are responsible to some extent for less than 5% of the total leaks but more than 60% of the spill volume. Oil spills from tankers are much rarer but much more serious than spills from non-oil tankers.
An oil tanker (also known as an oil tanker) is a vessel designed to carry large quantities of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude oil tankers and product tankers. Crude oil tankers transport large quantities of unrefined crude oil from the point of extraction to refineries, for example, transporting crude oil from oil wells in one producing country to refineries in another. Whereas product tankers (which are generally much smaller than crude tankers) are designed to transport refined products from refineries to points close to consuming markets, for example transporting gasoline from refineries in Europe to consumer markets in Nigeria and other West African countries.
Oil tankers are often categorized by their size as well as their occupation. Size classes range from inland or coastal tankers of a few thousand dwt to very large crude tankers. Tankers transport about 2.0 billion metric tons (2.2 billion US tons) of oil each year. Second only to pipelines in terms of efficiency, the average cost of transporting crude oil by tanker is between $5 and $8 per cubic meter ($0.02 to $0.03 per gallon).
Some specialized types of oil tankers have evolved. One of these is the offshore oil-supply tanker for other ships, a tanker that can refuel a moving vessel. Mixed floating crude oil tankers and permanently moored floating storage units are two other different types of standard oil tanker design. Oil tankers have been involved in a number of devastating and critical oil spills. As a result, they are subject to strict design and operational regulations.
Oil transportation technology has developed along with the oil industry. Although human use of petroleum dates back to prehistoric times, its first modern commercial exploitation was in 1850 when James Young made paraffin compounds. In the early 1850s, oil began to be exported from Upper Burma, then a British colony. The oil was transported in ceramic vessels to the river bank where it was then poured into boats intended for transport to Britain.
In the 1860s, Pennsylvania’s oil fields became a major supplier of oil and a center of innovation after Edwin Drake successfully extracted oil near Titusville, Pennsylvania. Huge boats and barges were originally used to transport Pennsylvania oil in 40-gallon (150 L) wooden drums. But barrel transport encountered many problems. The first problem was weight: they weighed 29 kilograms (64 pounds), which was 20% of the total weight of the full barrel. Other problems with the barrels were their cost, their tendency to leak, and the fact that they were generally only used once. Expenditures were large, for example in the early years of the Russian oil industry, barrels accounted for half the cost of oil production.
Archaeological evidence indicates that humans arrived in New Guinea at least 60,000 years ago, possibly by sea from Southeast Asia during the Ice Age period when the sea had fewer and shorter distances between islands. The ancestors of the Aborigines of Australia and New Guinea went through the Lombok Strait by boat more than 50,000 years ago.
