Very Large Crude Carrier

Very Large Crude Carriers are tankers in the 200,000 to 320,000 DWT range, used primarily to transport crude oil in large parcels between major export terminals in the Arabian Gulf, West Africa, and the Americas to large import refineries in Asia, Europe, and North America. Their size provides the economies of scale that make long haul crude transport economical, but it also restricts them to deepwater terminals and prevents transit of the Suez Canal at full draught. The even larger ultra-large crude carriers above 320,000 DWT are used on specific routes between terminals purpose-built for their draft requirements. VLCCs are subject to the full suite of MARPOL Annex I requirements including inert gas system, crude oil washing, oil discharge monitoring and control, and segregated ballast tanks occupying at least 30% of the cargo capacity. SOLAS II-2 requires fixed deck foam systems, infrared detection in the pump room, and an approved inert gas management system. Their large cargo tank volumes and high pump rates — capable of discharging in 24 hours or less — place heavy demands on the engineering team during cargo operations, and close co-ordination between chief officer, pump operator, and terminal representatives is essential to maintain safe operational parameters.