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Oil tanker
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<p>An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a <a href="/facts/Ship/418ptx1L">ship</a> designed for the <a href="/facts/Bulk_cargo/uF94k6DP">bulk transport</a> of <a href="/facts/Petroleum/IQV0bHVd">oil</a> or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined <a href="/facts/Petroleum/IQV0bHVd">crude oil</a> from its point of extraction to <a href="/facts/Oil_refinery/yeaW0UMv">refineries</a>. Product tankers, generally much smaller, are designed to move refined products from refineries to points near consuming markets. </p><p>Oil tankers are often classified by their size as well as their occupation. The size classes range from inland or coastal tankers of a few thousand metric tons of <a href="/facts/Deadweight_tonnage/Xx3VLnhg">deadweight</a> (DWT) to ultra-large crude carriers (ULCCs) of 550,000 <a href="/facts/Deadweight_tonnage/Xx3VLnhg">DWT</a>. Tankers move approximately 2.0 <a href="/facts/1000000000_(number)/Ij1fl5Q7">billion</a> <a href="/facts/Tonne/gMymLmWv">metric tons</a> (2.2 billion <a href="/facts/Short_ton/b2fcrxHq">short tons</a>) of oil every year. Second only to <a href="/facts/Pipeline_transport/gEmKcFhD">pipelines</a> in terms of efficiency, the average cost of transport of crude oil by tanker amounts to only US$5 to $8 per cubic metre ($0.02 to $0.03 per US gallon). </p><p>Some specialized types of oil tankers have evolved. One of these is the naval <a href="/facts/Replenishment_oiler/v9KsqGuJ">replenishment oiler</a>, a tanker which can <a href="/facts/Underway_replenishment/KxYsNWGA">fuel a moving vessel</a>. Combination <a href="/facts/Ore-bulk-oil_carrier/PAECYbsA">ore-bulk-oil carriers</a> and permanently moored <a href="/facts/Floating_production_storage_and_offloading/o6Vs2xLG">floating storage units</a> are two other variations on the standard oil tanker design. Oil tankers have been involved in a number of damaging and high-profile <a href="/facts/Oil_spill/A1KGmKI6">oil spills</a>. </p>