page_title: Tanker (ship)
section_title: Tanker capacity
hierarchical_section_title: Tanker (ship) / Tanker capacity
caption_attribution_description: English: The coastal tanker Pegasus inbound on the River Weser Deutsch: Der Küstentanker Pegasus auf der Weser eingehend
context_page_description: A tanker is a ship designed to transport or store liquids or gases in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and gas carrier. Tankers also carry commodities such as vegetable oils, molasses and wine. In the United States Navy and Military Sealift Command, a tanker used to refuel other ships is called an oiler but many other navies use the terms tanker and replenishment tanker.
context_section_description: Tankers used for liquid fuels are classified according to their capacity.
  In 1954, Shell Oil developed the average freight rate assessment (AFRA) system, which classifies tankers of different sizes. To make it an independent instrument, Shell consulted the London Tanker Brokers’ Panel (LTBP). At first, they divided the groups as General Purpose for tankers under 25,000 tons deadweight (DWT); Medium Range for ships between 25,000 and 45,000 DWT and Large Range for the then-enormous ships that were larger than 45,000 DWT. The ships became larger during the 1970s, and the list was extended, where the tons are long tons:
  10,000–24,999 DWT: Small tanker
  25,000–34,999 DWT: Intermediate tanker
  35,000–44,999 DWT: Medium Range 1 (MR1)
  45,000–54,999 DWT: Medium Range 2 (MR2)
  55,000–79,999 DWT:  Large Range 1 (LR1
  80,000–159,999 DWT: Large Range 2 (LR2)
  160,000–319,999 DWT: Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC)
  320,000–549,999 DWT: Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC)
  Very Large Crude Carrier size range
  At nearly 380 vessels in the size range 279,000 t DWT to 320,000 t DWT, these are by far the most popular size range among the larger VLCCs.  Only seven vessels are larger than this, and approximately 90 between 220,000 t DWT and 279,000 t DWT.
caption: The small coastal tanker Pegasus on the River Weser
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