Tanker industry is very exciting and interesting. Read and enjoy the following facts. The first tanker based superyacht First tanker based superyacht An Austrian yacht design firm called “MOTION Code: BLUE” has unveiled a new superyacht concept that is based on the size and shape of a suezmax tanker. The new yacht concept called “Imara” and will measure 280 meters long with a hull shape based on the dimensions of a Suezmax tanker. The Suezmax can typically carry about one million barrels of oil and it is named as being the largest oil tanker capable of transiting the Suez Canal fully laden. Therefore it makes this design the world’s biggest yacht concept. The level of personal comfort on a boat of this size would be unprecedented: on board will be located three helicopter pads, to plant palm trees, organize theater. This is not to mention the numerous recreation rooms, terraces, review sites, bars, spaces for concerts and parties, as well as special electric vehicles, which should help the owner of the vessel to move on such a vast possessions. Black Gold Project The Black Gold Project Have you heard about this recent project based on an old oil tanker which turned into a promenade? A group of architects with the name “Chris Collaris & Teams” created a project of transformation of the old oil tanker as a modern place for coastal holidays. The project involves the use of an old ship as the basis for a modern place to relax, work and entertain. The tanker will be moored off the coast of one of the countries of the Persian Gulf. At the same time its interior was transformed into a multifunctional complex, which will place. Another interesting point is – through the body of the old oil tanker from shore to shore path for walks will be conducted, which in some places will be located on the bridge piers. Multifunctional complex Black Gold Project is conceived not only as an ideal place to relax, work and shop, but also as a monument to the evolution that is taking place in the economies of the Persian Gulf countries. Nowadays they are not making money solely from the production and sale of oil but they are increasingly investing in the development of new industries, including tourism. M/T Knock Nevis (ex Seawise Giant): The largest Tanker ever built Can you guess how big, the largest tanker ever built is? Even longer than the Empire State building! This is the M/T Knock Nevis (ex Sea Giant) which is an ULCC built in 1979 by the Japanese shipyard Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd and had a deadweight of 564,763 MT and a length of 458.45 meters. This was a real monster! Due to her large size and the deep draught, she was not able to transit the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal. The M/T Knock Nevis was sunk during the War of Iran-Iraq, but she was later salvaged and restored to service, while during the last years of her life she had been used as a floating storage and offloading unit off the coast of Qatar in the Persian Gulf. The vessel was broken up for scrap in Alang, India during 2010 at an age of 31 years old. Since such ULCC tankers are uneconomical, not new ships had been built at such size since the beginning of the 1980s until the Greek Hellespont ordered four double-hull supertankers in 1999. These ships were delivered in 2002 and 2003 as the M/T Hellespont Alhambra, M/T Hellespont Metropolis, M/T Hellespont Tara and M/T Fairfax which all of them had deadweight of more than 441,500 MT each. These vessels which were then sold to Overseas Shipholding Group and Euronav in 2004 are as of 2010 (when the Knock Nevis scrapped) the world’s four largest working supertankers. M/T Ternsund: An LNG powered tanker M/T Ternsund: An LNG powered tanker We everyday hear in the news about the efforts to replace engines and fuels with more environmentally friendly types. The world is becoming environmentally sensitive and so does the tanker industry as well. Have you heard about the new LNG powered vessels or even the solar powered vessels which are designed and built? The 15,000 deadweight tanker Ternsund was handed over to its Swedish owner by the Chinese shipyard Avic Dingheng Shipbuilding yard on June 27th 2016 and it is considered as one of the most –if not the most– environmentally friendly oil tankers in the world. This is an LNG-powered ship, energy efficient and environmentally friendly with solutions to minimize harmful air emissions and is a result of the EU co-funded project “Into the Future – Baltic SO2lution”. The project is part of a cooperation between the vessel’s shipowner Terntank, engine maker Wärtsilä, fuel and bio-products supplier NEOT (North European Oil Trade) and energy and environmental consultant Wega under the Zero Vision Tool. Four sister vessels are about to be delivered by the shipyard Avic Dingheng Shipbuilding. Recycling Oil Tankers can be really hazardous Recycling Oil Tankers can be really hazardous We are sure you already know the role of demolition in the shipping industry and its importance for the maritime economics and shipping cycles. However, can you imagine how hazardous can be breaking up a ship which carried for so many years petroleum or even chemical products? Recycling of ships in the developed countries is strictly regulated and very costly. Therefore this dirty work is mainly done in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. This is one of the most dangerous professions in the world since each tanker can constitute of mass toxic, dangerous chemicals and asbestos which can cause lung cancer. Even in the empty tanker, there are thousands of tons of oil sludge from a mixture of oil and sand and rust, which cannot be easily pumped. The electrical system of the tanker contains tons of polychlorinated biphenyls which are carcinogenic liquids. At any tanker, there are tons of hazardous heavy metals – lead, cadmium, zinc, mercury while on the bulkheads and other structures up to 7 tons of asbestos. In the cooling and air conditioning systems can be up to 12 tonnes of CFCs. Also the underwater part of the vessel is covered with an antifouling paint based on tributyltin, a toxic substance that interferes with corals, algae, crustaceans and mollusks settle on the bottom. After all, can you imagine how much amount of dangerous substances will exist in the beaches of Chittagong and how much oil sludges are thrown in these seas? M/T Exxon Valdez: The worst accident which changed the tanker Industry M/T Exxon Valdez: The worst accident which changed the tank