Oil tanker

An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries. Product tankers, generally much smaller, are designed to move petrochemicals from refineries to points near consuming markets.

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 deadweight (DWT) to the mammoth ultra large crude carriers (ULCCs) of 550,000 DWT. Tankers move approximately 2,000,000,000 metric tons (2.2×109 short tons) of oil every year. Second only to pipelines in terms of efficiency, the average cost of oil transport by tanker amounts to only two or three United States cents per 1 US gallon (3.8 L).

Some specialized types of oil tankers have evolved. One of these is the naval replenishment oiler, a tanker which can fuel a moving vessel. Combination ore-bulk-oil carriers and permanently moored floating storage units are two other variations on the standard oil tanker design. Oil tankers have been involved in a number of damaging and high-profile oil spills. As a result, they are subject to stringent design and operational regulations.

The Transformers cartoon
When the Insecticons and their new allies the Decepticons arrived at an oil refinery in Bali, they gnawed through the sidewall of a tanker and drank the oil within. Later, Megatron set the tanker on fire in a bid to destroy the entire refinery and the Autobots with it, but was foiled when Ironhide put out the flames and Optimus tipped the vessel onto its side, dousing the fire. Prime later lifted the entire loaded, waterlogged vessel over his head and threw it at Megatron.

After Megatron took control of the supercomputer TORQ III, he gave it the power to control machinery remotely using Remote Control Circuit Linker cards. The Decepticons placed these cards on the world's fleet of oil tankers, allowing TORQ III to direct them to the specially-built oil platform which the Decepticons had set up. Skyfire, Hound and Spike stowed away on an oil tanker so they could penetrate the Decepticon shield, though they were almost immediately captured.

Although Optimus Prime disabled TORQ III, Megatron had a backup remote control, and so was able to keep the oil tankers on course. It wasn't until the Autobots mounted an assault on the oil platform that the control was able to be disabled, and the oil tankers returned to regular duties.