Types of Modern Oil Tanker

Since the early 70's, Bakri Navigation Co. Ltd. (BNC) have supported  a total of 43 vessels, which are owned by Bakri International Co. Ltd. BNC operates a fleet of oil tankers, specialized chemical carriers and a variety of bunkering, storage and service vessels. With several large and medium - sized tankers, BNC can handle at least 100 million barrels of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products and makes more than 350 voyages a year.

The following is a tabular summary of the fleet structure:

Panamax Tanker   - Ship in the 55-70,000 DWT size range, 70,000 DWT being the maximum size tanker able to transit in the Canal such as Panama Canal. Passing through a series of Canal locks dictates a maximum length of 274.3 meters. In the Atlantic Basin trades Panamax vessels have a competitive advantage over larger tankers due to physical trading and local port depth restriction.  

Aframax Tanker - Tanker in the 75,000 - 120,000 DWT size range. Afra is Average Freight Assessment. The ships are traditionally employed on a wide variety of short and medium-haul crude oil trades. The biggest tanker that can be accommodated fully laden in the ports of the US - the world's largest importer of oil - is 100,000 DWT, and this only at a limited number of ports. Many of the more modern ships in the Aframax size range are built as long-haul product tankers, with epoxy-coated tanks.

Suezmax Tanker - Ship are in the size range of 120,000 - 200,000 DWT and are generally identified as those capable of lifting one million barrel cargoes. The name was originally bestowed on such ship because from 1980, when a development project, which deepened the waterway to 16.1 meters, was completed, the largest tanker was able to transit the Suez Canal fully laden were those of 140,000 - 150,000 DWT. This association will effectively become redundant later this year when project to deepen the Canal to 18.9 meters is completed. The Canal may be further deepened to 20.1 meters by 2005 and 22.0 meters by 2010.

Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) - VJCCs are tanker in the 200,000 - 320,000 DWT size range. Ships of this size were prompted by the rapid growth in global oil consumption during the 1960s and in 1967 closure of the Suez Canal, necessitating voyages around the Cape of Good Hope. Today, VLCCs are the most effective way of transporting large volumes of oil, including 2 - million barrel cargoes, to clients over relatively long distances. Relatively simple ship, VLCCs are subdivided into a number of cargo tanks by two longitudinal and several transverse bulkheads.

Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCCs) - Tanker in excess of 320,000 DWT.  Ordered were been made to take advantage of the economies of scale in a buoyant market place. There are now more flexible and unlimited in serving clients. ULCCs achieved their full potential when it needs an emergency requirement.

BNC a successful fleet-expansion program, we are an able to become one of the larger operators in Middle East with an ever widening of opportunities for future growth. We are committed to provide the best and most cost-effective services available.