More facts about supertankers : The average modern supertanker can carry more than two million barrels of oil. That's enough oil to power all US auto traffic simultaneously for almost four hours. The turning diameter of the average supertanker is about 1. Supertankers are among the largest ships in the world — much bigger than aircraft carriers. Among the main tanker classes are:. Among the main tanker classes are: Class Length Beam Draft Overview Coastal Tanker m 29 m 16 m Less than 50, dwt, mainly used for transportation of refined products gasoline, gasoil.
This standard was established to standardize contract terms with well-defined ship capacity. Suezmax m 45 m 23 m Between , and , dwt, originally the maximum capacity of the Suez Canal.
Up to around , dwt. Some can be accommodated by the expanded dimensions of the Suez Canal. Another firm, called Ocean Energy, has also built buoys that use a similar princip le that are being tested in the Atlantic Ocean. Like many other wave energy devices, these systems are mounted on platforms that are moored in place and so rely upon the weather at a single spot in the ocean to generate sufficient waves.
Wave energy generators also need to be able to transmit the electricity they produce back to shore, and so need to be close to the coast so they can be connected through cables. Deaner and Trarieux, however, believe this is limiting the potential of wave power. They say that putting oscillating air flow turbines above moon pools on board ships could allow them to chase storms around the oceans to get the best waves.
Out on the open ocean where unimpeded winds can generate larger waves, the amount of energy that can be generated is many times greater than can be produced in coastal areas.
Dozens of moon pools could be cut into the hull of a repurposed oil tanker to turn it into a mobile power station Credit: ShipEco Marine. The project has already received the backing of the UK government, which funded some of the feasibility studies and scale model tests.
These have shown that the tankers can be modified to create moon pools without compromising their strength and stability, according to Trarieux. The next challenge is getting hold of a suitable ship. Second-hand oil tankers are not cheap and even an ageing, relatively small ship can cost millions of dollars on the open market.
But the team believe the prevailing wind could work in their favour as the world moves away from using fossil fuels. The number of large oil tankers being scrapped reached record levels in , with more than vessels being sent for demolition. The majority ended up on beaches in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan where they are taken apart by unskilled workers, often with little or no safety equipment.
The life expectancy of those doing this dangerous work at these enormous shipbreaking yards has been estimated to be 20 years lower than the general population in these countries and the industry has faced accusations of human rights abuses. Environmental campaigners have also raised concerns about the hazardous substances and pollutants that leach out from the ships as they are dismantled, which has led to calls for stricter environmental regulations around ship breaking. Oil tankers sent for scrapping are often run aground on beaches in Bangladesh where they are dismantled by hand by poorly paid unskilled workers Credit: Getty Images.
Converting these vessels into waveships could be a tempting alternative to scrapping them. Instead, he sees these giant ships becoming floating, self-sustainable factories by putting the electricity they produce to immediate use.
We could also make hydrogen or liquid nitrogen, which we could sell to industry. Their vast size could allow supertankers to be turned into iconic shoreside public buildings Credit: Chris Collaris Design. But not everyone is convinced by the idea. He also worries about how resilient an oil tanker would be on the high seas with holes cut in its hull. Any sharp corners will also dissipate lots of energy.
One New York-based artist recently proposed tipping a metre-long supertanker on its end and anchoring it vertically in a harbour as a visual reminder of the need for mankind to end the fossil fuel era. A group of Dutch architects have also proposed turning old supertankers into floating public villages that contain shopping malls, concert venues, museums, swimming pools and a public park on the top deck.
But the firm behind the concept, Chris Collaris Design, say they have yet to find anyone brave enough to take the concept further. Thousands of tankers are responsible for transporting crude oil around the world so it can be refined into fuel and hundreds of other products Credit: Getty Images. But anchoring an oil tanker in such a way that it can be safely boarded and used by thousands of people is a tricky problem.
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