SUPERTANKERS: COMING OR GOING

This Paper reviews a two year series of tanker disasters, mostly involving VLCCs and a parallel development of a 50 million or more surplus in deadweight tonnage, resulting in increased petroleum prices after the Middle East embargo of 1973. The twin crises seem to raise environmental and economic questions over the future of the VLCC. The first turns on whether the world's oceans and coastal waterways can be expected to absorb continuing pollution from spilled oil. The second turns on whether declining oil resources and rising prices may force less dependence on oil for energy, with consequent lowered demands for tankers. The conclusion is that economic problems may resolve themselves in time, but the environmental questions may remain as the key to the future of the VLCC.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at Symposium on Marine Resource Development in the Middle Atlantic States, Williamsburg, Virginia, October 29-30, 1976.
• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers

  601 Pavonia Avenue
  Jersey City, NJ  United States  07306-2907
• Authors:
  • Frye, J
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 13 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demand; Economic analysis; Environmental impact analysis; Ship operations; Supertankers; Tankers; Very large crude carriers
• Old TRIS Terms: Tanker demand
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00170551
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: British Ship Research Association
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 7 1978 12:00AM