VLCC: very large crude carrier
The 200,000 to 320,000 dwt crude tanker class: its trades, terminal constraints, the VLCC300 index reference ship, and the economics of TD3C and TD15.
A very large crude carrier is a crude oil tanker of roughly 200,000 to 320,000 tonnes deadweight, the workhorse of long-haul crude movement from the Middle East Gulf and West Africa to Asia and Europe. Draft rather than beam is the binding constraint at most terminals, and many discharge ports require lightering to a smaller tanker rather than a direct berth.
The class is the reference for the most watched tanker route assessments, TD3C from Ras Tanura to Ningbo and TD15 from West Africa to China, both assessed on a 300,000 tonne deadweight reference ship. The full article will cover the size band and its boundaries against Suezmax and ULCC, hull and cargo system arrangement, the principal trades, terminal and canal access, and the earnings economics of the class.