There are many different types of oil tankers on the oceans, with two that stand out with particular recognition; Panamax and Aframax. Throughout the world both of these types of vessels serve particular locations on the high seas for a number of reasons.
Panamax Tankers
You can expect to find a maritime job on one of these tankers in the area of the world using the Panama Canal and the locks involved in this passageway. The size of the vessels in this category is determined by the size regulations laid down by the ACP, or Panama Canal Authority. They are generally medium-sized tankers, and they are built to a specific pattern, monitored during construction.
The deadweight tonnage (DWT) of an average Panamax vessel is 60 to 80 thousand, and are lengthwise about 950 feet, 106 feet wide and roughly 40ft deep. The first of these tankers was built in1914. The specifications are particularly important, since the space permitted in the locks of the Panama Canal is 1100 feet long, 110 feet wide and 85 feet deep. It is as popular a design, nine decades later as it was then, and is built to carry both crude oil and refined petroleum products.
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In 2006 there was an initiative, called The New Panamax project, which set out to encourage to expand the lock constraints of The Panama Canal, allowing larger tankers to utilise the locks. The exact figures were 1400 feet long, 180 feet wide and 65 feet deep. It has to be said that cost reservations have meant that businesses are still keen to build the originally less expensive tankers which fit the old lock design.
Aframax Tankers
The roots of the term aframax comes from the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA) system. They are particularly popular since congested seas and huge tankers meant for a crowded space and limitations for the larger vessels, particularly when it comes to docking. Their DWT falls somewhere between 80 to 120 thousand and are primarily equipped to take on short to medium haul voyages, usually carrying crude oil.
They are utilised, mainly, in the European waters of the Black Sea, North Sea, Caribbean Sea, South and East China Seas and also the Mediterranean Sea.
Noteworthy is the fact that Aframax tankers and cargo vessels are particularly useful for countries that export less oil than say, countries of the Middle East, where the loads are not as large. The Aframax tankers fall between the smaller Panamax tankers and the larger Suezmax tankers, when considering their size and capacity.
The need for these ships is becoming ever more obvious when busy shipping lanes and routes, and ports which can only receive a medium sized tanker, set demands on construction met by the Aframax tanker. Their typical dimensions are a length of 200 to 250 meters, a width of 32 to 44 meters and a depth of 12 to 16 meters.
The Panamax and Aframax tankers offer a versatile solution to new shipping demands particularly in the mid-range department and well suited to the growing number of ports around their areas of operation.
