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Panamax and Aframax Tankers: Oil Tankers

with a Difference
By MI News Network | In: Types of Ships | Last Updated on July 20, 2016

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There are different variations when it comes to oil tankers sailing on high seas. Of the many oil tankers
prevalent today, two of the most famous ones are the panamax tankers and the aframax tankers. These
two oil tankers cater to only a specific part of the world and their names are also connected to the main
area and expertise of their servicing in the oceanic and sea waters.
Understanding Panamax and Aframax Tankers

The following elaboration will be beneficial when it comes to understanding more about the panamax
tankers and the aframax tankers:

Panamax Tankers: The panamax tankers operate in the region of Panama, especially the Panama
Canal. The tanker size is designed as per the size regulations set by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP).
The size aspect is very important when it comes to panamax tankers because if the size is not monitored
while the tanker is being constructed, then it could pose a lot of problems while the ship is in motion. The
operation of the first panamax tanker started in the year 1914 and they are still popular and useful as they
were nine decades ago.

Keeping in mind that the entrance andxexit points of the Panama Canal are not as wide, the regulations
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and stipulations about the size of the panamax tankers are very strictly maintained. The panamax tankers
measure around 950 foot lengthwise, 106 foot width wise and 39.5 foot depth wise.

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However, the most important part about the panamax tankers that requires a lot of strictness is the
dimension of the Panama Canals lock chambers. It is this part of the Canal that plays a very strategic
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role in the tankers entering and exiting the Panama Canal. The measurement of the lock chambers of
the Panama Canal is somewhere around 1050 feet long x 110 feet wide x 85 feet depth wise.
The New Panamax Project

The limitation caused to the traffic mobility because of the above specified measurement led to the
creation of something known as the New Panamax. The New Panamax project was initiated in the year
2006 and calls for the expansion of the constrained lock chambers of the Panama Canal. The stipulated
size measurements for the New Panamax are around 1400 feet length wise x 180 feet width wise x 60
feet draft wise. This proposed alteration to the lock chamber facility has been very strongly approved in
the business community that mainly caters in the Panama Canal area and is something that can bring
positive results to the problem of naval traffic in the days to come.

Aframax Tankers: The name Aframax comes from the Average Freight Rate Assessment (AFRA)
system. The aframax tankers were initiated because of the size constraints that were posed when large
oil tankers entered sea-routes highly prone to traffic.

The aframax tankers weigh generally around or less than 1,20,000 DWT (Dead Weight Tonnes). This size
again, is a very strict stipulation. The aframax tankers generally ply in the European waters of the Black
Sea. In addition these tankers are also found as cargo containers in the sea-routes of the Caribbean Sea,
North Sea and the one of the most important and busiest route of the Mediterranean Sea.

It has to be noted that from amongst the major oil exporting nations in the world, it is the countries who
export oil on a comparatively lesser level than the Middle-Eastern countries that rely on the aframax
tankers. This is because the level of oil exported from the Middle-Eastern is quite high and they make use
of larger naval vessels to cargo oil. Also, because of the usage of such heavy vessels, the sea-routes
tend to get blocked and tankers like the aframax tankers end up proving to be a great asset.

The panamax tankers and the aframax tankers are a feasible solution to the ever growing problem of
traffic in sea-routes. By coming up with such easy-to-adopt solutions, it has been proved beyond doubt
that through proper adaptations of engineering science and technology, every problem can be solved and
resolved permanently.

You might also like to read What are gas carriers? and What are ULCC and VLCC Vessels?

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