VLCC

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A VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) is a crude oil tanker of roughly 200,000–320,000 DWT, typically carrying about two million barrels of crude. VLCCs dominate the long-haul oil trades — Middle East Gulf to Asia above all — where their economies of scale outweigh their port limitations.

The tanker size ladder runs: Handysize/MR product tankers, Panamax/LR1, Aframax/LR2 (~80,000–120,000 DWT), Suezmax (~120,000–200,000 DWT, historically sized to transit the Suez Canal laden), then VLCC, and finally the ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier) above ~320,000 DWT — a class of which few remain, the giants of the 1970s having proven too large for most ports.

VLCC freight is traditionally quoted in Worldscale points, and the class’s spot earnings are among the most volatile in shipping — capable of swinging from below operating cost to well over $100,000/day within months, as seen during the floating-storage booms of 2020. Since MARPOL’s post-Erika/Prestige rules, all are double-hulled.