Oil tanker
![](/Images/godic/202501/28/Supertanker_AbQaiq0838.jpg")
![The Falls of Clyde is the oldest surviving American tanker and the world's only surviving sail-driven oil tanker.[6]](/Images/godic/202501/28/Fallsofclydehonolulu0838.jpg")
![Zoroaster the world's first tanker, delivered to the Nobel brothers in Russia.](/Images/godic/202501/28/Zoroastr0839.jpg")
![The Glückauf grounded in heavy fog at Blue Point Beach on Fire Island.](/Images/godic/202501/28/Glückauf0839.jpg")
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries. Product tankers, generally much smaller, are designed to move refined products from refineries to points near consuming markets.