Mobil Corp.'s Eagle, a double hull, very large crude carrier (VLCC), has been commissioned at Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Oppama shipyard in Japan.
Mobil said the 280,000 dwt vessel, built for Mobil Shipping & Transportation Co., is the first double hull vessel of her class owned by an oil company and the sixth double hull VLCC in the world.
She is 1,089 ft long and 190 ft wide. Cargo capacity is 2.2 million bbl.
Mobil's research, as well as studies by the National Academy of Sciences, found the double hull to be the best option in vessels of this size to safeguard the environment.
Construction began early in 1992.
The Eagle's double hull, along with other environmental and safety features of the vessel, exceed the new, more stringent tanker safety standards set by the U.S. Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and International Maritime Organization rules.
AN EVOLUTION
Mobil said it developed and patented the design for the first double bottom tanker in 1968. Ten ships in Mobil's fleet have double bottoms.
The double hull is a further evolution of the double bottom design. It extends the double bottom up the sides of the vessel to provide a second steel barrier between the cargo and the water. Because crude oil is carried in the interior tanks, the outer steel skin could be penetrated without spilling cargo.
Between the inner and outer hulls of the Eagle is a space about 10 ft wide on the bottom and 13 ft wide on the sides. When the ship is fully loaded with crude oil, this space is empty. After the tanker has discharged its cargo, the protective space between the two hulls is filled with seawater as ballast for the return voyage.
Mobil said although the double hull adds significantly to the engineering complexity and cost of a VLCC, there is an equal increase in the vessel's safety and environmental security.
Eagle is destined to join Mobil's deepsea fleet of owned and chartered vessels that transport in excess of 650 million bbl/year of crude and products.
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