TI-class supertanker

The TI class of supertankers comprises the ships TI Africa, TI Asia, TI Europe and TI Oceania (all names as of July 2004), where the "TI" refers to the VLCC tanker pool operator Tankers International. The class were the first ULCCs (ultra-large crude carriers) to be built in 25 years.[2]

Hellespont Alhambra (later TI Asia) in U.S. waters on her maiden voyage 16 May 2002, with nearly 440,000 tons of crude oil.
Class overview
Builders: Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Okpo-dong, South Korea
Built: 2002–2003
In service: 2003–present
Completed: 4
Active: 4
General characteristics [1]
Type: Ultra Large Crude Carrier
Tonnage:
  • 234,006 GT
  • 162,477 NT
  • 441,893 DWT
Displacement:
  • 67,591 tonnes (66,524 long tons) light
  • 509,484 tonnes (501,437 long tons) full load
Length: 380 m (1,246 ft 9 in) o/a
Beam: 68 m (223 ft 1 in)
Draught: 24.5 m (80 ft 5 in)
Speed: 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) (laden)
Capacity: 3,166,353 barrels (503,409,900 L)

By displacement, deadweight tonnage (≈ cargo mass), and gross tonnage (a formula value based on internal volume, not mass), the TI class ships are smaller only than Pioneering Spirit.

Compared to the TI class, the Maersk Triple E class container ships are longer and have a higher cargo volume, including above-deck containers.

The previous largest ship, the supertanker Seawise Giant, was dismantled in 2010.

History

All four oil tankers were constructed for shipping company Hellespont Group by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Okpo, South Korea, entering service between March 2002 and April 2003. The ships were originally named Hellespont Alhambra, Hellespont Fairfax, Hellespont Metropolis and Hellespont Tara.

In 2004, Belgian shipowner Euronav NV and partners purchased all four ships. Hellespont Fairfax, Hellespont Tara, Hellespont Alhambra and Hellespont Metropolis were renamed TI Oceania, TI Europe, TI Asia and TI Africa respectively [3]

Hellespont Fairfax was the subject of The Discovery Channel's television show Superships, episode "Launching a Leviathan—Hellespont Fairfax".

Hellespont Metropolis cost $89 million in 2002, requiring 700,000 man-hours of direct labor.[4]

Features

The class, each ship powered by a single HSD-Sulzer 9RTA84T-D delivering 50,220 brake horsepower (37,450 kW) at 76 rpm [5], possesses a relatively high service speed (16.5 knots, 30.6 km/h laden, 17.5 knots, 32.4 km/h in ballast), which increases their earning capacity. The steel scantlings are greater than the class minimum.

These ships are wider than the new Panama Canal locks. They also cannot travel through the Suez Canal unless on a ballast voyage.

The coatings in the ballast tanks are protected by two features, a full-time double-scrubbing system supplying drier inert gas to the ballast tanks, and also by the white painted upper hull reflecting the sun’s energy. The inert gas system also increases safety. Keeping down the cargo temperatures also minimizes hydrocarbon emissions.[2]

Conversion

In 2009 and 2010, TI Asia and TI Africa were converted into sophisticated floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessels, moored off the coast of Qatar in the Persian Gulf at the Al Shaheen Oil Field. The extensive conversions were carried out by EuroNav and Overseas Shipholding Group at Drydocks World – Dubai.[6]

In 2017, TI Europe was chartered by Statoil and converted to a FSO vessel, moored at Port of Kuala Sungai Linggi in Malaysia.[7] In 2019, it was announced that TI Oceania would be converted to a FSO vessel and moored off the coast of Singapore.[8]

TI Class
No.ShipFlagIMO numberDeliveryStatusOwnerNote
1FSO Asia (effective November 2009)
Ex name(s):
TI Asia (effective July 2004)
Hellespont Alhambra (effective March 2002)		9224752March 2002In serviceTI Asia Ltd
(Euronav)		FSO located Al Shaheen oilfield
2FSO Africa (effective March 2010)
Ex name(s):
TI Africa (effective July 2004)
Hellespont Metropolis (effective June 2002)		9224764June 2002In serviceTI Africa Ltd
(Euronav)		FSO located Al Shaheen oilfield
3Europe
Ex name(s):
TI Europe
Hellespont Tara (effective November 2002)		9235268November 2002In serviceEuronav NVFSO located Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia[7]
4OCEANIA (effective July 2018)
Ex name(s):
Overseas Laura Lynn
TI Oceania (effective July 2004)
Hellespont Fairfax (effective April 2003)		9246633April 2003In serviceEuronav NVAs of September 2019, FSO located off the coast of Sungai Linggi, Malaysia.[8]

Information obtained from IMO GISIS Ship and Company Particulars,[9] MarineTraffic,[10] Euronav and branches,[11] and Subsidiaries of International Seaways[12] 15 February 2020.

See also
  • List of world's longest ships
  • Seawise Giant
  • Batillus-class supertankers

References
  1. "TI Europe". Auke Visser´s International Super Tankers. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  2. "Hellespont Alhambra". Wärtsilä. 2010. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  3. "Euronav, partners purchase four tankers". Oil & Gas Journal. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  4. "Shipyard Productivity". ThorCon Power. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  5. "Hellespont to name ULCC's". marinelog.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2002. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  6. "List of drydocked FSOs". Drydock World. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  7. "Statoil charters last of the world's largest oil tankers to hold crude for Asia buyers". Reuters. 28 September 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  8. "Ships set to burn raw crude oil to beat new clean fuel rules". JWN Energy Group. Bloomberg. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  9. "GISIS: Ship and Company Particulars". IMO. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  10. "Vessel details". MarineTraffic. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  11. "Contact Euronav". Euronav. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  12. "Subsidiaries of International Seaways". SEC. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
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