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The capacity of the world oil tanker fleet grew considerably between 1980 and 2024. In 2024, the global oil tanker fleet had a combined capacity of around *** million tons deadweight. In terms of tonnage, oil tankers accounted for around ** percent of global seaborne trade that year.

Global oil tanker fleet

Despite the rising contribution of renewable sources to the global energy consumption, the global economy is still heavily dependent on oil. Since oil is the most used energy source, increasing energy demand contributes to oil drilling and transportation. This can be also observed in the growing capacity of oil tankers in global seaborne trade over recent decades. South Korea regularly delivers more newly built oil tankers than any other country in the world.

Oil spills

Petroleum extraction and transport are risky activities that can severely damage the environment if not conducted in accordance with regulations. During the Atlantic Empress incident in 1979, over ** metric tons of oil were spilled into the Caribbean Sea. This was the largest oil tanker disaster in the past 50 years. Recurring oil spills during the second half of the **** century led to stricter international and national regulations for petroleum extraction, transportation, and production to reduce the damage of the oil economy on the environment. These efforts were repaid: the average annual number of large oil spills worldwide decreased to around**** in the 2020-2029 decade, down from an average of **** large oil spills per year between 1970 and 1979. However, oil spills have not been eliminated, despite the better control and diagnostic techniques. In 2024, roughly * metric tons of oil were leaked from tanker incidents.