How vulnerable is an oil tanker to military attacks?
Oil tankers are not as vulnerable to damage as is commonly perceived. Their compartmentalized design makes them extremely difficult to sink. Also, because tankers are filled with an inert substance, crude oil, it is difficult for tankers to catch fire. Furthermore, oil is also a buoyant substance, which would help keep the tanker afloat when damaged. To increase the probability of sinking a tanker or causing it to be a constructive total loss (CTL), Iran would have to damage a specific part of the tanker such as the engine room or the tanker’s electronic controls. Because tankers are difficult to damage, only 23 percent of the tankers attacked during the Iran-Iraq War were actually sunk or damaged beyond economic repair.
