Largest ship ever docks at Port Corpus Christi

The Port Corpus Christi has welcomed the largest oil tanker ever to call on a Gulf of Mexico Port. The ship docked at the Oxy Ingleside Energy Center (OIEC).

The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), a ship named Anne owned by the Belgium-based Euronav, is a 1,093-foot-long vessel capable of holding over two million barrels of oil.  When fully laden a VLCC requires a draft of 66 feet.  Ship channel depth at Port Corpus Christi is at -47’ Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), which would require a partial load of the VLCC, and an accompanying vessel to fill the remaining cargo once offshore. Current VLCC operations require multiple smaller vessels to transport product offshore for loading. Loading VLCCs at Occidental’s OIEC export terminal will provide significant cost and time savings.

Chairman of the Port Corpus Christi Commission, Charles W. Zahn said: “With a vision to be the Energy Port of the Americas, it is fitting for yet another milestone in U.S. crude exports to be set at our port.  As the first VLCC class vessel to call on any Gulf of Mexico port enters our Port Corpus Christi waterways, we are further assured of the importance in continuing infrastructure enhancements, and further deepening our ship channels.”

President and Chief Executive Officer, Occidental Petroleum, Vicki Hollub said: “We believe the Oxy Ingleside Energy Center is the premier crude oil export terminal in the United States. Permian Basin crude is being exported Asia, Europe and elsewhere around the world, and Occidental’s export facility is well positioned to serve the Permian, which is the largest and fastest-growing basin in the U.S. The arrival of the VLCC at our terminal continues to build on our position as the Permian’s largest oil producer, enabling us to load the largest ships with our crude and the crude of other producers.”

For more information visit www.portofcc.com

5th June 2017