Asphalt tankers (also known as asphalt carriers) or, in German-speaking countries, bitumen tankers are specialized tankers that are used to transport liquid bitumen, pitch and related cargoes.
During the Industrial Revolution, the consumption and industrial production of asphalt increased significantly, especially due to the increase in road building, so that people began to transport the bitumen that makes up asphalt as a bulk commodity, with existing ships initially being used to transport bitumen. However, early on, new asphalt tankers were built, transporting mainly from producing countries such as the United Kingdom to the European continent. Asphalt tankers are usually not recognizable as such in appearance. Due to the high level of design specialization, such as cargo heating devices maintaining temperatures between 120 and 150 degrees Celsius, and the heavy insulation of the tanks, the transport of other cargoes on these special ships is uneconomical.
The asphalt tanker Vibit was built in 1963 at the Swedish shipyard Götaverken in Gothenburg, since 1985 sailed under the name Taibit, since 1989 under the name Rio Vista and finally since 1992 under the name Vista. Decommissioned on 5 September 1992 in Gadani, Pakistan.
The tanker Ursula Valentin of the Duisburg shipping company Jaegers is mainly used for the transport of pitch, which is necessary in the production of aluminum. The charge is maintained at a temperature of 220 ° C. All pumping and heating devices are duplicated.
Asphalt tanker TMS Eiltank 3 (former Bitumina 3) is an inland navigation vessel owned by the shipping company Jaegers. Built in 1963 in Erlenbach am Main. The product (bitumen) is maintained at a temperature of 170 – 180°C during movement.
