What you didn’t know about TIP and tankers

The global tanker trucks market size continues to grow. ResearchAndMarkets expect this market to be worth €1.122 bn by 2025, increasing at a CAGR of 5.5% from 2017 to 2025. TIP Tanker Services is also experiencing growth in demand for tanker rental with adoption highest among trailer fleets in the UK and Ireland, followed closely by those in France.

An interesting market

The tanker market caters for the transport needs of a wide variety of businesses, has specific maintenance requirements and is continually developing interesting and innovative technology to help fleet efficiency and reduce the cost of ownership.

Tanker types

There are many types of tankers. “Fuel tankers” is the largest category. The oil and gas industry is the biggest user of tanker trucks worldwide. In the USA, for example, fuel tankers carrying petrol, diesel and aviation fuel account for around 50% of overall tanker truck freight. (source: ResearchAndMarkets)

Chemical tankers are widely-use. Like petrol tankers, they transport dangerous liquid products and are subject to stringent health and safety regulations on transportation and handling.

Bulk dry powder tankers move cement, flour, lime powder, mineral powder, fly ash, chemical powders, and stone powder. (source: AnsterTrailer)

Other types of tanker include:

• food and milk stuff tankers
• waste vacuum tankers which are equipped with a pump and a tank to collect and transport sewage (source: Wikipedia)
• gulley emptiers to suck waste water from drains. They differ from waste vacuum tankers because they are usually equipped with “devices to separate the liquid content of its tank from solid matter, allowing the liquids to run to a storm drain” (source: Wikipedia)
• high pressure jet tankers for cleaning sewers and household waste connections.
• recycler tankers offer “a sewer cleaning solution with continuous dirty water recycling”. (source: Whale.co.uk)

Clean, clean, clean

Tanker trailers are complex equipment and require regular maintenance to remain in peak condition. According to experts at TruckNews cleanliness is vital. The following parts are particularly important:

• Electrical and metal components which can corrode and malfunction, due to harsh weather and chemical de-icers.
• Pumps and valves which must be cleaned and lubricated to ensure the smooth transfer of products in and out of the tanker.
• Exteriors and interiors. A clean exterior makes bodywork issues visible. The interior is important because the internal barrels often carry corrosive products which can cause significant damage to the tanker if not properly cleaned out.
• Gaskets including manhole, internal and external valve gaskets. Derek Lane, fleet manager at Bess Tank Lines recommends removing gaskets, cleaning them and reinstalling them to avoid the risks of cross-contamination and leaks if you don’t do so.

Innovative technology

The tanker sector is dynamic and constantly innovating. Examples of new technology for tankers in the milk industry alone include:

• Electric pump for milk tankers invented by Semcon to solve issues with today’s diesel-powered pumps. A truck’s engine needs to operate for an extra 1,000 hours per year to power the pump, thereby increasing diesel consumption by about 5,000 litres, a cost of US$4,000 extra in fuel alone. Other issues include noise and CO2 emissions. Semcon’s electric pump solves these issues and can be retrofitted to existing tankers. Its customer Tine, Norway’s largest milk carrier, says that fitting Semcon pumps to its entire fleet will reduce its diesel consumption by 1.25 million litres per year. (source: TheDrive)
• Robot milk protein analysers. A team of EU researchers has developed the Redfinch, an autonomous robot fitted with tiny chemical sensors that can constantly monitor and identify gas leaks in petrochemical plants and pipelines and dramatically improve disaster responses. The Redfinch sensor is also being developed for use as a protein analysis sensor, installed inside milk tankers. Protein analysis will give information about the quality of the milk in the tanker and form the basis on which to redirect and redistribute the milk cargo. (Source: ScienceBusiness)

Another interesting innovation is the Cairbag system. These internal airbags keep liquid loads in place in tankers when in transit and increase in volume as the loads decrease. Its inventor Dr Erik Eenkhoorn says that this will improve handling, safety and make trucks five to six percent more fuel-efficient. (source: NewAtlas)

TIP Tanker Services

TIP has a division dedicated to the highly specialised tanker rental and maintenance market. We have one of the largest and most diverse fleet of rental tankers in Europe offering all the types of tankers mentioned above.

Tanker rental and leasing

Our tankers can be rented on a spot-hire basis right through to long term contract lease, including our maintenance and repair services.

TIP also provides a sale and lease back service where it gives you a lump sum to purchase your tanker fleet and then leases these tankers back to you on terms that suit your business.

Tanker maintenance and repair

Our specialist tanker maintenance and repair service offers a comprehensive tailormade service solution for our customers’ preventative and corrective maintenance needs through our network of workshops and mobile units. Our highly skilled tanker technicians can carry out all aspects of tanker repairs and maintenance. These include:

• Tanker barrels
• Tank safety inspections
• Pressure testing
• Accident repairs
• Vacuum equipment
• Pumps and compressors
• Donkey engines
• Tanker pipework
• Tanker valves
• Hydraulics
• Pneumatics
• Running gear
• Service
• MOT

Tanker refurbishment

We also provide a tanker refurbishment service. We can remount your tankers onto a new chassis, thereby increasing the life of the tanker without the capital expenditure required when buying a new one.

Dedicated tanker specialist service

TIP has a dedicated tanker customer service and workshop team to respond to all your enquiries. You can contact our specialist TIP Tanker Services team using this form.

2019/02/14