oilberg

English

Etymology

Blend of oil +‎ iceberg, because the greater part of a loaded vessel of this kind is below the water level.

Noun

oilberg (plural oilbergs)

  1. (informal) A supertanker that transports oil.
    • 1970, LIFE (volume 68, number 8, page 29)
      With the advent of supertankers — aptly nicknamed "oilbergs" — the danger increases that 300,000 tons or more may be dumped in a single mishap.
    • 1973, Jeffrey Potter, Disaster by Oil (page 46)
      That is a lot of ship, about the the size of big tankers before they grew so rapidly to become supers, mammoths and oilbergs.
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