Oil tanker
An oil tanker is a massive sea-going vessel, constructed by humans to traverse the oceans of Earth.
Their primary purpose is to be the victim of Decepticon attacks and hijackings. They occasionally serve a secondary function of moving massive qualities of oil around.
Generation 1
Marvel Comics continuity
Quite a few oil tankers disappeared around the Caribbean, likely the victims of Decepticon activity. Crater Critters
An oil tanker owned by the Blackrock Corporation was hijacked by several of Shockwave's troops. After getting rid of the crew by setting them adrift in life rafts, Shrapnel used his electrical powers to direct the ship toward the Decepticons' Caribbean island base... where fuel auditor Ratbat discovered that the tanker's oil cargo had already been offloaded. Whoops! Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom
Much later, Starscream had the idea to seize an oil tanker while his troops diverted the Autobots. The ship's captain was just about ready to sink the ship rather than let the giant alien robots have it, but was talked out of it by one of his crew, who reminded him of the potential environmental damage. Starscream hadn't counted on a segment of Earthforce being held in reserve, however, and was soon driven off. Divide and Conquer!
Cartoon continuity
Go-Bots
Notes
- Because they work in the very turbulent ocean, oil tankers generally have sealed, hard-hulled life boats, not inflatable rafts as portrayed in "Car Wash of Deom".
