How Do Ships Refuel at Sea

Astern fueling The fuel-supplying ship throws a marker buoy into the sea and the receiving ship takes station with it. Then the delivering ship trails a hose in the water that the fuel-receiving ship retrieves and connects to. This method is more limited, as only one transfer rig can be set up.

Do ships need to refuel?

Size Of Cruise ShipSize In Feet & Fuel CapacityLargeOver 1,300 ft, 4+ million gallons of fuel

How often do ships have to refuel?

Generally speaking, cruise ships can only stay at sea for around twelve days before they need to refuel. Despite this most cruise ships will refuel every few days as they stop at different ports. Just because a cruise ship could in theory stay at sea for 12 days, this doesn’t mean that they do.