This is just our way of whispering in advance: "Facebook Bro talking points on cruise ships and supertankers are as wrong as calling a logging truck a bicycle because they both have wheels. Uh… no."
Getting Ahead of the Usual Nonsense from the Alberta Petro-Bros
The sumo wrestler is the VLCC SuperTanker. The duck is the cruise ship. You're welcome.
VLCC Supertankers Vs. Alaska Cruise Ships
300K
VLCC Supertanker
A fully-loaded VLCC tanker carrying
3 million barrels of toxic bitumen
weighs 300,000 tonnes (DWT).
12K
Cruise Ship
Cruise ship with 2,000 drunk
American tourists and snacks:
weighs 12,000 tonnes (DWT).
A Cruise Ship
A Cruise Ship is essentially a floating hotel designed to carry "volume". Cruise ships have a huge Gross Tonnage (internal volume) but a low Deadweight Tonnage (carrying capacity) because snacks and drunk people are light.

Perfect illustration of why comparing cruise ships to VLCCs is petro-bro fantasy physics, not real-world seamanship.
VLCC Supertankers: A Navigation Nightmare
VLCC supertankers need to somehow navigate their 330 metres of length, 22 metres in keel depth, and 2 million barrels of toxic bitumen past 80 kilometres of rock piles and shoals in surging shallow water seas between Prince Rupert or Kitimat and the open ocean.
Space
They require space we do not have
Depth
They require depth we cannot create
Insurance
Insurers will not pretend it exists
Cruise Ships: Built for Comfort
Cruise ships navigate sheltered summer waters so their landlubber passengers can drink margaritas, pluck at shrimp cocktails, and not fall down.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Alaska Cruise Ship
The average Alaska cruise ship carries people, food, and fuel.
VLCC Supertanker
A VLCC tanker carries 2–3 million BARRELS of raw bitumen, basically toxic, flammable sludge deadly to marine mammals and sea life.
The Bottom Line
When Albertans equate the risks posed by VLCC supertankers in our coastal waters to cruise ships, it is not just misleading—it is just wrong. The physics, the risks, and irreversible harm that would emanate from a VLCC supertanker in our coastal waters would be devastating for marine life and our coastal economy. And very real. For British Columbians.