The design, construction and operation of quality tankers are subject to greater scrutiny than ever before. The tanker industry has accumulated a wealth of experience of ship technical and operational matters over the years but often not enough use is made of this industry body of knowledge when building a new tanker. INTERTANKO's Tanker Specification Awareness Guide has been compiled to assist those ordering new ships in making informed decisions about the specification of their newbuildings based on industry experience and response to current issues. It is intended to help improve the technical specification of a tanker at the design, contract negotiation and construction stages.