Tankers are used for the transport of liquid cargo, such as mineral oil, derivatives, liquid chemical products, as well as edibles. The payload of the European Tanker fleet was around 3.4 million tons in 2013, of which 98.5 % are on the Rhine axis and just 1.5% in the Danube area.

Again, there are vessels of different size which are adapted to the various waterway classifications in the relevant relation.