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Large vessel left empty, article scoffed by pig (3,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

oil tanker

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'large vessel' is the definition.
'oil tanker' can be an answer for 'vessel' (oil tanker is a kind of vessel). I'm unsure of the 'large' bit.

'left empty article scoffed by pig' is the wordplay.
'left empty article' becomes 'lta' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'scoffed by' is an insertion indicator (scoff can mean to eat or consume).
'pig' becomes 'oinker' (I've seen this in another clue).
'lta' placed into 'oinker' is 'OIL-TANKER'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for oil tanker that I've seen before include "boat" , "[See] ocean-going vessel" , "Fuel transporter" , "Ship carrying fuel" , "Ship carrying "black gold"" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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