The largest tanker in the world

The most outstanding invention of mankind is an oil tanker. The word itself comes from the English word "tank" - a tank. A sea tanker is a vessel designed to carry liquid cargo (oil, acid, vegetable oil, molten sulfur, etc.) in ship's tanks (tanks). These sea vessels come in various sizes, but among them there is a special type - supertankers. These are the largest ships among tankers of this type. They can carry 50 percent more oil per voyage than others, and only 15 percent more operating costs for bunkering, crew, and insurance, allowing the oil companies chartering the vessel to increase their profits and save savings. There will always be a demand for such oil tankers.

Supertankers are a product of the scientific and technological revolution of our time. They did not have any specific inventor, and with the development of science and technology, their creation became possible. On oil tankers, a longitudinal hull framing system was tested, the engine room and all superstructures were moved to the stern. And most importantly, during their construction, electric welding began to be widely used in shipbuilding, which later became the only way to connect metal hull structures.

Source: Journal/masterok

1. Knock Nevis, a supertanker that has gone by the names Jahre Viking, Happy Giant, and Seawise Giant at various times. Knock Nevis has a length of 458.45 meters, so it takes at least 2 km to turn the tanker in the opposite direction if the turn was carried out with the help of tugs. The vessel has a width of 68.8 meters, to give a better idea - this is the approximate width of a football field.

2. On the upper deck of the ship, 5.5 football fields could be placed.

3. This is the largest operating ship ever created in the history of the planet. It also has its drawbacks, which, in fact, predetermined the short existence of the tanker. Its draft of 24.6 meters is, for comparison, more than a standard 7-storey residential building.

The ship could not pass the Suez and Panama Canals due to its huge dimensions, moreover, it was not allowed to pass through the English Channel, due to the risk of running aground.

The Seawise Giant was the largest ship built in the 20th century. But the giant was built before the era of double-hulled tankers, which began with the Exxon Valdez accident. It is unlikely that new tankers will surpass the size of the Seawise Giant, most likely, floating cities will intercept the palm - real floating cities, with housing, offices, and everything else that is available in the city. Some projects of such vessels are already being developed.

4. Seawise Giant began to be built in 1979 by order of a Greek tycoon, but it went bankrupt as a result of the oil embargo of the 70s. The ship was bought by the Hong Kong magnate Tung, and financed its completion. However, Tung insisted that the deadweight be increased from 480,000 to 564,763 tons, making the Seawise Giant the world's largest ship. The tanker entered service in 1981, and initially transported oil from fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Then he was transferred to transport oil from Iran. There, in the Persian Gulf, he was sunk.

In 1986, during the Iran-Iraq war, in the Strait of Hormuz, the tanker was attacked and sunk by Iraqi Air Force aircraft with Exocet missiles. An Iraqi fighter fired an Exocet anti-ship missile at a unique tanker, which was then located almost in the Persian Gulf (or rather, in the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, leading to the Gulf).

It sank in shallow water near Kharg Island, due to which in August 1988 it was raised and taken for repairs at the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore by its new owner, Norman International. Ship repairers replaced 3.7 thousand tons of crumpled steel.

5. Most likely, the company bought, raised and repaired the tanker mainly for the sake of prestige. The refurbished Seawise Giant was renamed the Happy Giant. By 1999, he again changed the owner and name - he was bought by the Norwegian Jahare Wallem and renamed Jahre Viking.

6. In March 2004, the giant got a new owner, First Olsen Tankers. Times have already changed, and given the age of the tanker, it was decided to convert it into FSO - a floating storage and loading complex, at Dubai shipyards. After the conversion, he received the name Knock Nevis, and was then delivered as an FSO to the Al Shaheen field in the waters of Qatar.

Technical characteristics of the supertanker Knock Nevis

Commissioned: 1976 Withdrawn from the fleet: 01/04/2010 Length: 458.45 m Beam: 68.86 m Draft: 24.611 meters Power plant: steam turbines with a total capacity of 50,000 liters. With. Speed: 13-16 knots Crew: 40 people

Weight of transported cargo: 564,763 tons

Another 6 ULCC (Ultra Large Oil Tanker) class exceeded 500,000 dwt: Battilus 553.662 dwt 1976 – 1985 (decommissioned) Bellamya 553.662 dwt 1976 – 1986 (decommissioned) Pierre Guillaumat 555.051 dwt 197 7 – 1983 (decommissioned) Esso Atlantic 516,000 dwt 1977 - 2002 (decommissioned) Esso Pacific 516 dwt 1977 - 2002 (decommissioned) Prairial 554.974 dwt 1979 - 2003 (decommissioned)

7. Think about it: the stopping distance of the giant is 10.2 kilometers, and the turning circle exceeds 3.7 kilometers! So, among other ships scurrying around these waters, this supertanker is like an elephant in a china shop.

When the tanker needs to be brought to the oil terminal, it is taken in tow and pulled very, very slowly. It is easy to imagine what can happen if a ship weighing almost a million tons is mistaken in maneuvering.

During its life, the supergiant tanker changed several owners and changed its name more than once - first to Happy Giant, then to Jahre Viking.

8. In 2009, the ship was transported to India to Alang, where it was forcibly stranded for disposal. In 2010, the ship was scrapped.

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One of the representatives of this class of sea vessels was the oil tanker "Batillus". This cargo ship was created, from start to finish, according to the original project without additional modernization during operation. The sea tanker was built in 10 months from the moment of laying, and about 70,000 tons of steel were spent on the construction. The construction cost the owner $130 million.

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Technical characteristics of the tanker "Batillus"; Length - 414.2 m; Width - 63 m; Draft - 28.5 m; Deadweight - 655,000 tons; Displacement - 275276 tons;

The power plant - four steam turbines "Stal Laval" power of each 64800 liters. With.; Speed - 16 knots; Crew - 26 people;

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