The world of ocean shipping has a special class of supertankers — these are true giants created for transporting oil over vast distances. Their construction history is a race of engineering thought, and their sizes still amaze the imagination.

Unmatched Record Holder: The History of Knock Nevis

The supertanker, known by various names but most often referred to as Knock Nevis or Seawise Giant, holds the absolute record in size. Its history is unique and dramatic.

Ordered by a Greek magnate in 1979, the tanker was built by the Japanese company Sumitomo Heavy Industries and was originally called Oppama. After the client's refusal, the ship was purchased by a Hong Kong shipowner, who demanded that its size be increased. As a result, in 1981, the giant was launched at 458.45 meters in length. For comparison, the height of the Eiffel Tower is 330 meters, making this tanker longer than it and many other known structures.

The main characteristics of Knock Nevis are impressive:

• Length: 458.45 m
• Width: 68.8 m
• Deadweight (carrying capacity): 564,763 tons
• Capacity: more than 4 million barrels of crude oil

The deck area of the ship was so vast that crew members moved around it on bicycles. However, the enormous size also became a problem: the tanker could not pass through the Suez and Panama Canals, and the braking distance was almost 10 kilometers.

The fate of the tanker was full of dramatic events. In 1988, during the Iran-Iraq war, it was attacked and sank off the coast of Iran. However, its history did not end there. A Norwegian company purchased the sunken ship, raised it, and completely restored it, investing millions of dollars. After the repair, it was renamed Happy Giant and then Jahre Viking. At the beginning of the 21st century, it served as a floating oil storage facility under the name Knock Nevis. In 2010, the giant was sent for scrapping to the Indian city of Alang. It took over a year and 18,000 workers to dismantle it. Today, the only reminder of it is a 36-ton anchor, which is an exhibit at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.

Supertankers of the TI Class

After the scrapping of Seawise Giant, the largest operating supertankers are four ships of the TI class: TI Africa, TI Asia, TI Europe, and TI Oceania.

They were built in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and put into operation in 2002-2003. Although they are shorter than the \"absolute record holder,\" their sizes are also impressive. Each ship has a length of 380 meters and a deadweight of 441,893 tons, allowing them to carry about 2.8 million barrels of oil.

These ships are the only representatives of the class ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carrier) currently in active operation and continue to be used for transporting crude oil worldwide.

Classification and Definition of Supertankers

In the shipping industry, the term \"supertanker\" is not official but is used to denote the largest ships. According to international classification, ULCC (Ultra Large Crude Carriers) include tankers with a deadweight of more than 320,000 tons. They can carry more than 2 million barrels of oil. Just slightly smaller are tankers of the VLCC (Very Large Crude Carriers) class — deadweight from 160,000 to 320,000 tons.

Historically, supertankers were also built by other shipyards. For example, in France in 1976, the tanker Batillus was launched at 414 meters in length, but it was scrapped in 1985.

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