Ship knock nevis. Megatanker Knock Nevis drinks the deposits in one gulp. Technical characteristics of the supertanker Knock Nevis
He could easily take on board the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower. But its cargo is $195 million worth of oil. He survived several owners and is already the fourth name. He was hit with rockets and cut in half. And yet - for more than 20 years, it remains the largest ship on the planet.
The history of this ship began in Japan in 1976 (some sources indicate 1975 for some reason) at the shipyards of Sumitomo Heavy Industries.
Then our hero was born under the modest serial number "1016" and was transferred to a certain Greek shipowner, who gave the tanker its first real name "Seawise Giant".
Interestingly, at that time the tanker was not yet so big. Almost. Its carrying capacity was 480,000 tons (typical modern supertankers hold 280,000 tons).
He sailed for three years, and very soon the ship was sold to a new owner, who ordered its increase. Japanese shipbuilders cut and built up the ship, which took a lot of time.
Finally, in 1981, the tanker was ready for operation again. Welded additional sections of the hull increased its deadweight (capacity) to 564 thousand 763 tons of oil, otherwise - up to 658 thousand 362 cubic meters.
One of the latest shots of Knock Nevis. For the scale of the oil titan - pay attention to the sea freighter, visible on the left in the background (photo from supertankers.topcities.com).
By the way, only one steel board 3.5 centimeters thick separates this oil from the sea.
The total displacement of the monster after the reconstruction reached 825 thousand 614 tons, which, along with its size, made it the largest ship ever to sail on Earth.
Some idea of the scale of the monster can be given by people on its deck (photo from dxman.com).
Dimensions. This must be imagined, because there are no such suitable shots that allow you to feel the scale of the supertanker.
Its length is 458.45 meters, width is 68.86 meters (other sea vessels have a shorter length), draft under load is 24.61 meters.
Not only the Titanic, but also modern cruise giants, surpassing the Titanic in all sizes, are simply not impressive against the background of this tanker. Turbines with a capacity of 50 thousand horsepower accelerate the tanker with a full load to 13 knots (about 24 kilometers per hour).
Interestingly, the crew of the ship has only 40 people.
To put a supertanker at the terminal, you need several powerful tugs at once (photo from supertankers.topcities.com).
Obviously, a tanker of this size provides an opportunity to deliver black gold to its destination in a very economical way (per ton of oil).
True, that's bad luck - with a full load, this tanker cannot pass through the English Channel, the Suez and Panama Canals, as well as moor in most major ports in the world.
It would seem that due to its geometric dimensions, it could do this trick. But safety plays an important role here.
A million-ton tanker at full speed is a terrible force (photo from supertankers.topcities.com).
Think about it: the braking 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.
Comparison of the largest ships on the planet (by length and gross register tons (generalized characteristic of geometric dimensions). It is a pity that most of our hero megatanker (it is drawn last) is hidden under water (illustration from dxman.com).
This year, the tanker was dry docked in Dubai, received new equipment and turned into a so-called "floating storage unit" (Floating Storage and Offloading Unit) for oil. At the same time, the ship was renamed Knock Nevis. The vessel belongs to the Norwegians, and operates in the waters of Qatar.
By type of ship, the largest ship in the world is a tanker. A tanker is a sea or river vessel designed to carry bulk cargo. Its body is a rigid metal frame, to which a metal skin is attached. Partitions divide the hull into compartments called tanks. They are filled with various liquid cargoes. The volume of one such compartment-tank varies over a very wide range: from 600 cubic meters for a small-tonnage tanker to 10,000 or more cubic meters for a large-tonnage tanker.
Usually tankers transport oil and products of its processing. However, it is also possible to transport other liquid cargoes: wine, methyl alcohol, coconut oil, vegetable oil. It depends on what type of liquid cargo is being exported.
The countries of the Middle East export oil and oil products, Senegal exports vegetable oil, and Indonesia exports coconut oil.
One of the main operational characteristics of a tanker is its deadweight. It is the difference between the displacement of a fully loaded vessel and the displacement of an empty vessel. Depending on the deadweight value, there are categories of tankers:
Medium-tonnage, category MR, tankers are used for the transportation of both crude oil and products of its processing; minimum deadweight 25000 tons, maximum 44999 tons. LR2 - tankers of the second class, large-tonnage, minimum deadweight 80,000 tons, maximum 159,999 tons Supertankers (ULCC), which are used to transport crude oil from the Middle East to the Gulf of Mexico. The deadweight of these vessels exceeds 320,000 tons.
General purpose tankers are used to transport gasoline, kerosene, and other petroleum products; the minimum deadweight of these vessels is 16,500 tons, the maximum is 24,999 tons. Large-tonnage tankers of the first class of category LR1, also known as oiler: these ships carry dark oil products - fuel oil, motor oils.
Small-tonnage tankers are used to transport various bulk cargoes - bitumen, coconut oil, vegetable oil, drinking water. The minimum deadweight is 6000 tons, the maximum is 16499 tons.
The VLCC category includes large-tonnage third-class tankers with a minimum deadweight of 160,000 tons and a maximum deadweight of 320,000 tons. There is also a special category - FSO, which includes supertankers with a deadweight exceeding 320,000 tons;
unlike other types of tankers, FSO category ships are used as floating storage facilities for crude oil, from where it is offloaded to ships with a smaller tonnage. There were several major tanker accidents in the late 1980s, the most famous of which was the Exxon Valdez off the coast of Canada on March 24, 1989. After these accidents, a ban was introduced on the construction of single-hull tankers (that is, ships with a single skin). In the mid-2000s, a rule came into effect prohibiting the entry of existing single-skinned tankers into ports in European countries.
History of the supertanker "Knock Nevis"
It was designed by a Japanese shipbuilding company in 1974. It was built in the same year at the Yokosuka shipyard. After construction, the tanker had a deadweight of 418,610 tons, which corresponds to the ULCC category. In early September 1975, the ship was launched, given the number 1016 as its name.
The ship was to be taken over by shipowners from Greece. However, they refused to do so, which led to lengthy legal proceedings between the creators of the ship and the customers. The main reason for the failure was that during the sea trials of the supertanker, a serious drawback was revealed: during the reverse course, an extremely strong vibration of the ship's hull began.
In March 1976, after the bankruptcy of the Greek company, the ship was acquired by SHI. After the purchase, the unnamed tanker finally received its first name - "Oppama". Under this name, the ship went to a Hong Kong company in 1979. The owners of the company decided to rebuild the tanker by adding a cylindrical insert. After a refit of the tanker, which lasted two years, in 1981 she was updated, received a larger deadweight and a new name - "Seawise Giant". As a result of the restructuring, the supertanker became the largest ship in the world that ever sailed the ocean.
The supertanker "Seawise Giant" could not sail through the Pas de Calais, Panama and Suez canals, because the ship's draft after the conversion became too deep. This giant transported crude oil from the countries of the Middle East to the United States, and went around the southern tip of Africa - the Cape of Good Hope.
In 1986, the war between Iran and Iraq was in full swing. On May 14, 1986, a giant tanker was carrying a cargo of Iranian crude oil to the United States, and the voyage ended immediately: As the ship passed through the Strait of Hormuz, an anti-ship missile was launched from an Iraqi fighter plane. She hit the port side of the ship, and after unsuccessful attempts to extinguish the fire, all crew members left the ship.
Near the small Iranian island of Larak, the tanker ran aground, and after that it was announced that the giant ship had sunk. In 1988, the war between Iran and Iraq was over. The owners of the Norwegian company Norman International raised the sunken tanker, and the ship received a new name - "Happy Giant". Under this name, the ship was delivered to Singapore in August 1988.
Work on the repair and restoration of the giant lasted three years, and in October 1991, the supertanker, sold to another Norwegian company, under the name "Jahre Viking" left the Singapore shipyard.
For thirteen years, the supertanker continued to operate as a transport vessel. In 2004, a number of laws were passed, according to which tankers without a double side were forbidden to enter the ports of the United States of America and Europe. The ship again changed its owner, then received a new name "Knock Nevis". Under this name, he came to Dubai and became a floating storage facility for crude oil.
The life of the vessel ended in December 2009. Under the last name "Mont", the giant ship made the last raid - to the shores of India. In the early days of January 2010, a giant ship was washed ashore near the city of Alang (Indian state of Gujarat), where the graveyard of ships "Coast of the Dead" is located.
By the beginning of 2011, the disposal of the supertanker was completed. The ship's 36-ton anchor ended up in the Hong Kong Maritime Museum as a valuable exhibit.
- The turning radius of the giant tanker Knock Nevis was 3.7 kilometers
- The carrying capacity of the ship is 565,000 tons
- Length - 458.45 meters
- Width - 68.86 meters
- Full displacement - 825614 tons
- Braking distance - about 10 kilometers
- Draft of the ship at maximum load - 24.611 meters
- The ship was powered by steam turbines that developed 50,000 horsepower.
- Vessel speed reached 13 knots
Tanker, best known by the name Knock Nevis, is largest industrial ship that has ever been built by man. During its difficult existence, it managed to change its name, size, and scope several times.
As soon as he was not called! Over the years, the tanker was Seawise Giant, Jahre Viking, happy giant, Knock Nevis And Mont. And its history began in 1974, almost 40 years ago. At this time, Japanese shipyards received an order - to build the largest tanker in the world. It took the companies 5 years to make the dream of a Greek shipowner a reality: in 1979, a giant tanker, striking in its size, was launched.
But this seemed not enough to the initiator of the order, and he insisted on increasing the size of the ship. As a result, the ship was cut in half, and additional sections were inserted in the middle. At that time, the largest tanker on earth was named Seawise Giant.
As a result, its enormous size can only be amazed: the ship was 458.45 meters long and 68.86 meters wide. And at one time the ship could carry 564.8 thousand tons of cargo. At the same time, the weight of the Knok Nevis tanker itself was 81.9 thousand tons, and if you go through its individual components, the weight of the propeller of the ship was 50 tons, and the weight of the rudder reached 230 tons.
But the further "biography" of the tanker showed that it was precisely such impressive dimensions that became not only the advantage of the vessel, but also its significant drawback. It's hard to imagine, but when fully loaded Knock Nevis, he plunged under water by about 30 meters, which is the size - for comparison - of a nine-story building.
It is not surprising that such a serious draft did not allow the tanker to ply either the Panama or the Suez Canal. At the same time, the Panama Canal did not suit Knock Nevis also in terms of width and length, because the tanker was 1.5 times the maximum allowable size of the locks.
It is also interesting that the described vessel could reach speeds of up to 30 km / h, but when braking, it had to swim another 9 kilometers to a complete stop. And even turning a ship with such gigantic dimensions was not an easy task: without a tug, the tanker turned with a radius of 3.2 kilometers.
In 1981, after the final increase in size, Knock Nevis finally began to make a profit for its owners. His "job" was to transport oil from the Middle East to the United States. However, at that time the Iran-Iraq war was raging, which made its own adjustments to the life of the ship.
Since 1986, the ship began to be used as a huge floating terminal for moving and storing Iranian oil, but in 1988, an Iranian fighter attacked Knock Nevis, and caused significant damage to it, as a result of which the ship lost all the oil it was carrying.
It should be noted that the thickness of the sides of the huge tanker was only 3.5 centimeters. Therefore, in the event of a hole, thousands of tons of oil freely entered the surrounding marine world. As a result, the nature of the earth was significantly damaged, and the tanker was out of order for three years.
During the repair, the tanker was replaced with 3.7 thousand tons of damaged steel. Also at this time, the ship was given a new official name - Happy Giant. But even before the repair work was completed (carried out, by the way, in Singapore), the tanker was sold for $ 39 million to a Norwegian company and left the restoration docks already under the name Jahre Viking.
The next significant change in the life of the largest industrial ship occurred in 2004. In the United States and Europe, a law was passed prohibiting the use of thin-walled tankers for the transportation of oil. Thus, Knock Nevis was left without a job. It was then that the tanker from Jahre Viking was renamed Knock Nevis, and began to be used as a floating oil storage facility.
In 2009, the ship changes its owner, who once again gives it a new name - Mont. Then the tanker sets off on her last journey: to India, to Alang, which is the world-famous ship graveyard. There, within a few months, the ship is cut into pieces and melted down.
Today, the only attribute that remains of the world's largest industrial ship is its anchor, weighing 36 tons. Now it is kept in the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.
The tanker, best known as Knock Nevis, was the largest ship ever built by mankind. During its existence, this supergiant has changed several names: Seawise Giant, Happy Giant, Jahre Viking, Knock Nevis, Mont. Moreover, he managed to change not only the name, but also the dimensions, as well as the scope of its application.
In 1974, Japanese shipyards received an order to build the largest tanker in the world. And five years later, in 1979, a giant ship was launched into the water, striking in its size. But the Greek shipowner, apparently, thought this was not enough. And he ordered an increase in the size of the tanker. After that, Seawise Giant (as it was then called) was cut in half, and additional sections were added to the middle.
As a result, the dimensions of the largest ship in the world took the following values: length - 458.45 meters, width - 68.86 meters, weight of the transported cargo - 564763 tons, weight of the ship itself - 81879 tons, rudder weight - 230 tons, propeller weight - 50 tons.
As it turned out later, it was these figures that became not only a plus, but also a minus of this giant. When fully loaded, the tanker submerged 29.8 meters under water (approximately the height of a nine-story building). Just compare the two photos, the first one is loaded, the second one is empty.
In good weather, the ship could accelerate to 30 km / h, but in this case, it would take about 9 kilometers to stop completely. And it was not easy to just make a U-turn for a ship of such gigantic dimensions, the turning radius without the help of tugboats was 3.2 km.
In 1981, after completing all the work to increase the size, Seawise Giant finally began to work off the money invested in it. His route ran from the oil fields of the Middle East to the United States and back. However, the Iran-Iraq war that was taking place at that time made its own adjustments to the life of the tanker. Since 1986, the ship has been used as a floating terminal for the storage and further reloading of Iranian oil. But this did not save the ship, on May 14, 1988, an Iraqi fighter attacked the Seawise Giant. The tanker received significant damage, lost all the oil on board (it should be noted that the thickness of the sides of the giant ship was only 3.5 cm, nothing else separated thousands of tons of oil from the surrounding sea world) and was out of order for three years.
During repairs, the ship was replaced with 3,700 tons of damaged steel and changed its name for the first time. Seawise Giant has become Happy Giant. However, even before the restoration work was completed, the owner of the tanker changed, and a Norwegian company bought it for $39 million. Therefore, the docks of Singapore (where the repair actually took place) the ship left under the name Jahre Viking.
The next changes in the life of the giant ship happened in 2004. In the United States and Europe, laws were passed prohibiting the use of single-walled oil tankers and the largest ship in the world was out of work. Jahre Viking is renamed Knock Nevis and has since been used as a floating oil storage facility.
The Knock Nevis supertanker is the largest ship ever built in the history of the planet. In different periods of its existence, it bore different names: Seawise Giant, Happy Giant, Jahre Viking.
The length of the oil tanker is 458.45 m. It took at least 2 km to turn it in the opposite direction with the help of tugboats. The width of the world's largest ship was 68.86 m. On the upper deck of Knock Nevis, theoretically, 5.5 football fields could be placed. 
One of the main shortcomings of the supertanker, which predetermined its short operation, was the draft at full load - 24.61 m (more than a 7-storey building). Due to its huge size, and also because of the risk of running aground, the ship could not pass through the Suez and Panama Canals, as well as through the English Channel. 
The braking distance of the tanker was as much as 10.2 km, and the circulation diameter was 3.7 km. Engines: turbines with a total capacity of 50.000 hp The total carrying capacity of the vessel, first put into operation in 1976, was 563.763 tons. The supertanker was moving at a speed of 13 knots (about 24 km/h). 
In the last years of its existence, the giant tanker was operated as a floating oil storage facility. In 2009, the ship was transported to Alang (India), where it was scrapped a year later. 
