The largest sailing ship in the world. Giant ships: what are the dimensions of the largest peaceful ship in the world
Since ancient times, the ability to swim like a fish has been no less desirable for a person than the ability to fly like a bird. What the body given by nature cannot do, the machines we have built have helped to accomplish. From the fragile boats of antiquity, mankind has grown to the creation of huge cities on the water. The largest of them, even a modern person accustomed to the achievements of progress, amaze with a combination of power and beauty.
The largest ships in the world: selection criteria
To name the very best huge ship, there are at least two criteria: dimensions (length and width) and displacement (in fact, this is the volume of the underwater part of the ship).
In addition, to determine the winner in individual categories, his ability to perform his main task is of decisive importance. For a passenger ship, this is the number of passengers that it can take on board and the number of cabins, for a bulk carrier or tanker, the weight of the cargo carried, for a container ship, the number of containers.
Sailboats and steamships
Before moving on to modern record holders, let's remember their predecessors, those who plowed the seas driven by the power of wind and steam.
The largest sailing ship ever to float off the stocks is the French barque France II. The ship had a displacement of almost 11 tons and a length of 146 meters. For only ten years - from 1912 to 1922 - they carried out regular cargo transportation, until the sailboat that ran aground off the coast of New Caledonia was abandoned by the owners. The ship was finally destroyed in 1944 during a bombardment.
The greatest steamship in history is the Great Eastern launched in 1857. Its length is 211 meters, and its displacement is 22.5 thousand tons. The ship was propelled by two wheels and one propeller, but could also sail. The main purpose of the vessel is passenger transportation; Great Eastern could take up to 4000 people on board. Unfortunately, the age of coal and steam was not kind to such large-scale projects - the operation of Great Eastern turned out to be unprofitable and was discontinued for economic reasons.
Absolute record holder
For many years, the tanker Knock Nevis was the winner in the nomination "The largest ships in the world". Erected in 1976 in Japan, it changed its name many times and underwent a major restructuring. The champion acquired the final dimensions in 1981 (under the name Seawise Giant): 458.5 meters long, 68 wide with a displacement of 565 thousand tons.
A huge tanker is a piece of equipment that is not so easy to find a use for. Due to its size, the ship had a low speed, a huge (more than 10 kilometers!) braking distance, could not pass through strategic navigable straits and could only moor in a few ports around the world.
You can see a photo of the largest ship on any site dedicated to the history of shipbuilding, but this giant has recently belonged to the past, just like sailboats and steamships. In 2010, the ship, which had not been used for six years, was cut into scrap metal.
Workaholic Giants
Like Seawise Giant, others largest ships are also cargo ships: tankers, bulk carriers, container ships.
The longest ship currently in use (397 meters) is the container ship Emma Maersk. According to various sources, it is possible to lift from 11 to 14 thousand standard containers without its board. Since the designers were tasked with ensuring the passage of Emma Maersk through the Suez and Panama canals, the width and draft of the ship were set quite moderate. Therefore, the displacement of such a giant is "only" 157 thousand tons.
And the largest ships in the world in terms of displacement are four Hellespont supertankers. Although the length of each of them is 17 meters less than that of the leader among container ships, but the displacement is one and a half times greater - 234 thousand tons.
The ore carriers of the Brazilian company Vale are not too inferior to them. The largest of them - Vale Sohar - has a displacement of about 200 thousand tons and a length of 360 meters. The maximum load that this giant is able to carry is 400 thousand tons.
Cruise beauties
Although passenger ships and not as large as trucks, but they make an indelible impression. A cruise liner is not a means of transportation, but a luxury vacation spot. Big size the ship here serves not so much as an opportunity to accommodate as many passengers as possible on board, but to create all conceivable comfort that would satisfy the most demanding public.
The largest passenger ships are many times larger than it once seemed incredible Titanic. A couple of twin liners Allure of the Seas and Oasis in the Seas are unmatched in size. 362 meters in length and 225 thousand tons of displacement - figures comparable to the largest cargo ships. Each of the liners can comfortably accommodate 6,400 passengers. In addition, 2,100 personnel are serving on board (this is against several dozen sailors serving tankers and bulk carriers).
Allure of the Seas or Oasis in the Seas offers shops, casinos, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, a fitness center, volleyball and basketball courts, a sauna and swimming pools. There is even a park with real trees and grass.
Sea storm
You can not ignore the largest warships. These are now aircraft carriers. And this is understandable: no matter how the aircraft engineers work to reduce the take-off run of aircraft, the “winged sailors” still need a rather big track for the start.
Before World War II, the most powerful maritime powers built especially large warships - battleships. The largest of them is the flagship of the Japanese fleet "Yamato". 263 meters long, 40 wide, with a crew of 2,500 sailors, the battleship seemed simply invulnerable. However, the ship, launched in 1940, was sunk shortly before the surrender of Japan.
The development of anti-submarine weapons made such ships too convenient a target. The ships laid down in those years were still in service (for example, the American battleships of the Iowa project), but the main stake in the post-war period was placed on aircraft carriers.
The largest naval ship of all time was the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. It is 342 meters long and 78 meters wide. The ship carried up to 90 aircraft (airplanes and helicopters), which served 1800 people. The total crew is 3,000 sailors. After serving for more than half a century, in 2012 the Enterprise was withdrawn from service with the United States Navy. Now its place has been taken by Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, slightly inferior in size to their predecessor - the length of the largest modern aircraft-carrying ships is 333 meters.
The largest ships in Russia
Although the ships Russian production do not occupy the top positions in the rankings largest ships world, but some models are unrivaled in their categories.
Thus, the flagship of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation, the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky, is the world's largest non-aircraft-carrying combat strike ship. Cruiser dimensions: 251 meters - length, 28 meters - width, displacement - 28 thousand tons. Main task: counteracting enemy aircraft carrier formations.
There is another record holder in the service of the Russian Navy - the Akula submarine (Project 941). The length of the boat is 173 meters, the underwater displacement is 48 thousand tons, the crew is 160 people. The submarine is equipped with a nuclear reactor and diesel power plants. The main weapons are intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
Of the civilian ships, it is necessary to mention the largest nuclear-powered icebreaker "50 Years of Victory", which left the stocks in 1993. Perhaps, knowing what the largest ships in the world are, its 160 meters in length will seem frivolous, but still this ship has no equal in its class.
Giant in the shipyard
In addition to the actual ships, modern shipbuilders are busy developing other marine giants - floating platforms. Striking in size structures can be used for a variety of purposes, from mining to launching spacecraft.
Right now, the floating platform Prelude is being completed at the shipyards of the South Korean Samsung Heavy Industries, which the customer - Royal Dutch Shell - plans to use for the extraction, liquefaction and transportation of natural gas. In 2013, the Prelude hull was launched. Its dimensions are more impressive than the largest ships in the world can boast. A photo of the unfinished giant has become available to everyone interested.
The vessel is 488 meters long, 78 meters wide, and has a displacement of 600,000 tons. It is assumed that the platform will move with the help of tugs. Only the absence of its own running gear does not allow Prelude to be called a champion among giant ships. The platform is still not a ship.
The biggest cruise ships have the most luxurious and impressive amenities. These are almost gigantic cities floating on the ocean. Below is a list of the ten largest cruise ships in the world.
Liberty of the Seas is a Freedom class cruise ship. Began regular flights in May 2007. This 15-deck liner can accommodate 4,370 passengers with a crew of 1,360. It was built in 18 months at the Aker Finnyards shipyard in Turku, Finland. It has a length of 338 m, a width of 56 m. Max speed 21.6 knots (40 km/h). Gross tonnage - 155,889 GT.
Norwegian Escape is a cruise ship built by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany in just 17 months in October 2015. She is 325.9 meters long, 41.4 meters wide and has a gross tonnage of 165,300 GT. It can accommodate 4,266 passengers and 1,733 crew members. The painting on the body is the work of Jamaican artist and conservationist Guy Harvey.
Norwegian Joy is a cruise ship built by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany in 2017 specifically for the Chinese cruise market. Unusual in that he was given a godfather, the Chinese singer Wang Lihom, and not, as is customary, a godmother. The Joy is 333.46 meters long, 41.40 meters wide, and has a gross tonnage of 167,725 GT. Capable of accommodating 3,883 passengers and 1,700 crew members.
MS Ovation of the Seas is a Quantum-class cruise ship. Company owned Royal Caribbean cruises ltd. and is operated by Royal Caribbean International. Flying under the flag Bahamas with a home port in Nassau. The ship was laid down on March 5, 2015 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The launch took place on February 18, 2016. Chinese actress Fan Bingbing became the godmother of the ship. Its first flight took place on April 14, 2016 from Southampton (UK) to Tianjin. The length of the liner is 348 m, the width is 48.9 m, the gross tonnage is 168.666 GT. Can accommodate 4,180 passengers.
MS Anthem of the Seas is a cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. It was laid down on November 20, 2013 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Launching took place on February 20, 2015. On April 10, 2015 the ship was commissioned. He was christened on April 20, 2015, and British historian and publicist Emma Wilby became his godmother. The liner made its first flight on April 22, 2015 from Southampton to the coast of France and Spain. Gross tonnage - 168.666 GT, length - 348 m, width - 49.4 m. Capacity - 4,180 people.
MS Quantum of the Seas (Quantum of the Seas) is a Quantum-class cruise ship of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. It was laid down on August 2, 2013 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Launching took place on August 9, 2014. On October 28, 2014, the vessel was put into operation, and on October 31 of the same year it was transferred to the service of the fleet of the customer company. The first flight was carried out on November 2, 2014. Godmother of "Quantum" was the American actress Kristin Chenoweth. Its first flight took place on November 2, 2014 from New Jersey along the Atlantic coast of the United States. The length of the liner is 348.1 m, the width is 49.4 m. The gross tonnage is 168.666 GT. Passenger capacity - 4 180 people.
MSC Meraviglia is a high-tech cruise ship that entered service on June 3, 2017. Owned by the Italian cruise company MSC Cruises. His baptism ceremony in Le Havre on June 3, 2017 was attended by actor Patrick Bruel, musical group Kids United and comedian Gad Elmaleh. Godmother was Sophia Loren. With a length of 315.83 meters and a gross tonnage of 171,598 GT, the ship can accommodate 5,700 passengers.
Oasis of the Seas is one of the largest cruise ships in the world. It was built at the Norwegian shipyard in Turku - STX Europe, commissioned by Royal Caribbean International in October 2009. Its construction cost was about $1.5 billion, making it the most expensive passenger ship in the history of civil shipping. Can carry 6,630 passengers and 2,160 crew members. Its length is 361.6 m, width - 47 m, gross tonnage - 225.282 GT.
MS Harmony of the Seas is a cruise ship built by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France in 2015. Owned by the American company Royal Caribbean International. The vessel is 362.12 meters long, 47.42 meters wide and has a gross tonnage of 226,963 GT and has 2,744 passenger cabins. Maximum amount The number of people on board is 6,360 passengers and 2,400 crew members.
MS Symphony of the Seas is an Oasis class cruise ship built by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France between October 2015 and March 2018. Owned by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. As of June 2017, it is the largest passenger ship in the world. It has a length of 362 m, a beam of 65.68 m and a gross tonnage of 228,081 GT. Capable of accommodating 5,518 passengers and a crew of 2,200.
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Cruise ships are often referred to as cities at sea, and this description is most accurate for them. To understand how huge such ships can be, you can draw a comparison with the infamous Titanic. If it was built in our time, it would not even enter the Top 50. In this list, I will tell you about the 10 largest cruise ships in the world, all of which were built relatively recently, after 2000. Many of them also have twin brothers who are just as big.
Royal Caribbean. Oasis of the Seas
This ship weighs 225,282 tons, is 361.7 meters long and has an official capacity of 5,400 passengers in maximum luxury and comfort. The Oasis of the Seas is one of the few ships that cannot sail through the Panama Canal. It is not only too long for a channel, but also too high and wide. On board you can feel like in a huge amusement park. There are large-scale shows that are not inferior to Broadway ones, and sports fans can do anything, even rock climbing. The team serving the ship and passengers has 2,400 people. 
Queen Mary II
This ship weighs 151,400 tons and is 345 meters long. The official capacity is 2640 passengers. To imagine how huge this ship is, you can put bumper to bumper 80 large tourist buses- this will be comparable in length to Queen Mary II. At each end of the ship, you can place football field, and there will still be room to install a whole Big Ben on the deck. At the time of construction in 2004, it was the largest ship in the world. 
Disney Dream
This ship weighs 130,000 tons and is 340 meters long. The Disney Dream has a capacity of 2,500 people and is a miniature version of Disneyland at sea. There is a huge cinema and many other places for entertainment, including a water park. 
Freedom of the Seas
The weight of the ship is 160,000 tons, and the length is 339 meters. The vessel accommodates 3634 passengers. It is sometimes compared to a floating water park, there is also waterslides, and many pools, jacuzzis, as well as a wave simulator. There is also a water park for children called H2O and even a skating rink for those who like to skate. 
Splendida (Splendida)
This cruise ship weighs 137,936 tons and reaches 338 meters in length. Its capacity is 3274 passengers. The amount of space on board is simply colossal - it is one and a half million square meters, which exceeds the total amount of space, for example, the Eiffel Tower in Paris. 
Norwegian epic
This ship weighs 155,873 tons and is 329 meters long. Capacity - 4100 passengers. This cruise ship was launched in 2010 and is so huge that 5 lifeboats had to be removed to enter New York Harbor. On board you will also find a lot of entertainment, restaurants, attractions. There is even a 24-hour pizza delivery to the room. We have already mentioned this ship, as well as many others, in a selection of the largest ship propellers in the world. 
celebrity eclipse
The weight of this vessel is 122,000 tons, and the length is 315 meters. Even if four Boeing 747s were lined up, they would still not exceed the length of this cruise ship. The ship has 19 decks, including a lawn deck where you can play croquet and bocce. 
Voyager of the seas
This ship weighs 138 tons and is 311 meters long. It can accommodate 3114 passengers. This is one of the first super-giant cruise ships, it has everything you need to comfortable rest- own TV studio, skating rink, nine-hole mini golf course and much more. 
carnival dream
The weight of this liner is 130,000 tons, and the length is 306 meters. Capacity - 3646 people. This ship is a real floating amusement park, there are even several cinemas with screens of different sizes. 
Princess Diamond
Closes the top ten largest cruise ships ship weighing 116,000 tons and a length of 294 meters can accommodate 2670 people. Despite the tenth place, in terms of area it is several times larger than, for example, Buckingham Palace, or five times larger than the Taj Mahal. There are more than seven hundred high-class cabins with balconies here. 
Today we will talk about the largest ships on the planet: passenger, military, cargo, industrial. Some of them are so large that they cannot enter the canals and straits, and most of the world's ports are closed to them.
We have selected seven of the most amazing giant ships. Five of them have recently been set sail, two have already been written off, and you can even buy a ticket for one. Each of them is a champion in their category.
The longest ship on earth
Length - 488 m, width - 74 m, deadweight - 600,000 tons. Launched in 2013.
The largest ship on the planet and the largest floating structure ever built by man is the Prelude FLING. It is equal in length to the famous Wailing Wall in Israel. On board could accommodate five full-size football fields or 175 Olympic swimming pools. However, its purpose is different: it is the world's first floating plant for the extraction and liquefaction of natural gas.
The vessel belongs to the Dutch-British oil and gas company Shell, built in South Korea by Samsung Heavy Industries, and will work off the coast of Australia, extracting gas from the ocean floor - the first drilling is scheduled for 2017. In the strict sense of the word, this is not quite a ship: Prelude will not be able to sail under its own power, and it will have to be towed to the workplace. But this monster is unsinkable and indestructible: it was created specifically for service in the "cyclone zone" in open ocean and is able to withstand even the fifth, highest category hurricane. The planned service life is 25 years.
Petronas towers with spiers
Length - 458.45 m, width - 68.86 m, deadweight - 564,763 tons. Launched in 1979, scrapped in 2010.
The largest oil tanker Seawise Giant got into the Guinness Book of Records for its size. The ship is 6 meters longer than the 88-story Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, complete with spiers, and is about the width of a football field. It is so large that the draft did not allow it to pass through the Suez, Panama Canals and the English Channel.
Designed and built in Japan by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. in the mid-1970s, the tanker was destined for a Greek customer. However, he refused to buy: during the tests, a strong vibration of the hull was found while swimming in reverse. As a result, the ship was resold to a Hong Kong company and rebuilt: its displacement at full load reached an absolute record - 657,018 tons. During its long life, the ship changed owners and names several times, it was Happy Giant, Jahre Viking, Knock Nevis, Mont, went under Liberian, Norwegian, American and Sierra Leone flags.
In 1986, the Seawise Giant was nearly destroyed during the Iran-Iraq war. A missile fired by an Iraqi fighter caused a fire on board, the crew was evacuated, and the ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz and was considered sunken. The Norwegians found it, repaired it and sent it on a new voyage. Since 2004, the world's largest tanker has ceased to be a floating tanker and has been used as an oil storage near Qatar. In 2009 he did his last trip to the shores of India and was dismantled for scrap. After the disposal of the giant, the largest supertankers are four double-hulled TI-class ships: Oceania, Africa, Asia and Europe. They have a length of 380 m and outperform their competitors in deadweight of 441,585 tons.
Stadium running track
Length - 400 m, width - 58.6 m, deadweight - 184,605 tons, capacity - 19,100 teu (1 teu is a standard 20-foot container). Launched in 2014.
In January 2015, the world's longest container ship CSCL Globe made its maiden voyage from China to Europe. It was built by the South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries and is owned by the Chinese company China Shipping Container Lines. Although this ship is the largest among container ships (it could take races over a distance of 400 m), it is inferior in terms of carrying capacity to another giant: MSC Oscar, which was also recently built in South Korea for an Italian company and can translate into 124 more containers. The difference is small, but Chinese container ship and the length is greater, and the engine is the most powerful in the world: a MAN diesel engine with a capacity of 77,200 liters is hidden in the engine compartment of the vessel. With. and a height of 17.2 m. Korean shipbuilders are not going to stop there and predict the emergence of new giant container ships.
Four statues of liberty
Length - 382 m, width - 124 m, deadweight - 48,000 tons. Launched in 2013.
The catamaran Pioneering Spirit, which until February 2015 was called Pieter Schelte, is the absolute champion in terms of deck area. The creators claim that it can fit small town. In length, four statues of Liberty (93 m with a pedestal) could be laid. The ship was built in South Korea according to the project of a Finnish company. Its function is the laying of underwater pipelines and the movement of drilling platforms. In January 2015, the ship arrived in Europe and has already become the center of controversy because of its name - in honor of the Nazi criminal Peter Schelte Heerm, an SS officer who was found guilty of war crimes and evaded punishment by deceit. Seeing the gigantic ship with that name in Rotterdam, the Jewish communities of Great Britain and Holland raised a fuss, as a result of which even the British government spoke out in favor of renaming the ship. Under public pressure, the head of Allseas, which owns the miracle ship, and Peter Schelte's own son, Edward Heerma, agreed not to use his father's name in the name of the catamaran and changed it to the neutral Pioneering Spirit.
whole city
Length - 362 m, width - 60 m, deadweight - 19,750 tons. Launched in 2009.
The largest cruise ship, Allure of the Seas, has a capacity of 6,296 passengers and 2,384 crew members. Made in Finland by the Norwegian company STX Europe, it is owned by the US-Norwegian company Royal Caribbean International and runs between the US and Europe. On board is placed whole city: 2700 cabins, park with live trees and flowers, ice rink, a water theatre, a climbing wall, a theater for 1380 spectators, as well as shops, bars, restaurants, baths, saunas, etc. It is noteworthy that this ship has a twin of the same class - a cruise liner Oasis of the Seas. However, Allure of the Seas is 5 cm longer. The price for a 12-day sailing across the Atlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona starts from 53,600 rubles.
Six Leaning Towers of Pisa
Length - 362 m, width - 65 m, deadweight - 402,347 tons. Launched in 2010.
The largest bulk carriers for transporting ore are called Valemax: this is a series of ships of the Brazilian mining company Vale SA. Seven ore carriers were ordered by this company in South Korea and 12 more in China. The pioneer among the twins was the Vale Brasil, later renamed Ore Brasil, launched in 2010 to transport ore from Brazil to Asia. This bulk carrier replaces 11,150 ore-carriers, burns almost 97 tons of fuel per day and ranks second among ships in terms of deadweight, giving way to TI-class ships. Due to its size, it can moor only in some deep-water ports in Brazil, China and Europe. It could easily fit six Leaning Towers of Pisa, if laid out in length.
90 aircraft
Length - 342 m, width - 78.4 m, displacement - 94,781 tons. Commissioned in 1961, decommissioned in 2012.
The American aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was longer than all warships in the world, and was also the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. power plant. Maximum capacity was 5828 people, up to 90 aircraft could be on board at the same time, but usually placed 60. The total ammunition of weapons was 2520 tons. Initially, it was planned to create six such machines, but due to high price($ 451 million) it remained the only one of its kind - its feature was not only its size, but also the presence of eight A2W type reactors.
The aircraft carrier has become a symbol of US naval power and has been used in almost all wars and conflicts involving this country: in the Caribbean crisis, during Vietnam War in 1965, in Iraq in 1998, in Afghanistan in 2001, in the Iraq war of the 2000s, in the fight against Somali pirates in 2011.
During its long life, the aircraft carrier went to sea 25 times, made one circumnavigation(in 1964), set a record for the number of sorties from a ship (65 in one day in 1965) and almost exploded in 1969, when an unplanned self-launch of aerial bombs occurred on board, which provoked the scattering of missiles and the destruction of 15 aircraft. Then 27 people died, 314 people were injured, and the damage to the ship was estimated at $ 6.4 million. However, the miracle aircraft carrier was restored and continued to sail until it was decommissioned in 2012. Its full disposal is scheduled for 2016.
