The largest steamship in the world. Giant ships: what are the dimensions of the largest peaceful ship in the world
The largest ship in the world November 30th, 2016
Until today, I considered the largest ship or for example
As time goes by, technologies evolve. It so happened that the glory of the most large ships. But much less visible ships, designed to perform technical and production work, have long surpassed them in these parameters. And depending on the set goals, they become more and more.
Launched a new record holder vessel "Pioneer" (Pioneering Spirit), owned by a Swiss company - a giant construction catamaran, which has no analogues in modern shipbuilding.
Let's take a closer look at how and why this wave lord was built, the width of which exceeds the length of a football field.
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The pioneer is a ship of gigantic proportions. Reaching 124 meters in width and 382 in length, it is equal in its parameters to the famous Empire State Building, and its width exceeds the length of a football field. Carrying capacity is great even for ships of the same type - 48 thousand tons. The cost of the project is also on a record and is almost 3 billion dollars.
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Unlike oil tankers or container ships, crane ships specialize in the transport of multi-ton cargo and take part in offshore construction. This vessel will be used to install oil and gas platforms.
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The customer of the world's largest crane ship is the Allseas company, which is not going to stop there: the next ship built by them will be 160 meters wide and 400 meters long. The new vessel will be commissioned no later than 2020. The construction of giants is carried out at shipyards in South Korea.
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Built in the docks of South Korea, the Pioneer was sent to Rotterdam for final fine-tuning and launching. From the Maasflakte-2 zone, where a special dry dock was built for the new ship, the giant marine crane will go to Cape Town, and then on its first mission.
The catamaran is operated by a team of 571 people, including sailors, engineers, specialists in lifting and installing offshore drilling platforms and support staff.
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The world's largest ship cost its owners Allseas Corporation $1.7 billion, and the project was designed by Finnish shipbuilders Deltamarin. The contract for the creation of a giant ship by Allseas Corporation was signed in June 2010, after which the development of design documentation and the laying of a huge ship in South Korea at the Daewoo Shipbuilding Marine Engineering shipyard began. In 2013, the world's largest ship Pieter Schelte was launched.
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Thanks to the use of a catamaran-type hull, the dimensions of the newest ship turned out to be impressive: the maximum length is 382 m, the width is 117 m. This design made it possible to place its own infrastructure on the deck of the floating city, as well as the ability to transport a small oil platform.
The power plant of the vessel includes eight diesel engines with a capacity of 15640 hp. and thirteen Rolls-Royse diesel generators with a total capacity of 97,000 hp.
It is noteworthy that the ship was originally named after Peter Schelte Heerem, a marine engineer, father of the founder of Allseas, and, concurrently, a Nazi criminal. During World War II, Peter Schelte served in the Waffen-SS, and after the end of the war, a Dutch court sentenced Heerem to three years in prison for war crimes. At the end of last year, the provocative name was changed, and the ship became the "Pioneer".
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The largest ship in the world is equipped with three deck cranes with a lifting capacity of 50 tons and one with a lifting capacity of 600 tons. The diameter of the laid pipes ranges from 2 to 68 inches, and pipes with a total weight of 27,000 tons can be placed in a special cargo compartment.
The world's largest vessel is equipped with a modern dynamic positioning system and is designed to transport, install and commission drilling platforms. The maximum carrying capacity of the world's widest vessel is 48,000 tons. To do this, he was equipped with a unique 65-meter-high killer system, made by special order in Italy.
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The owners have high hopes for newest ship, and is confident that it will break all records in terms of depth and speed of pipe laying, for this it has all the necessary equipment. In particular, seven automatic welding stations and six stations for applying a protective layer on pipes will be installed along the entire length of the world's largest ship. It is also already known that Allseas intends to order a second multifunctional vessel, which will be larger than its predecessor. The commissioning of the world's largest ship is planned for 2020, and its main purpose will be the installation and dismantling of the largest oil and gas platforms.
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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.
Most long ship on the ground
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 is owned by the Dutch-British oil and gas company Shell, built in South Korea by Samsung Heavy Industries, and will operate 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 the 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 m longer than the 88-story Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur with spiers, and is approximately equal in width to 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, flew the 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 made 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 run 400 m races), 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 carry 124 more containers. The difference is small, but the Chinese container ship has a longer length and the most powerful engine in the world: a MAN diesel engine with a capacity of 77,200 hp is hidden in the engine compartment of the ship. 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 accommodates 6296 passengers and 2384 crew members. Made in Finland by the Norwegian company STX Europe, it is owned by an American-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 the longest aircraft carrier in the world and was also the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The maximum capacity was 5828 people, up to 90 aircraft could be on board at the same time, but usually 60 were placed. The total ammunition capacity was 2520 tons. Initially, it was planned to create six such machines, but due to the high price ($ 451 million), it remained the only one of its kind - its feature was not only the size, but also the presence of eight reactors of the A2W type.
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, in the 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.
One of the largest moving objects created by man are ships. Exists a large number of various vessels used for various purposes. There are a lot of huge ships, but there are even more big ones, so instead of listing them all, we decided to rank the largest ships in their class, which included only 9 representatives, but what kind!
9 Eclipse yacht
Our rating opens with the largest and most expensive yacht in the world, which belongs to one of the richest people in Russia, Roman Abramovich. The yacht was launched in 2009 in Hamburg and was equipped with a 12-seat mini-submarine, a missile warning system, bulletproof windows, two helicopters with take-off platforms, four pleasure boats, 20 motor scooters and infrared lasers that prevent shooting by digital equipment. . The yacht itself consists of 9 decks, they have a 500 square meter cabin with a stage and a grand piano, a 56 meter owner's private deck, 11 luxury cabins for 24 passengers, a gym with a sauna, a 16 meter swimming pool, a cinema hall, a dance hall, two kitchens and staff quarters for 92 people. The number of crew and attendants is 70 people. The yacht is 162 meters long, 21 meters wide, and has a displacement of 13,000 tons. The cost of the yacht is 340 million euros.
8 Ferry "Ulysses"
This is the world's largest passenger ferry - the pride of Ireland. It makes 4 flights a day, 230 kilometers per flight between the UK and Ireland. In addition to passengers, this ferry also carries a lot of all kinds of cargo, and the reason for this is the island way of life of the nation, which requires an inexhaustible trade turnover, which depends on sea routes. The sea ferry “Ulysses” unloads and loads in 90 minutes thanks to an ingenious design that can be loaded and unloaded on two decks at the same time. There are 117 double and 110 single cabins on board.
From the boarding ramp, passengers enter the main hall, which can compete with a luxury hotel. The cabins offer all the benefits of a regular hotel room, a huge shopping mall, cinema and restaurants are on other decks. passenger ferry twice as large as its predecessors and is not afraid of ten-meter waves. The cargo-passenger ship has 12 decks and four kilometers of traffic lanes. Its length is 209 meters, width - 31 meters, displacement - 50,000 tons. The ferry accommodates: trucks or trailers - 240 units, cars- 1342 units, passengers - 1900 people.
7 The Stella Deneb cattle ship
The world's largest livestock ship was launched in 1980. One of the major livestock shipping companies, Siba Ships, in 2007 carried out the largest livestock shipment in the world. The route ran from the port of Townsville, Australia to one of the ports of Indonesia. 20,060 cattle and 2,564 sheep and goats were loaded on board the Stella Deneb. For the delivery of animals to the port, 28 trains were involved. All transportation was carried out under the vigilant supervision and control of veterinary services and met the highest standards. Delivery of such a batch of artiodactyls to the customer cost 11.5 million Australian dollars. The ship can carry cargo weighing up to 21,525 tons, its length is 213 meters and its width is 32 meters.
6 Ship for the transport of ships "MV Blue Marlin"
This unique and impressive Norwegian ship is designed to carry unfinished or damaged ships, oil platforms, cranes, moorings and other ships and structures that need to be transported by water. The MV Blue Marlin, for example, was used to transport a BP oil platform and a damaged US warship and even an entire oil refinery, whose transportation became the basis of one of the plots of the television show “Extreme Engineering” on the Discovery Channel, as well as TV the show “Mega Movers”, which was released on the channel “History Channel”. The principle of operation of the vessel is that it submerges several meters under water and swims under the object that needs to be transported. The vessel is equipped with a gym, sauna, swimming pool and 38 cabins that can easily accommodate 60 people. Length - 217 meters, width - 42 meters, height - 13 meters, carrying capacity - 56,000 metric tons, immersion depth - 10 meters.
5 Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz
The American largest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the world, the largest warship launched on May 13, 1972. He made his first trip to the Mediterranean Sea, becoming the first American ship with a nuclear power plant to enter the Mediterranean Sea in ten years. In 1988, he provided security during the Olympic Games in Seoul. In 1991 he made a trip to the Persian Gulf, participated in Operation Desert Storm. Since 2003, he has been participating in the war in Iraq. The length of the ship is 332 meters, width - 76 meters, power - 260,000 horsepower, crew - 3200 people, 90 helicopters fit on board.
4 Tanker Xin Buyan
The largest operating tanker was built in China in Guangzhou using its own Chinese technologies. Construction of the tanker began in 2008. Launched in early 2010. The tanker "Xin Buyan" with a displacement of 350,000 tons is currently the most modern and one of the largest in the world. The length of the ship's deck is 333 meters, which is more than the size of three football fields. The width of the tanker reaches 60 meters. Xin Buyan is designed to carry up to 308,000 tons of oil. As noted in China, the tanker is equipped with one of the most advanced automatic navigation systems in the world, it is designed for any weather and is able to circumnavigate the world in 60 days.
3 Bulk carrier MS Vale Brasil
The Brazilian bulk carrier, the largest in the world, was launched on December 31, 2010. The ship's first cargo was iron ore, weighing 391,000 tons, to be shipped from a port in Brazil to China. This iron would be enough to build three Golden Gate bridges in the USA, and a little more would be left. Due to the size of the bulk carrier, it can only dock in a few ports in Brazil, Europe and China. The ship has seven cargo compartments, the total area of which is almost 220 cubic meters. The length of the ship is 360 meters, the width is 65 meters, the crew consists of 33 people.
2 Cruise ship "Oasis of the Seas"
The largest cruise ship in the world was launched on November 21, 2008. The christening ceremony for Oasis of the Seas took place on November 30, 2009 in Fort Lauderdale. She departed for her maiden voyage from Oasis of the Seas on December 5, 2009. The program included a one-week cruise with calls to St. Thomas, Sint Maarten and the Bahamas. At the time of the first voyage, only these ports could receive such a huge vessel. Throughout the year, Oasis of the Seas cruises the Caribbean. For the first time in the world, a park of 12 thousand exotic, living plants and shrubs and 56 trees was planted on the ship.
On board the vessel there are swimming pools with Jacuzzi, water park with a water arena, a casino, shops and boutiques where you can buy any food and clothing for every taste, restaurants and bars. There is a 750-seat water amphitheater with fountains, jumps and diving towers in the open air and an indoor theater with 1300 seats, as well as the largest casino in the world cruise fleet and much more. Max speed liner - 43 km / h. The hull weighs 45,000 tons and consists of 480,000 parts. The length of the ship is 362 meters, width - 60 meters, height - 72 meters, power - 132,000 horsepower, crew - 2165 people, number of passengers - 6400.
1 Container ship "Emma Marsk"
The largest cargo ship is a container ship owned by the Danish company A.P. Moller Maersk Group. The ship is named by the owner of the shipbuilding company in honor of his late wife, Emma. " Emma Marsk» travels approximately 170,000 nautical miles per year, which corresponds to more than 7 distances around the Earth. When fully loaded, Emma Marsk can hold 11,000 full 20' containers or 14,700 empty containers. On March 18, 2011, the Royal Danish Mint issued a 20 crown coin dedicated to the container ship Emma Marsk. The length of the vessel is 397 meters, width - 63 meters, height - 30 meters, carrying capacity - 123,000 tons, power - 109,000 horsepower, loading is possible immediately from 11 cranes, the captain's bridge is located on the 10th floor of the ship's superstructure. Due to the ship's size, the Panama Canal is closed to it.
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.
Biggest sailing ship that has ever left 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 ship is Passenger Transportation, on board the Great Eastern could take up to 4000 people. 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.
See the photo of yourself big ship you can 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 also are cargo ships: tankers, bulk carriers, container ships.
The longest ship currently in use (397 meters) is a 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 ship- it's not a means of transportation, but a place to relax class "luxury". The large size of the ship here serves not so much as an opportunity to place on board as possible more passengers, how much to create all conceivable comfort that would satisfy the most demanding audience.
The largest passenger ships are many times larger than it once seemed incredible Titanic. A pair 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(aircraft 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 Russian-made ships do not occupy the top positions in the ratings of the largest ships in the world, 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.
From civil courts 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. Strikingly large structures can be used for various purposes, from mining to launching spacecraft.
Right now, the shipyards of the South Korean Samsung Heavy Industries are completing the Prelude floating platform, 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.
