Going all the way back to about ten thousand years ago, ships are a very important invention in our lives today. They are necessary for transporting things around the world. Sure, we have planes which move faster, but as we all know, they can’t carry a lot of weight in the sky.
Ships are also the reason why we have advanced in science and technology. People who studied the weather and the sea would go out into the ocean on ships to conduct experiments and do research for their studies. Not only do we have ships for moving and delivering shipments, but cruise ships are also built and used regularly.
These are the kinds of ships that people use to go on vacation, mostly to exotic places like the Bahamas. A lot of ships have been made during our lifetime and they come in all sorts of types and sizes. In this article, we’re going to name and talk about fifteen of the world’s largest ships.
15. Coraggio
Built in June 1976 by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and operated by Pluto S.p.A. Di Navigazione, the Coraggio was a tanker ship with a Kawasaki steam engine that was eventually demolished in April 1985.
14. Berge Empress
Launched on December 23, 1975, the Berge Empress is a tanker ship that was built in 1976 by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding and operated by Bergesen d.y. It went through three names while it was in service: Sea Empress, Happy Empress, and Empress des Mers.
The ship was originally sold to be demolished in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in March 1986, however, it ended up being resold to someone else and remained being in service.
On May 27, 2004, Berge Empress was officially sold and demolished in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
13. Sea World
Not to be confused with the theme park of the same name in Orlando, Florida, Sea World was built in 1978 by Uddevallavarvet and was operated by Addison Sg. & Tdg. S.A. During its career, the ship has had its name changed twice to King Alexander and Nanny.
Eventually, in 2003, it joined other demolished ships and was ripped apart for scrap in Jiangyin, China.
12. Esso Pacific
Launched on June 13, 1977, the Esso Pacific was a supertanker built by Hitachi Zosen Corporation and operated by Esso Tankers Inc.
In 2002, it joined the demolished ship list and was broken apart in Gadani Beach, Pakistan for scrap.
11. Nissei Maru
Launched on December 20, 1974, the Nissei Maru was built by Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries and operated by Tokyo Tankers. It has gone through two name changes in its career.
In 1999, the ship was sold to another company and was renamed Nissei Maru I. In 2000, it was renamed a second time to Arctic Blue.
This ship also made it on the scrapped list and was demolished on June 5, 2003.
10. Berge Emperor
The Berge Emperor, created in 1975 by Mitsui in Japan, was one of the longest supertankers in the world measuring at 391.83 meters.
It was ready to go on August 20, 1975. Bergesen d.y. & Co. were the original owners of the ship until it was sold to Maastow BV in 1985. After it was sold, it received a name change and was then called Emperor.
Like many other ships, this one also make its demise and was scrapped for metal in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on March 30, 1986.
9. Esso Atlantic
In the shipping industry, the Esso Atlantic, which launched on October 2, 1977, is an absolute legend due to the fact that it had a career that was thirty five years long.
It is also extremely capable of dealing with nearly five hundred and sixteen thousand tons of deadweight. It was built by Hitachi Zosen Corporation and operated by Esso Tankers Inc. Liberia. It joined other demolished ships in 2002.
8. Allure of the Seas
Part of the Oasis Class, Allure of the Seas is a cruise ship that was launched on November 20, 2009 and is operated by the Royal Caribbean International and is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. It was built by STX Europe in Finland.
The ship is especially known for having the first Starbucks at sea and other things such as an ice skating rink, a theatre with almost two thousand seats, a dance hall, and twenty five places to eat from.
It also holds sixteen passenger decks and can hold around 5,400 passengers, but 6,296 maximum. There are a little over two thousand crew members on board. As of today, the ship continues to be in service as the world’s largest cruise ship.
7. TI Asia
Operated by Tankers International and built by Daewoo, the TI Asia, part of the TI class, is one of the few ships to be still be in service today.
Its length is 379 meters long and has a gross tonnage of 234,006.
6. Globtik Tokyo
Operated by Tokyo Tanker, Globtik Tokyo was a crude oil tanker launched on October 14, 1972. Steam turbines powered the ship at forty five horsepower that was geared to a single shaft.
It was the biggest tanker in the world until the sister ship, Globtik London, was made in 1973. The two were similar in size, but Globtik London was heavier.
Eventually, fate led the ship to be destroyed in 1986. Globtik London also suffered from demise, but a year earlier in 1985.
5. Seawise Giant
Seawise Giant, also known as many other names such as Happy Giant, Jahre Viking, Knock Nevis, Mont, and Oppama, was a ULCC supertanker. At 458.45 meters, it was named the longest ship of all time.
Like some of the previously talked about ships, this ship was unable to go through some areas like the English Channel and the Panama and Suez waterways.
Seawise Giant went through a couple of names and owners. Its last name change was in December 2009 after being sold to Indian shipbreakers for the last journey. During that last journey, the ship was demolished for scrap in Alang, Gujarat.
4. Prairial
Prairial, also known as Sea Brilliance, was built in 1979 and was the fourth and last ship built as part of the Batillus class supertankers. It was also the third largest ship ever made.
This was the only ship to have a working career longer than a decade and continued working until it went out of service in 2003. Throughout its career, it had three names: Sea Brilliance, Sea Giant, and Hellas Fos. In September 2003, it was sent to Pakistan to be scrapped.
3. Pierre Guillaumat
Pierre Guillaumat was created in 1977 in Saint-Nazaire, France and was operated by Cie Nationale de Nav. It is the slightly smaller ship of the two similar ships listed above. The ship was named after the French politician of the same name.
Just like the Bellamya, the ship wasn’t able to be used very much due to its large size. Its large size meant that it couldn’t go through the Panama and Suez waterways.
All of these issues caused the ship to not make very much money at all, so it was eventually demolished in Ulsan, South Korea on October 19, 1983.
2. Bellamya
Bellamya, built in 1976, was the sister ship of Batillus and was completed just a few months after that one. Information about this ship is very similar to information about Batillus, but this one had a few differences.
Unlike Batillus, the size of Bellamya kept the ship from being allowed in certain places and where it could be employed and that eventually led to its being scrapped. Service ended on January 26, 1984 in Vestnes, Norway and it had made its arrival to Ulsan, South Korea to be scrapped on January 6, 1986.
1. Batillus
The supertanker Batillus, created in 1976, was a ship in Saint-Nazaire, France. It was built by people in a shipyard called Chantiers de l’Atlantique for the French branch of Shell Oil, a gas station company that we still see today.
Along with three similar ships that were built for its class: Bellamya, Pierre Guillaumat, and Prairial, it is one of the largest ships on Earth.
In order to build the supertankers in the Batillus class, a contract was required. The contract was signed on April 6, 1971 and metal for the project was cut for the first time three years later in January 1975. On June 25, 1976, the ship was finished and ready to be launched.
Twenty five journeys were made with Batillus between Europe in the north and the Persian Gulf.
During its lifetime, the international oil market wasn’t in good shape, causing prices to skyrocket. During the years, the market continued to show the same results, never improving.
All of this caused Batillus to go on less trips averaging about four or five a year.
Unfortunately, in the end, Batillus was done away with in 1985 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan after Shell decided to sell the ship for scrap metal for less than eight million dollars.