The World's Biggest Ships

A decade and a half ago Ships Monthly reported on the world’s biggest ships and most have continued to grow, as Jim Shaw reports.

- Jim Shaw

Considered the world’s largest ship by displacement, beam and volume, the 1,253ft (382m) by 407ft (124m) topsides removal/installation vessel Pioneering Spirit completed her first job last year by lifting the 13,500-tonne topsides of the decommissioned Yme oil platform in the North Sea. Later this year the 403,342gt vessel will tackle the 23,000-tonne topsides of Shell’s Brent Delta platform, which will be a world record single lift for an offshore structure.

The South Korean-built vessel, which has cost over $2.8 billion to build and outfit, is able to single-lift topsides of up to 48,000 tonnes and jackets up to 25,000 tonnes. She is operated by Swiss-based engineering contractor Allseas, which is already planning to build an even larger ship capable of lifting topsides up to 72,000 tonnes.

The title of ‘World’s Largest Ship’ has always captivated the general public. Recently the largest container ships and largest cruise vessels ever delivered have been built, with the Oasis cruise ships being of particular interest to many. Indeed, the size of ships over the past century and more has continued to grow.

LARGEST THROUGH TIME

Closure of the Suez Canal in 1956, and again in 1967, prompted the construction of very large tankers to carry crude oil from the Middle East around the Cape of Good Hope to Europe and America. Prior to the mid-1960s it was usually a passenger liner that could claim title of world’s largest ship. The title itself was first widely publicised for the 18,914gt Great Eastern in 1858, a vessel ahead of her time, measuring 692ft (211m) by 120ft (36.6m) and already ‘post-panamax’ because of her wide paddle wheels.

The next ship to make a mark as the largest was White Star’s ill-fated 46,329gt Titanic of 1912, which measured 883ft (269m) by 92.5 (28.2m). Just prior to World War II the 83,673gt