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 The
largest super-tanker built ever is named Knock Nevis. It is well
known as Seawise Giant, Happy Giant or Jahre Viking, but with changing
of ship-owners and its function are coming new names. Now the vessel
is operating as a storage tank to the platforms in Qatar. That was
dictated, because of its large measurements. The vessel has a deadweight
of 565,000 metric tons, a length of 458 meters and a beam of 69
meters. When it is fully loaded it cannot pass through the English
channel, which is 32 miles wide, and what about Suez Channel or
Panama Channel. That is why, the ship-owner decided to use it as
a immobile storage tank offshore in the Qatar, where it is more
profitable for the owner.
The story for building this vessel is very interesting.
It was designed to be the largest super-tanker built ever, when
it was ordered. But just some months after starting of the work
for building this vessel the owner, decided that sthis ship is too
small and added 87 thousands tones more to its deadweight. So the
super-tanker Knock Nevis collected a whole deadweight of 565,000
metric tones. In fact this vessel is on the fifth place by its gross
tonnage, because it is just 236,710, behind the other ULCCs –
TI.Europe, TI Asia, TI Oceania, TI Africa, but when we are talking
about deadweight and measurements it is the first one. The vessel
Knock Nevis was built in 1981 and put on water with the name Sea
Wise Giant, but from 2004 is operating in the Qatar as a immobile
offshore platform. A vessel has a summer  displacement
of 647,955 m.t. and can carry 4.1 million barrels. The draft of
this vessel when it is fully loaded is 26.4 meters. You can imagine
what are the measurements of this vessel, and how it is moving through
the water. Even the largest ports were operating with this vessel
too hardly and that was the reason to be moored in Qatar as an immobile
platform. Such kind of vessel has only a couple of ports that can
serve it. The ultra large crude carrier is not profitable enough
as has high fuel consumption and really expensive maintenance. Knock
Nevis operated a lot of years for its ship-owner, but after the
last repair was decided to work in Qatar.
Unfortunately the ULCC Knock Nevis was scrapped in 2010, as prove
that such large ship is not profitable and maintaintenance and operations
are quite more expensive. However, the cargo ship Knock Nevis will
be remembered as the largest ship, built ever.
date: 20th March, 2008 |
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