The world's cargo ships are getting bigger and bigger every year as are ships in general. This is no surprise, perhaps, given the volume of goods produced in Asia and consumed in Europe and the US and the demand from super high net worth individuals for bigger and bigger yachts. But are these giant symbols of the world's trade imbalance growing beyond all reason? The newest class of container ship, the Triple E, is now the largest vessel in the sea. It will contain as much steel as eight Eiffel Towers and be able to hold 18,000 20ft containers. Here is a look at some of the other monsters ploughing the seas:
MSC Oscar took the title of largest container ship this year. She’s so big, there may not even be a port large enough on the United States that she can dock to. This ship can hold 39,000 cars.
Oasis of the Seas is such a large passenger ship that is has seven different ‘neighbourhoods, within its metal walls. It can comfortably fit 6,000 cruise holiday passengers at any one time. The ship is now owned by Royal Caribbean Ltd. and cruises around various parts of the Caribbean. The Royal Loft Suite is comprised of two floors, a bar, two dining areas and a Jacuzzi.
The TI Asia is commissioned as a floating production storage and offloading vessel for crude oil. At full load it weighs over 509,000 tons of displacement. The TI class of ship were originally designed to be cargo ships and had a relatively high service speed of 16.5 knots for their size but most have now been converted into storage vessels.
The Azzam is the longest luxury yacht in the world at 590ft. Clocking in at a whopping £400m buying price, it is also the most expensive. Designed by Nauta Yachts, it was built in Bremen by Lurssen. Powered by two gas turbines and two diesel engines, the yacht runs at an impressive 94,000 horsepower and a top speed of 30 knots.
The Shell Prelude is enormous in not only size and displacement, but also in uses and capabilities. The ship was developed as a natural gas collecting rig and a natural gas liquefaction facility. This meant that for the first time ever, natural gas could be collected and basically refined, at sea. Natural gas collected from sea is generally piped directly to land to be liquefied and refined, but the Prelude allows for this whole step to be bypassed.
MSC Oscar took the title of largest container ship this year. She’s so big, there may not even be a port large enough on the United States that she can dock to. This ship can hold 39,000 cars.
Oasis of the Seas is such a large passenger ship that is has seven different ‘neighbourhoods, within its metal walls. It can comfortably fit 6,000 cruise holiday passengers at any one time. The ship is now owned by Royal Caribbean Ltd. and cruises around various parts of the Caribbean. The Royal Loft Suite is comprised of two floors, a bar, two dining areas and a Jacuzzi.
The TI Asia is commissioned as a floating production storage and offloading vessel for crude oil. At full load it weighs over 509,000 tons of displacement. The TI class of ship were originally designed to be cargo ships and had a relatively high service speed of 16.5 knots for their size but most have now been converted into storage vessels.
The Azzam is the longest luxury yacht in the world at 590ft. Clocking in at a whopping £400m buying price, it is also the most expensive. Designed by Nauta Yachts, it was built in Bremen by Lurssen. Powered by two gas turbines and two diesel engines, the yacht runs at an impressive 94,000 horsepower and a top speed of 30 knots.
The Shell Prelude is enormous in not only size and displacement, but also in uses and capabilities. The ship was developed as a natural gas collecting rig and a natural gas liquefaction facility. This meant that for the first time ever, natural gas could be collected and basically refined, at sea. Natural gas collected from sea is generally piped directly to land to be liquefied and refined, but the Prelude allows for this whole step to be bypassed.