 TTKnock Nevis, formerlySeawise Giant, leaving theDubai Drydocks | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator | Prayati Shipping (2009–2010) |
| Port of registry | |
| Ordered | 1974 |
| Builder | |
| Completed | 1979 |
| Out of service | 1988 and 2009 |
| Identification | |
| Fate | Scrapped in 2010 |
| Notes | [2][3] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Crude oil tanker |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 458.45 m (1,504.10 ft) |
| Beam | 68.6 m (225.07 ft) |
| Draft | 24.611 m (80.74 ft) |
| Depth | 29.8 m (97.77 ft) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Capacity | 4,100,000 bbl (650,000 m3). |
| Notes | [4] |
TTSeawise Giant—formerlyOppama; laterHappy Giant,Jahre Viking,Knock Nevis, andMont—was aULCC supertanker and one of the longest self-propelled ships in history, with only thePrelude FLNG surpassing her.[5] She was built in 1974–1979 bySumitomo Heavy Industries inYokosuka,Kanagawa, Japan. The ship possessed the greatestdeadweight tonnage ever recorded. Fully laden, herdisplacement was 657,019 tonnes.
At the time she was built, she was the heaviest self-propelled ship of any kind. With a ladendraft of 24.6 m (81 ft) and a length of 458.45 m (1,504.1 ft), she was incapable of navigating theEnglish Channel,[6] theSuez Canal or thePanama Canal. She is generally considered the largest self-propelled ship ever built.[7][8] In 2013, her overall length was surpassed by 30 m (98 ft) by thefloating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) installationShell Prelude, a monohull barge design 488 m (1,601 ft) long with 600,000 tonnes displacement.Seawise Giant's engines were powered byLjungström turbines.
She was damaged in an airstrike in 1988 during theIran–Iraq War but later repaired and restored to service.[9] The vessel wasmoored off the coast ofQatar in thePersian Gulf at theAl Shaheen Oil Field in 2004 and converted to afloating storage and offloading (FSO) unit.[10]
Seawise Giant was sold to Indianship breakers and renamedMont for her final journey in December 2009. After clearing Indian customs, the ship sailed toAlang Ship Breaking Yard inAlang,Gujarat and beached for scrapping, which was completed in 2010.[10][11]
Seawise Giant was ordered in 1974 and delivered in 1979 bySumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (S.H.I.) at Oppama shipyard inYokosuka,Kanagawa, Japan, as a 418,611-ton Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC).[13] The vessel remained unnamed for a long time, and was identified by its hull number, 1016. During sea trials, 1016 exhibited severe vibration problems while going astern. The unknown Greek owner refused to take delivery and the vessel was subject to a lengthy arbitration proceeding. Following settlement, the vessel was sold and namedOppama by S.H.I.[7]
The shipyard exercised its right to sell the vessel and a deal was brokered with Hong KongOrient Overseas Container Line founderC. Y. Tung to lengthen the ship by several metres and add 146,152 tonnes of cargo capacity throughjumboisation. Two years later the ship was relaunched asSeawise Giant.[7][14] "Seawise", a pun on "C.Y.'s", was used in the names of other ships owned by C.Y. Tung, includingSeawise University.[15]
After the refit, the ship had a capacity of 564,763 tonnesdeadweight (DWT), alength overall of 458.45 m (1,504.1 ft) and a draft of 24.611 m (80.74 ft). She had 46 tanks, and 31,541 m2 (339,500 sq ft) of deck space. WhenSeawise Giant was fully loaded, her 25 meter/81 foot draft was too deep to safely navigate the relatively shallowEnglish Channel.[7] The rudder weighed 230 tons, and the propeller weighed 50 tons.[16]
Seawise Giant was damaged in 1988 during theIran–Iraq War by anIraqi Air Force attack while anchored offLarak Island,Iran on 14 May 1988 while carrying Iranian crude oil. The ship was struck by two 1,000 kg bombs dropped from planes. Fires ignited aboard the ship, spreading to the oil leaked into the surrounding water and blazing out of control.[17] Contrary to some later internet reports the vessel did not sink; images of the burnt-out but still afloat vessel have been published online.[18]
After the fires were extinguished, the remaining cargo was discharged to other tankers.[19] The ship was declared aconstructive total loss, meaning she was intact but so damaged that she would not be economical to repair.[20]
Shortly after the Iran–Iraq war ended, a Norwegian investment firm managed by Finanshuset bought the damaged vessel, which had by then been towed to a lay-up location offLabuan. The manager was Norman International AS, a Norwegian ship manager that was subsequently dissolved in 1992. The vessel was then towed from Labuan to Singapore[citation needed] and repaired at theKeppel Corporation. She was renamedHappy Giant, in line with Norman International's tradition of naming tankers with the prefix «Happy» and bulkers with the prefix «Norman».[4] She re-entered service in October 1991.[20]
Jørgen Jahre bought the tanker in 1991 for US$39 million and renamed herJahre Viking. From 1991 to 2004, she was owned by various Norwegian investment firms and flew theflag of Norway.[20]
In 2004, the tanker was purchased byFirst Olsen Tankers, renamedKnock Nevis, and converted into a permanently moored storage tanker in theQatarAl Shaheen Oil Field in the Persian Gulf.[7][20]
Knock Nevis was renamedMont and reflagged toSierra Leone by new ownersAmber Development for a final voyage to India where she was scrapped by Priya Blue Industries atAlang.[21] The vessel was beached on 22 December 2009.[3][11][22] Due to the vessel extreme size, scrapping took until the end of 2010. The ship's 36 tonne anchor was saved and donated to theHong Kong Maritime Museum in 2010.[23] It was later moved to aHong Kong Government Dockyard building onStonecutters Island.[24]
As of 20 November 2025, the anchor of the Seawise Giant is now on public display in the newly opened Anchor Plaza outside piers 9 and 10 of Central Ferry Pier.[25]
Seawise Giant was the longest ship ever constructed, at 458.45 m (1,504.1 ft), longer than the height of many of the world's tallest buildings, including the 451.9 m (1,483 ft)Petronas Towers.[26]
Despite her length,Seawise Giant was not thelargest ship by gross tonnage, ranking sixth at 260,941 GT, behind the crane shipPioneering Spirit and the four 274,838 to 275,276 GTBatillus-class supertankers. She was the longest and largest by deadweight at 564,763 tonnes.[27][28]
Seawise Giant was featured on theBBC seriesJeremy Clarkson's Extreme Machines while sailing asJahre Viking. According to the captain Surrinder Kumar Mohan[29], the ship could reach up to 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h) in good weather. It took 9 km (5+1⁄2 miles) for the ship to stop from that speed, and theturning circle in clear weather was about 3 km (2 miles).[30]
Like other "Seawise" ships in Tung's fleet, this vessel punned on C. Y.'s initials for its name.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1988 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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