Stopping track of a tanker. The oil tanker "Knock Nevis" is the largest ship in the world.
Oil has long been the most sensitive nerve of the entire world industry. Often, "black gold" is best transported not by land, but by water. The path followed by ships of this type is called "oil". Already in the 19th century, when coal was the main raw material, crude oil was transported in wooden and zinc barrels in special holds. sailing ships intended for oil.
by the most first offshore tanker for the transportation of oil in a tank, the walls of which were cladding, became " Atlantic", built in 1863. This type tanker, the tank for liquid cargo is the hull, which has survived to this day. By the beginning of the First World War offshore tankers already accounted for 3% of the world merchant fleet.
Every year the demand for oil is growing. This process is associated with the continuous development of heavy industry and the emergence of an increasing number of motor vehicles. Accordingly, the scale and requirements for its transportation are increasing. I doubt that there will be ones in which the size and displacement would have the same rapid development trend as tankers.
Shipbuilding development oil tankers takes into account the features and benefits supertankers, since when transporting oil on a ship that can hold more than 100,000 tons of oil, transportation costs are not much higher than when using a tanker with a carrying capacity of 16,000 tons. Today big tankers and supertankers fully automated and operated by a relatively small crew. Even the longest transportation of valuable cargo is much cheaper than the operation of a conventional vessel. And one of those is Knock Nevis ».
The history of this sea vessel began in Japan in 1976 (some sources indicate 1975) at the shipyards of the company " Sumitomo Heavy Industries. Then oil tanker "Knock Nevis""born" under the modest serial number 1016 and was not so big. Soon the cargo ship was sold to a certain Greek shipowner, who gave oil tanker first real name Seawise Giant". Its carrying capacity was 480,000 tons (typical modern oil tankers hold 280,000 tons). Three years later, the freighter was sold to a new owner who ordered an enlargement. Japanese shipbuilders cut and build tanker which took a lot of time. Finally in 1981 supertanker was ready to go again. Welded additional sections of the hull increased its deadweight to 564,763 tons.
Supertanker "Knock Nevis" could easily take on board the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower. But its cargo is $195 million worth of oil. Huge ship survived several owners and is already the fourth name " Knock Nevis". He was shot with rockets and cut in half. And yet - for more than 20 years, he remains most big ship on the planet. During your life supertanker changed several owners and changed names more than once: first - to " happy giant", then to " Jahre Viking".
TANKER "KNOCK NEVIS" - PAST AND PRESENT
tanker «Seawise Giant»
tanker "Jahre Viking"
tanker "Jahre Viking"in the sea
supertanker "Knock Nevis"
stopping distance of the supertanker "Knock Nevis" 5000 meters
This year supertanker visited one of the shipyards in Dubai, received new equipment and turned into a so-called "floating storage unit" (Floating Storage and Offloading unit) for oil. Wherein cargo ship renamed to " Knock Nevis". Having served a little tanker was scrapped and sent to one of the Indian ports.
Dismantlement of the tanker "Knock Nevis"
technical characteristics of the oil tanker "Knock Nevis":
Length - 458.4 m;
Width - 68.8 m;
Draft (full) - 24.6 m;
Design displacement - 260581 tons;
By type of ships big ship in the world is a tanker. A tanker is a sea or river vessel designed to carry bulk cargo. Its body is a rigid metal frame, to which a metal skin is attached. Partitions divide the hull into compartments called tanks. They are filled with various liquid cargoes. The volume of one such compartment-tank varies over a very wide range: from 600 cubic meters for a small-tonnage tanker to 10,000 or more cubic meters for a large-tonnage tanker.
Usually tankers transport oil and products of its processing. However, it is also possible to transport other liquid cargoes: wine, methyl alcohol, coconut oil, vegetable oil. It depends on what type of liquid cargo is being exported.
The countries of the Middle East export oil and oil products, Senegal exports vegetable oil, and Indonesia exports coconut oil.
One of the main operational characteristics of a tanker is its deadweight. It is the difference between the displacement of a fully loaded vessel and the displacement of an empty vessel. Depending on the deadweight value, there are categories of tankers:
Medium-tonnage, category MR, tankers are used for the transportation of both crude oil and products of its processing; minimum deadweight 25000 tons, maximum 44999 tons. LR2 - tankers of the second class, large-tonnage, minimum deadweight 80,000 tons, maximum 159,999 tons Supertankers (ULCC), which are used to transport crude oil from the Middle East to the Gulf of Mexico. The deadweight of these vessels exceeds 320,000 tons.
General purpose tankers are used to transport gasoline, kerosene, and other petroleum products; the minimum deadweight of these vessels is 16,500 tons, the maximum is 24,999 tons. Large-tonnage tankers of the first class of category LR1, also known as oiler: these ships carry dark oil products - fuel oil, motor oils.
Small-tonnage tankers are used to transport various bulk cargoes - bitumen, coconut oil, vegetable oil, drinking water. The minimum deadweight is 6000 tons, the maximum is 16499 tons.
The VLCC category includes large-tonnage third-class tankers with a minimum deadweight of 160,000 tons and a maximum deadweight of 320,000 tons. There is also a special category - FSO, which includes supertankers with a deadweight exceeding 320,000 tons;
unlike other types of tankers, FSO category ships are used as floating storage facilities for crude oil, from where it is offloaded to ships with a smaller tonnage. There were several major tanker accidents in the late 1980s, the most famous of which was the Exxon Valdez off the coast of Canada on March 24, 1989. After these accidents, a ban was introduced on the construction of single-hull tankers (that is, ships with a single skin). In the mid-2000s, a rule came into effect prohibiting the entry of existing single-skinned tankers into ports in European countries.
History of the supertanker "Knock Nevis"
It was designed by a Japanese shipbuilding company in 1974. It was built in the same year at the Yokosuka shipyard. After construction, the tanker had a deadweight of 418,610 tons, which corresponds to the ULCC category. In early September 1975, the ship was launched, given the number 1016 as its name.
The ship was to be taken over by shipowners from Greece. However, they refused to do so, which led to lengthy legal proceedings between the creators of the ship and the customers. The main reason for the failure was that during the sea trials of the supertanker, a serious drawback was revealed: during the reverse course, an extremely strong vibration of the ship's hull began.
In March 1976, after the bankruptcy of the Greek company, the ship was acquired by SHI. After the purchase, the unnamed tanker finally received its first name - "Oppama". Under this name, the ship went to a Hong Kong company in 1979. The owners of the company decided to rebuild the tanker by adding a cylindrical insert. After a refit of the tanker, which lasted two years, in 1981 she was updated, received a larger deadweight and a new name - "Seawise Giant". As a result of the restructuring, the supertanker became the largest ship in the world that ever sailed the ocean.
The supertanker "Seawise Giant" could not sail through the Pas de Calais, Panama and Suez canals, because the ship's draft after the conversion became too deep. This giant transported crude oil from the countries of the Middle East to the United States, and went around the southern tip of Africa - the Cape of Good Hope.
In 1986, the war between Iran and Iraq was in full swing. On May 14, 1986, a giant tanker was carrying a cargo of Iranian crude oil to the United States, and the voyage ended immediately: As the ship passed through the Strait of Hormuz, an anti-ship missile was launched from an Iraqi fighter plane. She hit the port side of the ship, and after unsuccessful attempts to extinguish the fire, all crew members left the ship.
Near the small Iranian island of Larak, the tanker ran aground, and after that it was announced that giant ship sunk. In 1988, the war between Iran and Iraq was over. The owners of the Norwegian company Norman International raised the sunken tanker, and the ship received a new name - "Happy Giant". Under this name, the ship was delivered to Singapore in August 1988.
Work on the repair and restoration of the giant lasted three years, and in October 1991, the supertanker, sold to another Norwegian company, under the name "Jahre Viking" left the Singapore shipyard.
For thirteen years, the supertanker continued to operate as a transport ship. In 2004, a number of laws were passed, according to which tankers without a double side were forbidden to enter the ports of the United States of America and Europe. The ship again changed its owner, then received a new name "Knock Nevis". Under this name, he came to Dubai and became a floating storage facility for crude oil.
The life of the vessel ended in December 2009. Under the last name "Mont", the giant ship made the last raid - to the shores of India. In the early days of January 2010, a giant ship was washed ashore near the city of Alang (Indian state of Gujarat), where the graveyard of ships "Coast of the Dead" is located.
By the beginning of 2011, the disposal of the supertanker was completed. The ship's 36-ton anchor hit maritime museum Hong Kong as a valuable exhibit.
- The turning radius of the giant tanker Knock Nevis was 3.7 kilometers
- The carrying capacity of the ship is 565,000 tons
- Length - 458.45 meters
- Width - 68.86 meters
- Full displacement - 825614 tons
- Braking distance - about 10 kilometers
- Draft of the ship at maximum load - 24.611 meters
- The ship was powered by steam turbines that developed 50,000 horsepower.
- Vessel speed reached 13 knots
Knock Nevis (also known as Seawise Giant, Happy Giant and Jahre Viking in the past) is a Norwegian-flagged supertanker. Its dimensions: 458 meters long and 69 meters wide make it the largest ship in the world.
Built between 1979 and 1981, today it is used as a floating oil storage. Characteristics Knock Nevis has a deadweight of 564,763 tons, which is 658,362 m³ (4.1 million barrels) of oil.
The length of the tanker is 458.45 meters, width - 68.86 meters, draft in cargo - 24.61 meters. Max Speed is 13 knots, the crew of the ship is 40 people. The braking distance of the ship is 10.2 kilometers, and the circulation diameter is more than 3.7 kilometers.
Draft at full load does not allow the vessel to pass not only the Suez and Panama canals, but also the English Channel.
History
The supertanker was built in Japan in the city of Yokosuka by Sumitomo Corporation by order of a Greek shipowner. However, the unfinished ship was purchased by Hong Kong shipowner Tung Chao Yung.
It was built under the number 1016, and the owner was given the name Seawise Giant. The new owner ordered an enlargement of the vessel. The ship was cut and extended, and additional hull sections were added to increase the deadweight from the original 480,000 tons to a record 564,763 tons.
Initially, the ship sailed between the Middle East and the United States, but in 1986 it began to be used as a floating terminal for the storage and transshipment of Iranian oil during the Iran-Iraq war. In May 1988, the ship was attacked and heavily damaged by Iraqi aircraft. After the end of the war, the ship, towed to Brunei, was bought by the Norwegian company KS-company.
The ship was repaired in Singapore and renamed the Happy Giant (Happy Giant). However, in 1991, even before the repair was completed, KS-company came under the control of the Norwegian ship-owning company Jørgen Jahre, so the tanker left the shipyard under the name Jahre Viking. KS-company was later bought by Norwegian shipowner Fred Olsen for his company First Olsen Tankers.
After the passage of laws in the US and Europe prohibiting the use of tankers with a single-walled side, the so-called single-hull tankers (Knock Nevis side thickness is only 3.5 centimeters), in March 2004, the ship at the Dubai docks was converted into a "floating storage unit".
Then he once again changed his name to the modern Knock Nevis. Now the ship is permanently located in the area of the Al Shahim oil field in Qatar as an oil storage facility.
Vessel characteristics
Tanker type.
The flag state of Norway.
Launched 1976.
Current status Floating storage unit.
Displacement 825,614 tons.
Length 458 m.
Width 68.86 m.
Power plant Turbines with a total capacity of 50,000 liters. With.
Speed 13 knots.
Crew of 40 people.
Cargo capacity 564,763 tons.
The Knock Nevis supertanker is the largest ship ever built in the history of the planet. In different periods of its existence, it bore different names: Seawise Giant, Happy Giant, Jahre Viking.
The length of the oil tanker is 458.45 m. It took at least 2 km to turn it in the opposite direction with the help of tugboats. The width of the world's largest ship was 68.86 m. On the upper deck of Knock Nevis, theoretically, 5.5 football fields could be placed. 
One of the main shortcomings of the supertanker, which predetermined its short operation, was the draft at full load - 24.61 m (more than a 7-storey building). Due to its huge size, and also because of the risk of running aground, the ship could not pass through the Suez and Panama Canals, as well as through the English Channel. 
The braking distance of the tanker was as much as 10.2 km, and the circulation diameter was 3.7 km. Engines: turbines with a total capacity of 50.000 hp The total carrying capacity of the vessel, first put into operation in 1976, was 563.763 tons. The supertanker was moving at a speed of 13 knots (about 24 km/h). 
AT last years of its existence, the giant tanker was operated as a floating oil storage facility. In 2009, the ship was transported to Alang (India), where it was scrapped a year later. 
Let's return to our giant.
The greatest invention of mankind is oil tanker. The word itself comes from the English word "tank" - a tank. sea tanker this is a vessel designed for the carriage of liquid cargo (oil, acid, vegetable oil, molten sulfur, etc.) in ship's tanks (tanks). These sea vessels come in various sizes, but among them there is a special type - supertankers. These are the most big ships among tankers this type. They can carry 50 percent more oil per voyage than others, and only 15 percent more operating costs for bunkering, crew, and insurance, allowing the oil companies chartering the vessel to increase their profits and save savings. There will always be a demand for such oil tankers.
Supertankers- a product of the scientific and technological revolution of our time. They did not have any specific inventor, and with the development of science and technology, their creation became possible. On oil tankers the longitudinal hull framing system was tested, the engine room and all superstructures were moved to the stern. And most importantly, during their construction, electric welding began to be widely used in shipbuilding, which later became the only way to connect metal hull structures.
Knock Nevis, a supertanker that has gone by the names Jahre Viking, Happy Giant and Seawise Giant at various times.
Knock Nevis has a length of 458.45 meters, so it takes at least 2 km to turn the tanker in the opposite direction if the turn was carried out with the help of tugs. The vessel has a width of 68.8 meters, to give a better idea - this is the approximate width of a football field.
The upper deck of the ship could accommodate 5.5 football fields.
This is the largest in the history of the planet, ever created active ship. It also has its drawbacks, which, in fact, predetermined the short existence of the tanker. Its draft of 24.6 meters is, for comparison, more than a standard 7-storey residential building.
The ship could not pass the Suez and Panama Canals due to its huge dimensions, moreover, it was not allowed to pass through the English Channel, due to the risk of running aground.
The Seawise Giant was the largest ship built in the 20th century. But the giant was built before the era of double-hulled tankers, which began with the Exxon Valdez accident. It is unlikely that new tankers will surpass the size of Seawise Giant, most likely, floating cities will intercept the palm - real floating cities, with housing, offices, and everything else that is available in the city. Some projects of such vessels are already being developed.
Seawise Giant began to be built in 1979 by order of a Greek tycoon, but it went bankrupt as a result of the oil embargo of the 70s. The ship was bought by the Hong Kong magnate Tung, and financed its completion. However, Tung insisted that the deadweight be increased from 480,000 to 564,763 tons, making the Seawise Giant the world's largest ship. The tanker entered service in 1981, and initially transported oil from fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Then he was transferred to transport oil from Iran. There, in the Persian Gulf, he was sunk.
In 1986, during the Iran-Iraq war, in the Strait of Hormuz, the tanker was attacked and sunk by Iraqi Air Force aircraft with Exocet missiles. An Iraqi fighter fired an Exocet anti-ship missile at a unique tanker, which was then located almost in the Persian Gulf (or rather, in the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, leading to the Gulf).
It sank in shallow water near Kharg Island, due to which in August 1988 it was raised and taken for repairs at the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore by its new owner, Norman International. Ship repairers replaced 3.7 thousand tons of crumpled steel.
Most likely, the company bought, raised and repaired the tanker mainly for the sake of prestige. The refurbished Seawise Giant was renamed the Happy Giant. By 1999, he again changed the owner and name - he was bought by the Norwegian Jahare Wallem and renamed Jahre Viking.
In March 2004, the giant got a new owner, First Olsen Tankers. Times have already changed, and given the age of the tanker, it was decided to convert it into FSO - a floating storage and loading complex, at Dubai shipyards. After the conversion, he received the name Knock Nevis, and was then delivered as an FSO to the Al Shaheen field in the waters of Qatar.
Technical characteristics of the supertanker Knock Nevis
Commissioned: 1976
Withdrawn from the fleet: 01/04/2010
Length: 458.45 m
Width: 68.86 m
Draft: 24, 611 meters
Power plant: steam turbines with a total capacity of 50,000 liters. With.
Speed: 13-16 knots
Crew: 40 people.
Weight of transported cargo: 564,763 tons
Another 6 ULCC (Ultra Large Oil Tanker) class tankers have surpassed the 500,000 dwt mark:
Battilus 553.662 dwt 1976 - 1985 (decommissioned)
Bellamya 553,662 dwt 1976 - 1986 (decommissioned)
Pierre Guillaumat 555,051 dwt 1977 - 1983 (decommissioned)
Esso Atlantic 516,000 dwt 1977 - 2002 (decommissioned)
Esso Pacific 516 dwt 1977 - 2002 (decommissioned)
Prairial 554,974 dwt 1979 - 2003 (decommissioned)
Think about it: the braking distance of the giant is 10.2 kilometers, and the turning circle exceeds 3.7 kilometers! So, among other ships scurrying around these waters, this supertanker is like an elephant in a china shop.
When the tanker needs to be brought to the oil terminal, it is taken in tow and pulled very, very slowly. It is easy to imagine what can happen if a ship weighing almost a million tons is mistaken in maneuvering.
During its life, the supergiant tanker changed several owners and changed its name more than once - first to Happy Giant, then to Jahre Viking.
In 2009, the ship was transported to India to Alang, where it was forcibly stranded for disposal.
In 2010, the ship was scrapped.
At present
One of this class sea vessels was oil tanker« Batillus". This cargo ship was created, from start to finish, according to the original project without additional modernization during operation. Nautical tanker from the moment of laying it was built in 10 months, and about 70,000 tons of steel were spent on construction. The construction cost the owner $130 million.
