The Knock Nevis is the largest ship ever built, weighing 647,955 tons when fully loaded with oil. It was built in Japan between 1979 and 1981 and is larger than the Empire State Building. It cannot navigate the English Channel or dock at many major ports. It was used to deliver oil to the US and is now stationed at the Qatari Al Shaheen oil field. Despite its size, it was maintained by a crew of only 40.
The largest ship ever built is the Knock Nevis, a supertanker 458 meters (1504 feet) long and 69 meters (226 feet) wide. Her dry weight is 564,763 tons, 647,955 tons when fully loaded with oil. Built between 1979 and 1981 at Oppama Shipyard in Japan, this vessel is larger and heavier than the Empire State Building. For over a decade she was the largest vessel in the world by a significant margin, although her current function is only as an FSO (Floating Storage and Offloading Unit).
When fully loaded, Knock Nevis’ structure reaches 24.6m (81ft) underwater, so deep that it cannot navigate the English Channel, much less the Panama and Suez canals. This also prevents it from docking at many of the world’s major ports.
Knock Nevis is more than double the tonnage of the second largest ship in the world, weighing just 2 tons. At one point there were seven other vessels over 170,974 tonnage, but all have since been scrapped. Knock Nevis is more than double the size of typical tankers, like the ill-fated Exxon Valdez.
Previous names the vessel has borne include Happy Giant, Seawise Giant, and Jahre Viking. Although initially built for a Greek customer, the vessel was rejected due to vibration problems resulting from a faulty gear design. So the ship was sold to Chinese interests and her length was lengthened, at which point she became the largest ship ever built.
The vessel’s typical route was to deliver oil to the United States from the Middle East, although Knock Nevis was used as a floating storage and offloading unit during the Iran-Iraq War when she was damaged by a fighter jet. The vessel was extensively repaired in Singapore and sold to a Norwegian company. After undergoing a series of name changes, the vessel was eventually stationed at the Qatari Al Shaheen oil field located in the Persian Gulf as a storage platform.
Despite her enormous size, when Knock Nevis was in operation, she was maintained by a crew of just 40.
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