The world’s biggest ship ever built – 50ft longer than the Empire State Building | World | News

The world’s largest ships are impressive, but none has ever matched the sheer scale of the Seawise Giant. At 1,504ft, the oil tanker was around 50ft longer than New York’s Empire State Building. More than four decades after it first took to the water, it still holds the record as the longest ship ever built.

Built on a scale that had never been seen before, it was capable of carrying more than four million barrels of oil in a single trip. During its lifetime, the ship changed names several times. It sailed as Happy Giant, Jahre Viking, and later Knock Nevis, but for many people it will always be remembered as the Seawise Giant.

Its record-breaking size came with some obvious drawbacks. Fully loaded, the tanker sat so deep in the water that it was unable to use either the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal. Instead, journeys often had to take far longer routes around the southern tip of Africa.

Even finding a suitable port could be difficult. There were only a handful around the world capable of accommodating a vessel of its size, which meant careful planning was needed before every voyage.

The ship’s remarkable career nearly ended in 1988 when it was caught up in the Iran-Iraq War. While anchored in the Persian Gulf, it was struck during an air attack, leaving it badly damaged before it eventually sank in shallow water.

That might have been the end for most ships, but not this one.

The vessel was later salvaged and underwent extensive repairs before returning to service. It continued operating for years afterwards before being converted into a floating storage and offloading unit, where it was used to store oil offshore rather than transport it around the world.

Its working life finally came to an end in 2010, when it was retired and sent to be dismantled.

Since then, shipbuilders have produced larger cruise liners and increasingly sophisticated cargo vessels, yet none has managed to beat the Seawise Giant’s overall length. It remains the longest ship ever built, a title it has held for decades and one that still hasn’t been challenged.