Measuring over 458 meters in length and capable of carrying more than 564,000 tons of cargo, the Seawise Giant is the longest, largest, and heaviest ship ever built, produced in the late 1970s before being scrapped.
The ship is even longer than the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building. The deck area is larger than six football fields, according to Andrew Boyd, an industrial engineering expert at the University of Houston. This colossal ship sailed for over two decades. When it was decommissioned, 18,000 workers took more than a year to dismantle the vessel and turn it into scrap metal, as reported by Interesting Engineering.
In the late 1970s, the shipbuilding company Sumitomo Heavy Industries in Tokyo received an order to construct a massive supertanker from a Greek merchant. In 1979, as the ship was nearing completion, the merchant withdrew. Some sources suggest he went bankrupt, while others indicate he had a change of heart. However, the reasons behind his decision not to purchase the Seawise Giant remain undisclosed.
Two years later, Tung Chao Yung, the owner of Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), contacted Sumitomo. He expressed interest in purchasing the supertanker but with one condition: Yung wanted the ship to be larger, and the Japanese shipbuilder agreed. Ultimately, when Yung’s company took delivery of the supertanker, it measured 458 meters in length. The rudder alone weighed 230 tons. Yung personally named the vessel Seawise Giant.
The Seawise Giant specialized in transporting oil at sea. (Photo: Orbitshub).
This supertanker was so large that if a sailor needed to turn the ship, they would require a clear area of at least 7,042 square kilometers. Additionally, if the ship moved at a maximum speed of 30.5 km/h and the captain wanted to stop, they would need to travel an extra 9 kilometers before the ship began to slow down and come to a complete stop. Sudden stopping of a large vessel like the Seawise Giant is neither practical nor safe while in motion. This is due to the inertia created by the ship’s massive size, which could shake everything inside. Nonetheless, the Seawise Giant remained a valuable asset for OOCL. In the following seven years, the company frequently used the ship to transport crude oil between the United States and the Middle East.
The Death and Resurrection of Seawise Giant
Everything changed for the Seawise Giant in 1988. That was the year Iraq and Iran were at war. On May 14, 1988, the ship, laden with Iranian crude oil, was preparing to depart from Larak Island, Iran, when the Iraqi Air Force began dropping bombs and missiles in the area. The crude oil in the tanks on board the Seawise Giant ignited, and the fire spread throughout the ship in a short time. The vessel suffered severe damage and eventually sank.
After the war, OOCL faced heavy losses due to the sinking of the Seawise Giant. They knew the location of the sunken ship but left it as is, as analyses indicated that recovering and repairing the supertanker was not economically feasible. However, another Norwegian company, Normal International, saw a significant opportunity. They decided to salvage, repair, and take ownership of the ship at a cost of millions of dollars. Ultimately, they were able to complete repairs, using 3,700 tons of steel. They also renamed the ship Happy Giant. Nevertheless, Normal International only retained the vessel for a short time as many industry giants expressed interest in acquiring it.
The Return of Seawise Giant
In 1991, Normal International received an extremely attractive offer. Jørgen Jahre, a shipping magnate from Norway, paid them 39 million USD to acquire the Happy Giant and renamed it Jahre Viking. Shortly thereafter, the ship returned to the oil transportation industry. Jahre’s company hired a crew of 40 members commanded by Captain Surrinder Kumar Mohan. They successfully operated the vessel for the next ten years.
However, maritime trade regulations changed over time. In the early 2000s, shipping companies shifted from large, old, and slow ships to smaller, faster, and more flexible vessels. Compared to modern ships, the Jahre Viking required more fuel and had higher operational costs. Additionally, due to its length, it could not navigate easily and quickly through important but narrow shipping channels like the Panama and Suez Canals. All these challenges ultimately forced Jahre to sell the world’s largest ship to First Olsen Tankers.
The Final Journey of the Longest Ship
First Olsen Tankers took over the vessel in 2004. They renamed it Knock Nevis and used it for five years as a floating storage unit at the Al Shaheen oil field in Qatar. Eventually, when the ship was no longer suitable for storing oil, it was sold to a shipbreaking yard in Gujarat, India, and renamed Mont. Shortly after, the Seawise Giant made its final journey and reached its destination in December 2009. The following year, 18,000 workers participated in its dismantling. The only remaining part of the supertanker today is the 36-ton anchor, displayed at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.
