Knock Nevis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Knock Nevis in the Dubai Drydocks |
|
| Career (Norway[1]) |  [1] |
|---|---|
| Name: | Knock Nevis |
| Owner: | First Olsen Tankers Pte. Ltd.[2] |
| In service: | 2004[3] |
| Career (Norway) |  |
| Name: |
1991 - 2004 Jahre Viking[4] |
| Owner: | Loki Stream AS[2] |
| In service: | 1979[3] |
| Out of service: | 2004[3] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 260,941 GT[1] 214,793 NT[1] |
| Length: | 458.45 m (1,504.10 ft)[5] |
| Beam: | 68.8 m (225.72 ft)[5] |
| Draft: | 29.8 m (97.77 ft)[5] |
| Capacity: | 564,650 DWT[1] |
The Knock Nevis is a floating storage and offloading unit currently owned by the Norwegian company Fred Olsen Production.[1] The unit was previously a supertanker and as such held the record for the world's largest ship. As a tanker the ship was known under the names Seawise Giant, Happy Giant, and Jahre Viking.
The ship has a draft of 24.6 m (81 feet) when fully loaded, which makes it impossible for her to navigate even the English Channel, let alone the man-made canals at Suez and Panama.[6]
Contents |
[edit] History
Knock Nevis was built in 1979 at Sumitomo Heavy Industries's Oppama shipyard as Seawise Giant.[1][4] The ship was built for a Greek owner who was unable to take delivery of the ship.[7]
The shipyard then exercised its right to sell the ship.[7] A deal was brokered with Hong Kong shipping magnate C. Y. Tung[7] (also known as Tung Chao Yung (traditional Chinese: 董兆榮; pinyin: Dōng Zhàoróng, and 董浩雲, pinyin: Dōng Hàoyún)), founder of the shipping line Orient Overseas Container Line.[8]
A deal was reached, but Tung required the ship's size be increased by several meters in length and 87,000 metric tons of cargo capacity.[7] Two years later, the vessel was launched and named Seawise Giant.[7]
After the refit, the ship had a capacity of 564,763 metric tons of deadweight (DWT), a length overall of 458.45 metres (1,504.1 ft) and a draft of 24.611 metres (80.74 ft).[9] She had 46 tanks, 31,541 square metres (339,500 sq ft) of deck space, and was too large to pass through the English Channel.[7]
From 1979 to 2004, she was owned by the company Loki Stream AS.[2] During this period she flew the Norwegian flag.[3] In this period, she was renamed twice, sailing as Happy Giant from 1989 to 1991, and Jahre Viking from 1991 to 2004.[4]
The ship was damaged during the Iran-Iraq War while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.[10] As a result of the damage, she was declared a total loss and laid up in Brunei.[10] At the end of the war, she was towed to the Keppel Company shipyard in Singapore, repaired, and renamed Happy Giant. The ship was sailing again in October 1991.[10]
In 2004, she was bought by First Olsen Tankers Pte. Ltd., renamed Knock Nevis and converted into a permanently moored storage tanker.[9][7]On November 30, 2004 the conversion to FSO was completed.[11] Since 2004, she has been owned by First Olsen Tankers Pte. Ltd.[2][2] The ship is now permanently moored in the Qatar Al Shaheen oil field in the Persian Gulf, operating as an FSO.[10]
[edit] Size record
In terms of length, Knock Nevis has a length overall of 458.45 m (1,504 ft), making her the largest ship ever constructed. The vessel is longer than many of the world's tallest buildings are tall, for example the Petronas Twin Towers at 452 metres (1,480 ft). She is smaller than the Sears Tower at 527.3 metres (1,730 ft), and Taipei 101 at 509.2 metres (1,671 ft), and considerably smaller than the skyscraper Burj Dubai, currently under construction, at 636 metres (2,090 ft).
Knock Nevis is not the largest ship in all measures, though. By gross tonnage, for example, she ranks fifth, at 236,710 GT, behind the four Batillus class supertankers which range from 274,838 to 275,276 GT. These ships are the largest self-propelled objects ever constructed.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Det Norske Veritas, 2008, Summary.
- ^ a b c d e Det Norske Veritas, 2008, Previous Owners.
- ^ a b c d Det Norske Veritas, 2008, Previous Flags.
- ^ a b c d e Det Norske Veritas, 2008, Previous Names.
- ^ a b c Det Norske Veritas, 2008, Dimensions.
- ^ Singh, 1999.
- ^ a b c d e f g Singh, 1999.
- ^ Burton, 1996.
- ^ a b Det Norske Veritas, 2008. Dimensions.
- ^ a b c d Pike, 2006.
- ^ Det Norske Veritas, 2008, Conversion History.
[edit] References
- Burton, Sandra (1996-12-23). "Beijing's Capitalist". Time Magazine. New York: Time.
- MV Knock Nevis (classification) at the Det Norske Veritas Exchange.
- Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (2005). ISL Market Analysis p. 3. Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- Pike, John (2006-11-11). Knock Nevis / ex-Jahre Viking. Military Systems. globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
- Singh, Baljit. "The World's Biggest Ship", The Tribune, India: The Tribune House, 1999-04-11. Retrieved on 2008-04-21.
- United States Coast Guard (USCG). Jahre Viking. Port State Information Exchange. U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
- Watt, Nick (2007-01-04). Skipper Shortage: Supply Not Keeping Pace. Nightline. ABC News. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
