THE STORY OF THE LARGEST SHIP EVER BUILT – OR STRETCHED! THE STORY OF THE LARGEST SHIP EVER BUILT – OR STRETCHED! Sailing majestically leaving an impressive wake.

Previous Names : Year 1976 original name “PORTHOS” Launched in 1976 as “OPPAMA” Laid up in 1979 as “SEAWISE GIANT” In 1989 change name “HAPPY GIANT “ In 1991 change name “JAHRE VIKING “ In 2004 converted to FSO & changed name to “KNOCK NEVIS”

The biggest floating steel construction ever built The biggest floating steel construction ever built

Knock Nevis / ex-Jahre Viking The Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC) oil tanker Jahre Viking was the largest ship afloat in At meters [1,503 feet long] from tip to tip, she surpasses the tallest land structure, the 424-meter Petronas tower of Malaysia. When fully laden she can not pass through the 32-mile-wide English channel, nor either the Suez and Panama canals. When fully laden, she sits 24.6 meters in the water, too deep to enter most of the world's major ports. She has a a beam of 69 meters [226 feet]. A typical very large crude carrier (VLCC) today is 280,000 DWT, 350 meters long, 60 meters wide and 30 meters deep. The Eiffel Tower is 300m high (984 ft) and consists of 6,300 metric tons of iron. The Statue of Liberty is 93.5m high (306 ft.) high, the figure alone is 46.4m (152 ft), and the figure weighs 254 metric tons.

The Jahre Viking has a surprisingly small crew of 40. Apart from a few Russian junior officers, the officers, including her captain, are Indians. The crew is almost entirely Filipino. When it is fully loaded with crude oil, she has a cargo capacity (deadweight tonnage) of 564,763 tons, with 260,851 gross register tons. Gross tonnage is a measure of the internal capacity of a ship. Jahre Viking can carry nearly 650,000 m³ (4.1 million barrels) of crude oil. Jahre Viking initially was not very large. She was built with a displacement of 480,000 tons deadweight. She was launched in Japan in 1976 as hull number 1016 and christened Seawise Giant. After three years she was sold to C. Y. Tung who returned the vessel to shipbuilder Nippon Kokan in Japan to have a new section added in After modification, she measured meters, the increased length adding another 87,000 tonnes deadweight, to make her, at 564,763 tonnes, the largest ship ever. Finally, in 1981, she put to sea under the name the Sea Wise Giant. During the Iran-Iraq war, T.T. Jahre Viking was hit by the Iraqis on 14 May 1988 while transiting the Hormuz Straits. She was declared a total constructive loss and laid up in Brunei Bay. At the end of the war, she was bought by a Norwegian company, re-floated, and towed to the Keppel shipyard in Singapore. After major repairs, in October 1991, she was sailing again, under her new name "Happy Giant". Later she was sold to Jorden Jahre for the sum of $39 Million. It was at this stage that the ship was renamed Jahre Viking.

In 1979 the tanker was laid-up. It was already a massive ship at 1237 foot long and well over 400,000 dwt, but the new owner wanted the ship cut in half to add in a new section which was feet long, thus, on completion the ship was 1504 feet long. On purchase the unwanted ship was called OPPAMA, and the new owner renamed it the SEAWISE GIANT. When rebuilt she had a displacement of 647,955 tonnes and a ballast light weight of 83,192 tonnes, the largest ship ever built, and she started her life proper in In 1979 the tanker was laid-up. It was already a massive ship at 1237 foot long and well over 400,000 dwt, but the new owner wanted the ship cut in half to add in a new section which was feet long, thus, on completion the ship was 1504 feet long. On purchase the unwanted ship was called OPPAMA, and the new owner renamed it the SEAWISE GIANT. When rebuilt she had a displacement of 647,955 tonnes and a ballast light weight of 83,192 tonnes, the largest ship ever built, and she started her life proper in 1980.

T/T “Knock Nevis“ is 69 metres wide and 458 meters long. Some 77 meters longer than the Empire State Building, in New York. T/T “Knock Nevis“ is 69 metres wide and 458 meters long. Some 77 meters longer than the Empire State Building, in New York.

It the Eiffel tower was laid on its side it could easily be carried on the KNOCK NEVIS.

She was later transferred to the Persion Gulf to be used for exporting oil from Iran. While Seawise Giant was travelling through the Hormus Straits in 1986, during the Iran/Iraq war, she was attacked by Iraqi jets and hit with Exocet missiles. The extensive damage caused by these attacks led to her sinking in shallow waters at Kharg Island. Here is a photograph, made after the attack on the "Seawise Giant“.

Where did the Exocets go? Please see the big hole on the left.

After the end of the Iran-Iraq War, Norman International bought the Seawise Giant, had her refloated, repaired by the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore, and renamed her Jahre Viking. The prestige of owning the world’s largest ship seems to have been the main reason this company made the purchase.

For the next decade, the JAHRE VIKING was a happy little{!} ship delivering oil all over the world but mainly to Europe and the USA. Her cargo of over 4 million barrel of crude oil, each at $95 could be valued at nearly 400 million dollars, but once again, her running costs held down the profit to approximately $34,500 per day – not a good return for such a cargo.

Finally, her technology let her down and she had to leave the sea for good. The reason? She had just a single hull, and modern tankers had to have at the very least a double hull for environmental safety reasons. In 2003, she was completely converted into a proper FSO, helicopter pads included, and her sea days were over. She was renamed for the last time and became the KNOCK NEVIS. Her life is now in the oilfields off Qatar. In March 2004, Jahre Viking was sent by its new owner, First Olsen Tankers, to the Dubai drydocks to be refitted as a floating storage and offloading unit. Under the name Knock Nevis, she began operating at the Al Shaheen oilfield in waters of Qatar.

The holds could swallow St Pauls cathedral four times over. It has a crew of 35 to 40, which means it only needs two lifeboats. Taking 5.5 miles to stop with a turning circle of over 2 miles. When this ship docks into its port it is done so very very slowly as mistakes cannot easily be rectified when there is so much weight on the move. The cargo of oil she normally carries is worth $400 million ! Separated from the sea by just 3.5cm's of steel plate !

Wiktor during maneuvering

She is a big, but I am bigger- Knock Nevis wants to say! Want some oil little one?

She is thirsty - guzzling from the well-head buoy

Wiktor takes a cab

Sometimes we have to help the Navy pilots to refill their Harriers Sometimes we have to help the Navy pilots to refill their Harriers

Messroom, lunch is served Messroom, lunch is served

Safety training is a part of every day life for the crew Safety training is a part of every day life for the crew

Safety Training or a bad case of body odour

The watch still monitors what is going on around the area

Engine room – no engine ? It’s a steam turbine

The worlds largest ship ever to sail the seas. The BBB (Bloody Big Boat) as Phil impression The worlds largest ship ever to sail the seas. The BBB (Bloody Big Boat) as Phil impression