The largest sunken ship in history. Seawise Giant, which sank… and returned

The longest, the heaviest, the most powerful – the Seawise Giant is a legend of world shipping. This supertanker went through the turmoil of war and decades of service, becoming a symbol of the possibilities of 20th century marine engineering.

Where was the world’s largest ship built?

The birth of the largest ship in shipping history took place in Japan, a country that was already a world leader in the construction of naval vessels in the 1970s. In 1974, construction of a tanker ordered by a Greek shipowner began at the Sumitomo Heavy Industries shipyard in Yokosuka. The vessel, originally named Oppama, was to be used to transport crude oil, but the project was so ambitious and expensive that the original owner abandoned its acceptance.

The new buyer is C.Y. Tung, an influential Chinese shipowner and founder of Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). Tung not only bought back the vessel, but also decided to enlarge it – both in terms of length and carrying capacity. The result was the Seawise Giant. The name is a play on words alluding to C.Y.’s initials. It was soon to go down in history as the largest floating object ever constructed.

A ship that exceeded the limits of imagination

Upon completion of the expansion, the Seawise Giant reached a size that remains a record to this day. Its overall length was 458.45 m, meaning that it was more than 80 m longer than the Empire State Building. With a width of 68.8 meters and a draft of 24.6 meters, the ship could only navigate in very deep waters.

With an impressive deadweight of 564,763 tons, the DWT Seawise Giant could carry nearly 4.1 million barrels of oil – not much less than the daily production of China or Canada. The maximum displacement was more than 657,000 tons, making it an absolute giant of maritime trade routes.

Its size was both an asset and a curse. It was unable to sail through the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal or the Strait of Kaletan, which meant it was limited to selected ocean routes. He sailed mainly between the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia – always on the high seas.

The destruction of a giant: the story of the attack on the largest merchant ship

In May 1988, the world heard about the tragedy that struck the Seawise Giant. The Iraq-Iran war was underway at the time, and the strategic waters of the Persian Gulf had turned into an arena of hostilities. The ship was near Larak Island and was loaded with oil.

It was attacked by the Iraqi Air Force, which used Exocet missiles and aerial bombs. The blow was precise and devastating. The explosion led to a gigantic fire that quickly engulfed the entire deck and tanks. The fire raged for hours, and the vessel – although it did not sink completely – was severely damaged and declared a total loss.

At this point, the Seawise Giant became the largest sunken ship in human history – larger even than the famous Titanic. Although it did not completely settle to the bottom, it was incapable of moving on its own, and its hull was partially underwater.

Like a Phoenix from… the ocean

It might have seemed that the story of the colossus had been completed in fire and water. However, the ship’s fate was yet to change. After the end of the war, the wreck was bought by a Norwegian shipowner, who undertook the task of restoring it. The hull was towed to the Keppel shipyard in Singapore, where a thorough restoration was carried out over several months.

As a result, the Seawise Giant returned to service – initially as the Happy Giant, and soon after under the more recognizable name Jahre Viking. The rebuild was not only a technological success, but also an example of how strong determination can be in bringing back to life vessels considered lost.

Transformation into a stationary FSO platform

Over the following years, the ship again traveled the ocean routes as a supertanker. In 2004, it was purchased by First Olsen Tankers, which decided to end its active service and reclassify the vessel as a floating oil storage and offloading (FSO) station. The new name – Knock Nevis – marked the beginning of the final phase of its life.

Anchored in the Al Shaheen oil field off the coast of Qatar, Knock Nevis served for several years as an immovable tank used to temporarily store oil produced on site. Although it was no longer on the move, its scale and role in oil logistics was still awe-inspiring.

The end of a legend – scrapping and legacy

In December 2009, the decision was made to end the ship’s service. The vessel was renamed Mont and towed to Alang, India – a huge ship scrapyard. There, in 2010, the story of the largest vessel ever built came to an end.

Although the physical Seawise Giant no longer exists, its legacy lives on. The 36-ton anchor went to the Hong Kong Maritime Museum, where it remains one of the most impressive exhibits today.

Seawise Giant – more than a ship

For engineers it was a masterpiece, for sailors a challenge, for enemies a war target. Seawise Giant is not only a record-breaker, but also a symbol of the limits of human capabilities and their transgression. Its story shows that even the largest vessels can sink… but also return. And technology, backed by determination and vision, can bring back to life what seemed irretrievably lost.

MAIN PHOTO: Nils Koch / Wikipedia