Nearly all of the goods transported worldwide are made possible by some of the longest ships in the world. It’s a wonder how these huge ships were made and how they can float while carrying so much weight.
In this article, I’ll list the 9 longest ships in the world, including when they were made, where they were made, and their dimensions.
What is the longest ship in the world? The 9 longest ships are as follows:
- Seawise Giant — 1,504 feet (458 meters) long
- CSCL Globe — 1,312 feet (400 meters) long
- Maersk Triple E Class — 1, 312 feet (400 meters) long
- CMA CGM Explorer Class — 1,299 feet (396 meters) long
- Pieter Schelte — 1,253 feet (381 meters) long
- TI Class Supertankers — 1,247 feet (380 meters) long
- MS Vale Brasil — 1,188 feet (362 meters) long
- Q-Max Ships — 1,132 feet (345 meters) long
- USS Enterprise — 1,122 feet (342 meters) long
These gigantic floating machines require amazing construction techniques so that they could be formed in one single piece. They also require massively powerful propulsion systems to push them forward.
In this list, there are twenty (20) Maersk Triple E Class ships, eight (8) CMA CGM Explorer Class ships, four (4) TI Class Supertankers, fourteen (14) Q-Max Ships, and five (5) individual ships, giving us a total of 51 ships. These ships are in the class of the longest ships in the world, Knock Nevis being the first and USS Enterprise at the bottom of the list.
Some of these ships use nuclear power, some diesel, some solar power, and you might be surprised; some use the power of the wind. Some are supertankers, some specifically designed for container transport, and one is suited for installing and decommissioning large pipeline systems.
Read on to learn more about the longest ships in the world and their details.
Longest Ship in the World – 9 Longest Ships
1. Seawise Giant
Knock Nevis is the longest ship that was ever built in this world. It was originally built in 1979 by a Japanese company, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, as an oil tanker. It was later named Mont up to its last voyage. It was decommissioned in 2009.
From stern to bow, it is 1,504 feet or 458.45 meters long. This ship is 226 feet or 68.8 meters wide. This is longer than 4 NFL football fields! An NFL football field is 360 feet long. The gross tonnage of this supertanker is a massive 260, 941 tons.
Knock Nevis has a very colorful history. It was built by Sumitomo Heavy Industries in Japan in 1979. The ship suffered some damage during the Iran-Iraq war, specifically at the Strait of Hormuz. It was repaired and given a new name, Happy Giant.
Jorgen Hahre, a Norwegian, bought the ship in 1991 and renamed it Jahre Viking. She served her masters for another 13 years. The ship was again bought by another entity, the First Olsen Tankers, which restored its original name to Knock Nevis.
Knock Nevis is pushed forward by a single propeller that is 90 feet or 9 meters in diameter. Its cruising speed is 16 knots or 30 kilometers per hour. That’s pretty fast for a humongous ship.
If you want to stop it, it will take 5.5 miles or 9 kilometers to completely put it to a halt from cruising speed. That’s a very long stopping distance. If you want to turn it around, you will need 2 miles or 3 kilometers to encircle your original position.
2. CSCL Globe
CSCL Globe is the biggest ship that is used for transporting containers. It was launched in 2014. This ship was the first of five ships of the same class, weight, and size. The order for their construction was given in 2013 by China Shipping Container Lines.
Hyundai Heavy Industries built this gigantic container ship. It is 1,312 feet or 400 meters long and 192 feet or 58.6 meters wide. Its gross tonnage is 186,000 tons.
3. Maersk Triple E Class
Maersk gave the order to build twenty Triple E Class ships to Daewoo Shipbuilding of South Korea in February and then in June 2011. The total cost of the ships is a staggering US$3.8 billion. The length of these ships is 1,312 feet or 400 meters, and their width is 194 feet or 59 meters.
Triple E Class is taken from the class design of these ships. The Triple E means Economy of Scale, Energy, Efficiency, and Environmentally Improved. The gross tonnage of every ship in this class is a massive 165,000 metric tons deadweight.
4. CMA CGM Explorer Class
4th on our list of longest ships in the world is the CMA CGM Explorer Class. There are 8 ships of this CMA CGM Explorer Class. Each of these eight ships is named after a famous explorer in the history of the world.
Three ships of this class have lengths of 1,197 feet or 365 meters. The rest of the ships (5 of them) have a length of 1,299 feet or 396 meters and a width of 176 feet or 53.6 meters.
The gross tonnage of one of these ships is 175, 343 tons. The maiden voyage of the first ship, Marco Polo, was made on November 7, 2012. It sailed to Ningbo, China, from the shipyard where it was built in South Korea.
5. Pieter Schelte
Pieter Schelte was ordered by Allseas, a global leader in offshore pipeline installations with headquarters in Chatel Saint-Denis in Switzerland. The order was awarded in 2010 to Daewoo in South Korea. The ship is the number 5 longest ship in the world at 1,253 feet or 382 meters long and 407 feet or 124 meters wide.
It is intended to be used as a vessel for platform installation, decommissioning, and pipe-laying. Its capacity is 564, 763 deadweight tons.
6. TI Class Supertankers
The TI Class Supertankers are the largest oil tankers that are now operating in the world. They were built from 2002 to 2003 by Daewoo Shipbuilding in South Korea. There are four ships built in this class, TI Africa, TI Asia, TI Europe, and TI Oceania. The term TI was taken from Tankers International LLC, the VLCC Tanker Pool operator.
A ship of this class has a length of 1,247 feet or 380 meters and a width of 223 feet or 68 meters. Only two of the ships remain in operation, TI Oceania and TI Europe. Both TI Africa and TI Asia are already decommissioned.
7. MS Vale Brasil
MS Vale Brasil carries the distinction of being the biggest bulk carrier that was built in the world. It is one of the longest ships still in service. This ship is also one of the bulk carriers chartered by Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, a large Brazilian ore company.
The ship transports iron ore from Brazil to Asian and European ports. This ship is 1,188 feet or 362 meters long and 213 feet or 65 meters wide. It has a gross tonnage of 198, 980 tons.
She was supposed to be just one of the first seven large ore carriers ordered by Vale. Each of these carriers has a capacity of 400,000 tons of iron ores. Then in 2008, Vale ordered twelve more of these heavy-duty carrier ships from Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries, a Chinese shipbuilder.
Furthermore, sixteen ships of this size were ordered and will be built not only in China but also in South Korea. They are earmarked for other shipping companies. It seems that they will all be chartered by Vale under long-term contracts. If these plans push thru, we will have scores and scores of longships that will ply the oceans of the world.
Perhaps, we will be forced to make another list of the longest ships in the world in just a few more years from now.
8. Q-Max Ships
There are 14 (fourteen) Q-Max Ships that three different shipbuilders built. The three shipbuilders are Daewoo Heavy Shipbuilding, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Samsung Heavy Industries, all in South Korea.
Q was taken from the word Qatar, the country of the owner and Max, which means the maximum ship size that can dock at the terminals of LNG in Qatar.
Every ship in this class has a total length of 1,132 feet or 345 meters and a width of 177 feet or 53.80 meters. The first of these ships, Mozah, was constructed in November 2007. The gross tonnage of one ship is 162, 400 tons.
The individual names of these are the following: Rasheeda, Al Mafyar, Al-Ghuwairiya, Aamira, Al Samriya, Al Mayeda, Zarga, Mozah, Umm Slal, Shagra, Al Dafna, Mekaines, Lijmiliya, and Bu Samra.
9. USS Enterprise
At the bottom of our list of the longest ship in the world is a warship, the USS Enterprise. It is 1,122 feet or 342 meters long and 133 feet or 40.5 meters wide. The USS Enterprise is the biggest warship that is run by nuclear power. It is actually an aircraft carrier.
The builder of this warship is Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. It was commissioned on November 25, 1961, and was scheduled to be decommissioned sometime in 2014 or 2015. This ship’s crew, when it was still in service, was 4,600 personnel.
Here are some interesting tidbits about the smallest of the longest ships on the list, the USS Enterprise. This ship is actually the eighth ship in the United States Navy to bear the same name. She is known as the Big E, just like her predecessor in World War II. She is also the 11th heaviest of the supercarrier class of the US Navy. This ship is served by 4.600 personnel.
The only aircraft carrier that has four rudders is the USS Enterprise. It has two more rudders than other classes of carriers. This ship is also more like a cruiser than a carrier because of its hull design. Her decommissioning was scheduled after serving the US Navy for 51 consecutive years.
Conclusion – Longest Ship in the World – 9 Longest Ships
What is the longest ship in the world? The 9 longest ships are as follows:
- Seawise Giant — 1,504 feet (458 meters) long
- CSCL Globe — 1,312 feet (400 meters) long
- Maersk Triple E Class — 1, 312 feet (400 meters) long
- CMA CGM Explorer Class — 1,299 feet (396 meters) long
- Pieter Schelte — 1,253 feet (381 meters) long
- TI Class Supertankers — 1,247 feet (380 meters) long
- MS Vale Brasil — 1,188 feet (362 meters) long
- Q-Max Ships — 1,132 feet (345 meters) long
- USS Enterprise — 1,122 feet (342 meters) long
This article gave you a list of ships that carry the enviable distinction of being the longest in the world. Most of these ships are over 1,000 feet or more than 304.8 meters long. A good example is the Seawise Giant. This gargantuan ship is still the longest ship ever built. It is 1,504 feet or 458.45 meters long with a beam that is 226 feet or 68.8 meters wide.
Another ship with a very long span is the CSCL Globe, which is 1,312 feet or 400 meters long and a beam that is 192 feet or 58.6 meters wide. This ship is actually a container ship.
The shortest among these ships is still 1,122 feet or 342 meters long. It is the USS Enterprise, and it is a warship, specifically an aircraft carrier, and the longest in its class.
Related reading:
What Is the Largest Cruise Ship in the World?
How Long Is a Carnival Cruise Ship? (With 25 Examples)
Biggest Ship in the World – Top 10 List
Types of Ships – Full List of 11 Different Types
