World’s largest ship getting scrapped

Mar 14, 2010 0 Comments by

The largest moving man-made object ever built.  The longest ship ever built.  The ship with the greatest deadweight tonnage ever recorded, at 646,642 tons.  This is the ULCC KNOCK NEVIS.  She was originally built as the SEAWISE GIANT, and later possessed the names HAPPY GIANT, and JAHRE VIKING.  Her final name was MONT, the name given to her for her final voyage from the Middle East to India.  She now lies beached in the graveyard of ships in Alang, India where she is slowly being ripped to pieces.

Specifications:

Tonnage: 260,941 GT
214,793 NT
Displacement: 81,879 long tons light ship
646,642 long tons full load
Length: 458.45 m (1,504.10 ft)
Beam: 68.8 m (225.72 ft)
Draught: 24.611 metres (80.74 ft)
Depth: 29.8 m (97.77 ft)
Propulsion: Steam Turbine
Speed: 16 knots
Capacity: 564,763 DWT

The ship has certainly had her share of stories.  She partially sank at one point, but only after having several Exocet missiles fired from Iraqi jets explode on her decks which eventually led to her being declared a total lost once.  She’s seen multiple owners over her lifetime, and ultimately ended up servings as a permanently moored floating storage platform at the Qatar Al Shaheen oil field in the Persian Gulf.

The Jahre Viking at her finest.

Its expected to take at least a year to dismantle this beast.  It is sad to think that this is the end for such an amazing feat of engineering and design.

Below is the only known photo on the net of the vessel beached at the breakers.

M/T MONT, formally the KNOCK NEVIS lies beached in Alang India in January of 2010.



More Information:

India Express article – Crude oil carrier Mont awaits clearance to dock at Alang

Lloyd’s List – Knock Nevis headed for Indian Scrapyard

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About the author

Nathan Menefee is an active duty Lieutenant serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, stationed in the San Francisco Bay area. He also holds an Unlimited Third Mate's License, and possesses a QMED and Tankerman PIC endorsement. He is a 2002 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.