More than four decades after it first took to the water, the Seawise Giant still holds the title of the longest ship ever built. The oil tanker measured 1,504ft, making it around 50ft longer than New York's Empire State Building.
Built on a scale never seen before, it was capable of carrying more than four million barrels of oil in a single trip. During its career, the ship sailed under several names, including Happy Giant, Jahre Viking and Knock Nevis, although many will always remember it as the Seawise Giant.
Size came with limitations
That record-breaking size also created practical problems. When fully loaded, the tanker sat so deep in the water that it could not pass through either the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal. Instead, its journeys often had to take far longer routes around the southern tip of Africa.
Finding a suitable port was equally difficult. Only a handful of ports worldwide were capable of accommodating a vessel of this size, so careful planning was required before every voyage.
Damage, salvage and a second life
The Seawise Giant's career nearly ended in 1988 during the Iran-Iraq War. While anchored in the Persian Gulf, it was struck in an air attack and left badly damaged before sinking in shallow water.
Most ships would have been finished at that point, but the Seawise Giant was not. The vessel was later salvaged and underwent extensive repairs before returning to service. It continued to operate for years and was eventually converted into a floating storage and offloading unit, used to store oil offshore instead of transporting it around the world.
A record still unchallenged
Its working life finally ended in 2010, when it was retired and sent to be dismantled.
Since then, shipbuilders have produced larger cruise liners and increasingly sophisticated cargo vessels, but none has beaten the Seawise Giant's overall length. It remains the longest ship ever built, a title it has held for decades and one that has yet to be challenged.
