What Is the World's Biggest Oil Tanker?

Today, the world relies on oil to fuel a myriad of modern applications. From running cars and heating homes to generating electricity and manufacturing synthetic materials, it’s an enduringly precious resource. Oil is traded across the globe and to get it from A to B producers and buyers enlist the carrying power of ultra large crude carriers, also known as ULCCs. While all are capable of carrying huge amounts of oil, not all are created equal. Some giants are significantly bigger than others and positively dwarf their small scale counterparts. So what ship takes the crown of the biggest oil tanker in the world? Read on for the scoop!

Go big or go home

In the history of ULCCs, Seawise Giant has reigned as the world’s biggest oil tanker since she was first delivered by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd in 1979. When fully laden she weighed in at a colossal 564,763 metric tons which gives her the heaviest deadweight tonnage of any ship that’s ever graced the high seas. With a draft of 24.6 metres she was a sight to behold, and was simply too big to navigate the Suez Canal, English Channel and Panama Canal.  

Same ship, different names

While Seawise Giant was the ship’s original launch name she sailed under several different titles during her career. These include Happy Giant, Jahre Viking, Knock Nevis, Oppama and Mont. When she sailed as Jahre Viking she even featured on Top Gear!

Technical rivals

Seawise Giant retains her status as the world’s heaviest deadweight tonnage ship, however she’s lost some of her other titles to modern successors. At the time of construction she was the longest ship ever built, measuring 458 metres. If flipped she’d be taller than the Empire State Building and wider than The Pentagon! She lost this title when the 488 metre long Prelude FLNG launched in 2013.  When it comes to gross tonnage Seawise Giant also loses out to the quartet of Batillus-class super tankers that weigh between 274,838 to 275,276 GT.  

The demise of the world’s largest tanker

She may have been enormous but that didn’t stop her from being sunk during the Iran-Iraq War. However such a goliath wasn’t left unnoticed and she was later salvaged by marine restorers and returned back to service. following the restoration she was moored off the Qatar coast and used as a floating storage and offloading unit for the Al Shaheen Oil Field. In 2009 she was sold to Indian ship breakers and sailed under the name of Mont to be intentionally beached and broken up as scrap.

Want to know more about the demise of the world’s biggest tankers? ‘The Tragic Saga of Koho Maru 5, A.K.A. Pak-1’ delves into one of Japan’s most publicised oil tanker disasters that saw the Pak-1 collide with a Thai Navy vessel.