A term such as “ship displacement” is quite common. And although it is intuitively clear what it means, some people still do not fully understand what this important parameter means. Let's take a look at it.
What does displacement mean?
This parameter determines the volume of water displaced by the ship. The weight of the water that the ship displaces is usually equal to the weight of the ship itself. Therefore, this parameter is expressed in tons, and not in volume. However, in the west it is customary to indicate this parameter in pounds (which is also a weight unit). One ton is equal to 62.03 pounds. Therefore, if this parameter is equal to 10,000 tons, it means that its weight is 620,300 pounds.
It is worth noting that the displacement of ships is an unstable unit. It always changes. When following a single point, a loaded ship will have one weight; after unloading, its displacement becomes smaller. This also applies to fuel, which is consumed as the vessel moves. So the ship from point "A" leaves with one displacement and comes to point "B" with another. Therefore, it cannot be said that the displacement of ships determines the weight of the ship, although this is only partially accurate. This parameter indicates how much water is currently being displaced. Indeed, even when one person comes on board, the displacement increases by 0.06-0.07 tons (weight of one person).
Large ship displacement
In the world there are a lot of ships with different values of the weight of displaced water. But which vessels are leaders in this parameter? The size of some ships is simply amazing. And although some of the court ratings no longer go, they still deserve attention as the largest and heaviest.
1st place - Prelude FLNG
The largest ship was built in 2013 in South Korea. This is a huge ship 488 meters long and 78 meters wide. It is intended for transporting gas. 260 thousand tons of steel were used for its construction, and with a full load, the displacement is 600 thousand tons.
To make it easier to imagine the size and weight of this vessel, the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier can be compared. This ship can carry up to 90 aircraft and helicopters, and on board it uses 8 nuclear reactors, 4 turbines. And also serves 4800 people. And its maximum displacement is 93,400 tons, which is approximately 6 times less than that of Prelude FLNG.
2nd Place - Seawise Giant
This supertanker was built in 1979, and it was known by various names. In particular, he is called the queen of the oceans and rivers. This Japanese ship was badly damaged during the Iran-Iraq war. It was considered that it was impossible to repair it, so it was decided to flood it. However, then it was lifted from the bottom, repaired and named Happy Giant. In 2009, it made its last trip. Its displacement was 657 018 when fully loaded.
3rd place - Pierre Guillaumat
Third place rightly takes Pierre Guillaumat. It was named after the French politician and founder of Elf Aquitaine, Pierre Guillaume. It was built in 1977, lasted six years, and then was sent to scrap due to loss-making. It turned out that the vessel, due to its size, could not pass through the Panama or Suez Canal, and also could not enter many ports of the world. Consequently, its use was very limited and sometimes it was irrational to drive through half the world, bypassing the Panama or Suez Canal.
And although the ship turned out to be unprofitable and simply unsuccessful, it had a huge carrying capacity, and the ship's displacement reached 555 thousand tons.
4th place - Batillus
This supertanker was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique for Shell Oil, a well-known oil company. Its carrying capacity was 554 thousand tons, speed - 16-17 knots. Fairly takes fourth place, but has not been used since 1985.
5th place - Esso Atlantic
In the history of ships, the name Esso Atlantic is one of the most popular. The length of the vessel was 406 meters, carrying capacity - 516891 tons. The ship served for 35 years as a tanker for transporting oil, but in 2002 it was handed over for scrap in Pakistan.
6th place - Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller
The renowned company Maersk has created one of the world's largest container ships, the Mc-Kinney Moller, which boasts the largest payload capacity among container carriers. Its length was 399 meters. With its dimensions, the ship turned out to be quite fast - its speed was 23 knots. The ship was built at the South Korean factory Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
7th place - Emma Maersk
Once again, Maersk stood out by creating some of the largest ships in the world. This vessel is still in operation (it was launched recently - in 2006). Its capacity is 11 thousand containers (11000 TEU), and the length reaches 397 meters.
Finally
And although these ships are the largest today, it is only for the time being. Technologies are being improved, and in the near future we will be able to see new, more spacious vessels. It is also worth noting that the above ships are leaders in terms of displacement, but they are not the largest. After all, the dimensions of the ship do not talk about its weight and the ability to transport large loads.
So, we have defined the displacement of the vessel. The main thing here is to understand that this parameter is not constant, it changes during loading, unloading, and fuel combustion.