Size Record
Seawise Giant was the longest ship ever constructed, longer than the height of many of the world's tallest buildings. Though slightly smaller than Taipei 101 at 509.2 m (1,671 ft) and Willis Tower (formerly named Sears Tower) at 527.3 m (1,730 ft) from street level to top of antenna, she was larger than the Petronas Twin Towers at 452 m (1,483 ft).
Despite her great length, Seawise Giant was not the largest ship by gross tonnage, ranking fifth at 260,941 GT, behind the four 274,838 to 275,276 GT Batillus-class supertankers. Batillus-class ships and Seawise Giant were the largest self-propelled objects ever constructed.
Seawise Giant was featured on the BBC series Jeremy Clarkson's Extreme Machines while she was underway as Jahre Viking. According to her captain, S. K. Mohan, she could reach up to 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h) in good weather, it took 5.5 miles (8.9 km) to stop from that speed, and her turning circle in clear weather was about 2 mi (3.2 km).
Read more about this topic: Seawise Giant
Famous quotes containing the words size and/or record:
“Great causes are never tried on their merits; but the cause is reduced to particulars to suit the size of the partizans, and the contention is ever hottest on minor matters.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“All photographs are there to remind us of what we forget. In this—as in other ways—they are the opposite of paintings. Paintings record what the painter remembers. Because each one of us forgets different things, a photo more than a painting may change its meaning according to who is looking at it.”
—John Berger (b. 1926)