Such a term 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 is the displacement of a ship?
This parameter determines the amount 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 poods. Therefore, if this parameter is equal to 10000 tons, then this means that its weight is 620300 pounds.
It is worth noting that the displacement of ships is a variable unit. It always changes. A loaded ship, when traveling one point, will have one weight; after unloading, its displacement becomes smaller. This also applies to the fuel that is consumed as the ship moves. So the ship leaves point "A" with one displacement and arrives at point "B"with another. Therefore, it cannot be said that the displacement of ships determines the weight of the ship, although this is only partly accurate. This parameter indicates how much water is being displaced at the moment. After all, even when one person comes on board, the displacement increases by 0.06-0.07 tons (the weight of one person).
Displacement of large ships
There are a lot of ships in the world with different values of the weight of the displaced water. But which ships are leaders in this parameter? The size of some ships is simply amazing. And although some of the rating vessels 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 with a length of 488 meters and a width of 78 meters. It is intended for the transport of gas. For its construction, 260 thousand tons of steel were used, and at full load, the displacement is 600 thousand tons.
To make it easier to imagine the size and weight of this vessel, we can compare the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. This ship can carry up to 90 aircraft and helicopters, and it uses 8 nuclear reactors and 4 turbines on board. It also serves 4800 people. And its maximum displacement is 93400 tons, which is about 6 times less than the Prelude FLNG.
2nd Place - Seawise Giant
This supertanker was built in 1979 and has been known by variousnames. In particular, it 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 raised from the bottom, repaired and named Happy Giant. In 2009, it made its last trip. Its displacement was 657,018 at full load.
3rd place - Pierre Guillaumat
Third place rightly goes to Pierre Guillaumat. It was named after the French politician and founder of Elf Aquitaine, Pierre Guillaume. It was built in 1977, served for six years, and then was scrapped due to unprofitability. It turned out that the ship, due to its size, could not pass through the Panama or Suez Canal, and also did not have the opportunity to enter many ports of the world. Consequently, its use was severely limited and at times it was irrational to drive it across 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 the renowned Shell Oil Corporation. Its carrying capacity was 554 thousand tons, speed - 16-17 knots. Fairly ranked fourth, but not used since 1985.
5th - EssoAtlantic
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 35 years as an oil tanker, but was scrapped in Pakistan in 2002.
6th place - Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller
The well-known company Maersk has created one of the largest container ships in the world, Mc-Kinney Moller, which boasts the highest carrying capacity among container ships. 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 plant Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
7th place - Emma Maersk
Again, Maersk has stood out with some of the biggest ships in the world. This ship is still in operation (it was launched quite recently - in 2006). It has a capacity of 11,000 containers (11,000 TEUs) and is 397 meters long.
In conclusion
And although these ships are the largest today, it is only for a while. Technologies are improving, and in the near future we will be able to see new larger vessels. It is also worth noting that the above-mentioned vessels are leaders precisely in terms of displacement, but at the same time they are not the largest. After all, the dimensions of the ship do not speak about its weight and the ability to transport large loads.
So, we have defined the displacement of a ship. The main thing here is to understandthat this parameter is not constant, it changes during loading, unloading, fuel combustion.
