Big Ass Ships for Big Ass Loads

February 9, 2007 8:43 PM

They are capable of loading lifts from approximately 50 to as much as 45,000 tons.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (64 comments total)

golf clap
posted by nathancaswell at 8:47 PM on February 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

Not shown on this blog is the ship that carried the cubic mile of cash dollar bills in the world's biggest Hefty from Basra to Houston.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:02 PM on February 9, 2007 [1 favorite]

holy crap
posted by Anything at 9:10 PM on February 9, 2007

Cool.
posted by rtha at 9:11 PM on February 9, 2007

Jeezus that's some cool shit.
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 9:12 PM on February 9, 2007

A sad end ...
posted by strawberryviagra at 9:12 PM on February 9, 2007

"According to Wikipedia, a semi-submersible heavy-lift ship, or also known as a "flo/flo" (for float-on/float-off), has a long and low well deck between a forward pilot house and an after machinery space."

Alright, already. We all float-on. What's the big deal?

[this is cool] I want a toy one for bathtime!
posted by Eideteker at 9:16 PM on February 9, 2007

That is incredible. Good link!
posted by spiderskull at 9:16 PM on February 9, 2007

Load balancing must be fun.
posted by Tenuki at 9:16 PM on February 9, 2007

Awesome, though I have to say that I actually - for a moment - thought that the first ship pictured on there was made out of Legos.
posted by flarbuse at 9:16 PM on February 9, 2007

Magnificent! Thanks for finding this.
posted by speug at 9:17 PM on February 9, 2007

Ohhhh, you won't you take me home tonight
Ohhhh, down beneath the blue starlight
Ohhhh, you got to give it all you got
Fat-bottomed boats, you make the maritime world go 'round

C'mon, oil rigs, get on your boats and ride!

Sorry, I'll leave now.
posted by Eideteker at 9:19 PM on February 9, 2007

You move 45,000 tons, and what do you get?
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:21 PM on February 9, 2007

I knew the Illuminati were stealing oil with their invisible oil rigs.
posted by mullacc at 9:23 PM on February 9, 2007

An eon older and deeper in wet?
posted by jonmc at 9:24 PM on February 9, 2007

"You move 45,000 tons, and what do you get?"

Another day older, and deeper, and wet.
posted by Eideteker at 9:24 PM on February 9, 2007

Dammit, jon!
posted by Eideteker at 9:25 PM on February 9, 2007

*does Ickey Shuffle in endzone*
posted by jonmc at 9:27 PM on February 9, 2007

Well played, sir.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:31 PM on February 9, 2007

Related, but different. The FLIP ship, flipping.
posted by b1tr0t at 9:33 PM on February 9, 2007

Very similar to your vaparators in most respects.
posted by SinisterPurpose at 9:37 PM on February 9, 2007

Does anyone else find it strangely peverse to observe a ship on top of another ship?
posted by Jimbob at 9:38 PM on February 9, 2007

How do I put this, Jimbob ... it's something that grownup ships do when they really, really love each other ...

Oh, this is awkward. They should teach this in school.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:55 PM on February 9, 2007 [5 favorites]

that was c:\awesome, thanks.
posted by c:\awesome at 9:56 PM on February 9, 2007

For the first two or three I thought the photos were all Photoshopped. The reality is even more awesome than the fakes.
posted by lekvar at 10:01 PM on February 9, 2007

I was present when the Mighty Servant delivered the Samuel B Roberts to Newport, RI in the late 1980s. I went there (on a boat full of retired US Marines) to watch the Mighty Servant sink, and the Sammy B rise off its deck. When the Sammy B proceeded to the docks under its own power (no small miracle), slipping past the tugs arrayed to greet it, all of the crusty 50 year old Marines wept and snapped to attention, returning the salute of its crew. It was pretty astoundingly awesome.
posted by popechunk at 10:03 PM on February 9, 2007

Oddly enough my main reaction is "holy shit, how the hell do we get that much metal out of the ground?"
posted by rolypolyman at 10:24 PM on February 9, 2007 [2 favorites]

in ur seas
   __|`|          |"/
~~~\   |~~~~~~~~~~|/'~~~
    \_____________/
liftn ur stuff

posted by wfrgms at 10:30 PM on February 9, 2007 [15 favorites]

I knew i was fat when upon taking my first dip in the Atlantic, one of these babies snuck under my belly [joyously bobbin' in the sea] and took me to Corpus Christi for completion.

Also that's mighty insane that they'd make a metal refinery in one nation and deliver it in another via megaboat. Golf claps indeed.
posted by phylum sinter at 10:31 PM on February 9, 2007 [2 favorites]

That's a modern version (and clearly an improved version) of what was known fifty years ago as a "floating drydock".

Tenuki, load balancing is not hard at all. They use uneven flooding of the floatation tanks in order to trim the ship.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 10:44 PM on February 9, 2007

One of those rare supervehicles that amazes in real life but would have made a crappy Transformer.
posted by clockzero at 10:48 PM on February 9, 2007

Semi-Submersible Crane Vessels — the world's largest is the twin-crane Thialf, owned and operated by Heerema Marine Contractors (they introduced the SSCV concept in 1978). Together, the Thialf's cranes can lift over 14,200 metric tons. More images of this giant here and here.

Speaking of extreme marine lifting, Project Jennifer^WP was a noteworthy secret CIA mission during the Cold War. More Glomar Explorer images here.
posted by cenoxo at 11:08 PM on February 9, 2007

*nerdy squeal*
posted by brundlefly at 12:05 AM on February 10, 2007

Amazing pictures, thanks.
posted by amyms at 12:12 AM on February 10, 2007

Floating Drydock (CG)
posted by Tenuki at 12:23 AM on February 10, 2007

Holy Fuck!
posted by serazin at 12:24 AM on February 10, 2007

Some background on that image.
posted by Tenuki at 12:25 AM on February 10, 2007

I would have liked more detail on the sinkings. Like, why did they sink? Did they screw up, run into some bad weather, is the design not quite as safe as it should be? I imagine some of those loads are quite expensive, not to mention the cost of the ship in the first place. Marked for googling later.
posted by ctmf at 12:31 AM on February 10, 2007

pft...i could roll that up, easy.

*na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na*
posted by sexyrobot at 12:44 AM on February 10, 2007

Oddly enough my main reaction is "holy shit, how the hell do we get that much metal out of the ground?"

After a year of so of lurking, I just paid Metafilter $5 to comment on your comment. I think about this constantly! If we made a mountain out of all the industrial metal and highway cement, how high would it be?
posted by macrowave at 1:19 AM on February 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

typo on the first try. whatever.
posted by macrowave at 1:21 AM on February 10, 2007

sweet. I've saw one of these when sailing across the english channel - it had a massive submarine on its back, like this . I took a photo as well, I'll post it if I can find it.
posted by 6am at 1:57 AM on February 10, 2007

For some reason I'm reminded of a very old Earthworm Jim video game, where there is a certain level where you have to lift and carry very large and heavy cows.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:16 AM on February 10, 2007

HA HA ! I laugh at your puny rubber duckie lolo jeylo ship and I give You Emma Mærsk.

Salute your container overlady. Quoting from the link

it often now costs more to ship a container by road 100km from a port to its final destination than it does to move the container by sea from China to Europe.

Why don't we just go live in ports so they can throw me container directly in the kitchen.
posted by elpapacito at 3:29 AM on February 10, 2007

Float... float on...
posted by evilcolonel at 3:54 AM on February 10, 2007

Aww, 45,000 tons is pretty heavy....I guess.
posted by Smedleyman at 4:56 AM on February 10, 2007

Apparently this ship is also useful for carrying Rodan's eggs.
posted by papercake at 5:09 AM on February 10, 2007

Huh, and I thought the Cole returned to the US under her own power (post-patching). Guess I was distracted by the coup...

these are great behemoths, reminders of what humans can achieve. I'd love to see one in action.
posted by Busithoth at 6:24 AM on February 10, 2007

My yacht has one of these sea giants as its dinghy.
posted by Frank Grimes at 6:33 AM on February 10, 2007

This is one eerie and surreal photo.

Thx, BB.
posted by Skygazer at 6:55 AM on February 10, 2007

50 to as much as 45,000 tons.

What happens below 50 tons?
posted by stbalbach at 7:09 AM on February 10, 2007

Just like supermodels, they refuse to get out of port for less than 50 a day...
posted by blackkar at 7:23 AM on February 10, 2007

Yet again, a metafilter post answers questions I did not know I had.
posted by graventy at 7:42 AM on February 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

elpapacito said: ...and I give You Emma Mærsk.

...which is powered by the world's largest diesel engine, the 14-cylinder (each with a bore of 38") turbo-charged Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C. Here are images of a smaller 10-cylinder version: check out that crankshaft.

Looks like the current grande dame of container ships will lose her crown in a few years to a 13,000 TEU* vessel. Details from GlobalSecurity.org:

In September 2005 an innovative design study for a 13,000 TEU container ship was presented by Germanischer Lloyd and the Korean yard Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). The new ship design with two main engines and two propellers. All the relevant calculations have been carried out and the design completely approved by Germanischer Lloyd; the Korean yard is now accepting orders. The ship is 382 metres long and 54.2 metres wide, and has a draft of 13.5 m. The 6,230 containers below deck are stacked in 10 tiers and 19 rows, while the 7,210 deck containers are stowed in 21 rows. Powered by two 45,000 kW engines, the vessel's speed is 25.5 knots. The design study is characterized by two technical innovations: the cooperation partners decided on a twin drive configuration and the separation of deckhouse and engine room.

*TEU = twenty-foot equivalent units, a standard 20 ft. (L) × 8 ft. (W) × 8 ft. 6 in. (H) ISO container dimension.

The way container ships are going, some day your kitchen (along with the rest of your house) may be aboard one of them.
posted by cenoxo at 7:58 AM on February 10, 2007

Flo-flo -- apply directly to well deck!
Flo-flo -- apply directly to well deck!
Flo-flo -- apply directly to well deck!
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:00 AM on February 10, 2007

In the San Francisco Bay Area we got to see one of these in operation a few years ago when some very tall cranes were delivered to the Port of Oakland and the combination of low tide and submersability were needed to guarantee getting them under the Bay Bridge.

That was an awesome view from my office at the time, watching them go under with just inches to spare.

Of course, I'm still not clear why it is cheaper to build the crane in Korea (I think) and then ship it on a big special boat halfway around the world than to simply build it on site.

I also missed how they got the cranes off the boat.
posted by obfusciatrist at 9:15 AM on February 10, 2007

rolypolyman said: Oddly enough my main reaction is "holy shit, how the hell do we get that much metal out of the ground?"

macrowave said: After a year of so of lurking, I just paid Metafilter $5 to comment on your comment. I think about this constantly! If we made a mountain out of all the industrial metal and highway cement, how high would it be?

Ask China: they're finding out:

• The Oil Drum graph: Annual production of cement by country in billions of metric tons.
• WorldWatch Institute graph: Top Five Steel-Producing Countries, 1994-2004.
• Asia Times article: Chinese shipping aims for global leadership.

However big that mountain of stuff turns out to be, China plans on having the ships to haul it.
posted by cenoxo at 9:21 AM on February 10, 2007

I'm waiting for one of the rap stars to pull up to Grammy's in one of these.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:39 AM on February 10, 2007

I would like to roll one of these up in my katamari.
posted by A dead Quaker at 10:06 AM on February 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

whoahhhhhh.
posted by jason's_planet at 10:14 AM on February 10, 2007

Big boats
Have bigger boats
Beneath their decks to float 'em
And bigger boats
Have huger boats
(I spilled coffee on my modem)
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:01 AM on February 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Here's the plan: we get one of these, and start stealing shit. Seriously. Oil rigs, cruise ships, whatever. We sneak up, grab them out of the water, take them to our secret island fortress, and ransom them back to their rightful owners.

As long as they don't send Bond in, we should be fine.
posted by quin at 11:58 AM on February 10, 2007

Here are images of a smaller 10-cylinder version: check out that crankshaft.

Oh, BABY! Woo! Show us your cylinders!
posted by dammitjim at 12:38 PM on February 10, 2007

a counterpart to the flo-flo is the jack-up barge. a jack-up barge is a ship which can extend four jacks down to the ocean floor and lift itself above the surface of the water, kind of like a temporary platform you can pilot into place without a flo-flo. you can even buy one used with jacks up to 120 meters tall. obviously, jack-up barges are limited to coastal waters. but they are used for making some ocean platform and tower repairs where depth permits.
posted by 3.2.3 at 11:42 AM on February 11, 2007