Now that Wonder of the Seas has officially started sailing, let’s take a look at the list of top 10 largest ships in the world and see where the Oasis-class lands on them.
I debuted this analysis a few years ago, but it’s worth updating as there has been some new developments since then.
#1
Prelude FLNG
499,167gt | 600,000t Displacement | 1,601ft LOA | 234ft Beam
So this one’s a bit of a controversial pick as she’s an offshore installation. Prelude FLNG happens to be the largest offshore installation at almost 500,000gt And she is equipped with three azimuthing thrusters one can argue that she has propulsion, of sorts.
She’s stationed in the Prelude offshore field in Australia for the extraction, processing, and offloading of LNG direct into tankers. She’s owned by Royal Dutch Shell and built in Korea in 2017.
#2
Pioneering Spirit
403,342gt | 50,000dwt | 1,253ft LOA | 406ft Beam
The Pioneering Spirit could be considered the largest purpose built ship. Owned and operated by the Dutch company AllSeas. She’s considered a pipelaying and platform-removal ship. That last part is easily the most interesting. She has the ability to remove the entire superstructure of a platform, in tact, all at once. With her unique ‘U’ shaped bow she straddles the platform and then lift it off of the bottom supporting structure, or jacket. The jacket is then lifted with her aft crane. It’s pretty impressive. Construction wise, she is basically two vessels welded together with a platform in between. This creates huge amounts of internal volume to add to her gross tonnage. You can check her out in action here.
#3
FSO Asia
236,638gt | 441,893dwt | 1246ft LOA | 223ft Beam
FSO Asia (ex-Hellespont Alhambra, TI Asia) is a Floating Storage Tanker anchored at the Al Shaheen Terminal in the Persian Gulf. She was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding of South Korea in 2002 for the Greek tanker firm Hellespont. Total cost for the vessel was $90 million. She was sold to Euronav in 2004, and then sold again to OSG in 2011. She was then finally sold to her current owner International Seaways. The vessel currently is being operated by a joint venture of International Seaways and Euronav. Her current charter hire is roughly $88,000/day.
During a drydock she had her superstructure modified as she was transitioning over to become a floating storage and offloading vessel. That’s why she’s roughly 2,000gt larger than two of her other sisters.
#4
FSO Africa
236,638gt | 440,165dwt | 1246ft LOA | 223ft Beam
FSO Africa(ex-Hellespont Metropolis, TI Africa) is also a Floating Storage Tanker anchored in the Northfield section of the Al Shaheen Terminal in the Persian Gulf. Sistership to the FSO Asia (#2 above) she was also built at Daewoo Shipbuilding and launched in 2002 for the same price of $90 million. Originally called the Hellespont Metropolis, Hellespont sold her to OSG in 2005 who then sold her to Euronav. Like her sister above, she has the same ownership structure. Also like the FSO Asia, a drydock in 2010 altered her superstructure, slightly enlarging it.
#5
Oceania
234,006gt | 441,585dwt | 1246ft LOA | 223ft Beam
Oceania (ex-Hellespont Fairfax, Overseas Laura Lynn, TI Oceania) is a Crude Oil Tanker currently anchored off Malaysia. Sistership to the two ships above she was also constructed at Daewoo Shipbuilding and launched in 2003 for the same price of $90 million. Originally called the Hellespont Fairfax, the company sold her to OSG in 2005. She then went over to Euronav after a stint a Tankers International, and now Euronav outright owne and operate her. Hellespont Fairfax was featured on the Discover Channel’s Superships.
#6
TI Europe
234,006gt | 441,561dwt | 1246ft LOA | 223ft Beam
TI Europe(ex-Hellespont Tara) is a Crude Oil Tanker currently anchored off of Malaysia, just north of Singapore. The the 4th and last sister to the 3 above (FSO Asia, FSO Africa and Overseas Laura Lynn). She was built at Daewoo Shipbuilding and launched in 2002 for the same price of $90 million. Originally called the Hellespont Tara, Hellespont sold her to Euronav in 2004 and she was re-flagged in Belgium. Euronav fully own and operate her.
#7
Hai Yang Shi You 117
223,030gt | 286,480dwt | 1,059ft LOA | 196ft Beam
The Hai Yang Shi You 117 (also called the Bohai Peng Bo) is an FPSO currently operating in China’s largest offshore oil field. She was built at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. She operates as a joint venture between ConocoPhillips and China’s third largest oil company CNOOC.
#8
Wonder of the Seas
236,857gt | 17,100dwt | 1,187ft LOA | 156ft Beam
When launched in 2022, the Wonder of the Seas became the worlds largest cruise ship. She was originally going to sail in China but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her deployment got changed to North America. She represents a new ‘Oasis-plus’ type of design with her most striking feature being a remodel of her top decks.
#9
Symphony of the Seas
228,081gt | 18,095dwt | 1,184ft LOA | 156ft Beam
When she set sail in 2018, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas became the largest cruise ship in the world (only recently surpassed by the above Wonder of the Seas). Symphony is more closely related to her identical sister, the #10 Harmony of the Seas. The Symphony can carry around 39 more passengers and thusly has a slightly redesigned superstructure. This leads to a larger gross tonnage. Thusly, making her slightly larger that her sibling.
#10
Harmony of the Seas
226,963gt | 20,236dwt | 1,188ft LOA | 163ft Beam
When launched in 2016, Harmony of the Seas became the largest cruise ship in the world. To this day, only two more are slight larger. Harmony is part of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis-class of vessels. She is longer than her sisters below by 7ft and wider by 9 ft. Constructed by STX France, she can carry 5,494pax at double occupancy. She is the first in the enhanced Oasis-class design with a slight differing in the superstructure.
All data verified by IHS Fairplay and other reliable industry sources.
photos via AllSeas, Shipspotting, marinetraffic, Sembcorp