World's largest 'ship' bigger than Empire State Building launches
The world's largest floating vessel is launched from a dock in South Korea
The 488 metre (1,601 feet) long floating liquefied natural gas platform named Prelude Photo: AFP/Getty Images
11:37AM GMT 05 Dec 2013
The largest floating vessel in the world has taken to the water for the first
time in South Korea.
At a length of 1,601 feet, the Prelude, which is owned by Shell, is 150 feet
longer than the Empire State Building is high.
(AFP/Getty Images)
When fully laden the ship weighs approximately 600,000 tonnes and is 243 feet
wide.
It is a floating liquefied natural gas facility which will allow Shell to
produce natural gas at sea and then liquify it by chilling it to -260
degrees F so it can be transported around the world.
The Prelude is expected to produce 3.6 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas
per year and its storage tanks have a capacity equivalent to approximately
175 Olympic swimming pools.
The facility will be connected to wells on the seabed by a series of pipes to extract gas from under the ocean.
In August, the two halves of the hull – constructed separately in the shipyard – were joined together, creating the biggest hull ever built at 488 metres.
(AFP/Getty Images)
The Prelude has replaced the Emma Maersk, which measures 1,302 feet, as the world’s largest ship.
After a year of construction the facility was floated out of the dry dock at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) yard in Geoje, South Korea.
It is designed to withstand a category 5 hurricane and can be moored at sea
during the most powerful cyclones with one of the largest mooring systems in
the world.
A 93-metre (305-foot) high turret, spacious enough to house the Arc de Triomphe, will run through the facility and allow it to turn in the direction of the wind, absorbing the impact of strong weather conditions.
The ship also has three 6,700-horsepower engines.
The Prelude is expected to launch in 2017 and will then operate in a remote part of Western Australia for the next 25 years, however Shell hopes that it will help to unlock vital energy resources around the world.
The facility will be connected to wells on the seabed by a series of pipes to extract gas from under the ocean.
In August, the two halves of the hull – constructed separately in the shipyard – were joined together, creating the biggest hull ever built at 488 metres.
(AFP/Getty Images)
The Prelude has replaced the Emma Maersk, which measures 1,302 feet, as the world’s largest ship.
After a year of construction the facility was floated out of the dry dock at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) yard in Geoje, South Korea.
A 93-metre (305-foot) high turret, spacious enough to house the Arc de Triomphe, will run through the facility and allow it to turn in the direction of the wind, absorbing the impact of strong weather conditions.
The ship also has three 6,700-horsepower engines.
The Prelude is expected to launch in 2017 and will then operate in a remote part of Western Australia for the next 25 years, however Shell hopes that it will help to unlock vital energy resources around the world.
