The Biggest Ships in the World, Part 3

"QUANTUM SHOT" #60 Link - by Avi Abrams Also Read Part 1 and Part 2 Want to see how huge container ships harrass small tug boats? Then, make sure to read to the end of this article... but first, let's see what makes the biggest ships in the world "tick": The Largest Diesel Engine in the World A couple of photos of a huge diesel engine at the end of Part 2 generated lots of interest, so we decided to dig up more info on that colossal beast: (images via) Its name is Wartsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged diesel engine (see the company's website for info); it has 14 cylinders with total output power of 80,080 kW or 108,920 bhp (your Jeep may have 300 bhp). Its size is comparable to that of a small apartment building: width 26,7 meters, height 13,2 meters: (image via) An eighteen-cylinder version of this beast is considered, as well. Here is how the pistons look (they are one meter each in diameter): Here's a piston & piston rod assembly: (images via) Smaller versions of such engines power various supertankers and giant cargo ships: (original unknown) They must be also adapting these engines for interstellar Enterprise-type vessels, to battle Klingons more effectively... In any case, a few years ago, in September 2006 a huge 14-cylinder diesel engine was put into service aboard the "Emma Maersk" cargo ship: Witness "EMMA MAERSK" - The Biggest Container Ship in the World Crowds watch the arrival of this huge vessel in Rotterdam. The ship can carry between 11,000 and 14,500 containers and is 400 meters long. (for comparison, the Empire State Building is 445 meters tall): (images credit: Jesper T. Andersen and Christian Hansen) Some serious size and muscle there, you have to admit. A slightly smaller ship, the "MSC Pamela" looks almost as imposing: (images credit: Jesper T. Andersen) To give you a better idea of their scale... Here are some pics that illustrate how big these ships are: (images credit: N. Schulteiss, MarineTalk) On the image above right is the World's Largest Propeller, built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI). It's 101.5 tons in weight and 9.1 meters in diameter - as large as a 3-story building. Hey, careful with that container!!!! (original unknown) The image above may be Photoshop, but this one is real: Now... marvel at this group of people (somewhere around Somalia), who decided to by-pass all cargo cranes entirely, demonstrating supreme PERSONAL CONTAINER MANAGEMENT: (probably container stealing is underway here) While in seaport, pay respect to tough little tugboats scuttling around: some of them are miserably overworked - (image via) ...they have to go in the big ships' wakes: (images via) They're even "abused" by larger ships - like a little tug in this video, which did not see the ANCHOR coming: Link And, for all their hard work, tugboats only end up crushed between the larger ships if they are not nimble enough: here are photos of one such boat after being man-handled by a freighter - (images credit: DutchPhotoZone) READ THE WHOLE SERIES HERE -> Share Tweet Share->