Before a person began to carry cargo on water, most likely he wanted to sail on a raft or boat himself and transport people. Thus, Passenger Transportation can confidently be considered the most ancient! The diversity of the passenger fleet is enormous - from a boat hollowed out of a tree trunk to an ultra-modern cruise liner, practically a city on the water.
The most interesting thing is that to this day all types of passenger ships ever invented by man are preserved and used.
Before starting the conversation, I want to note that passengers are different. Some simply want to move from one point to another by water, while others travel, spend their holidays on the water, and relax. For such traveling and vacationing passengers, so-called cruise ships are created, that is, ships that make cruises - travel between certain ports, islands for the purpose of familiarization and recreation.
The difference between just passenger ships and cruise ships.
Such ships are equipped with maximum amenities for passengers. If we compare just passenger ships and cruise ships, then the ship simply takes, for example, 3000 passengers and its crew is 300 people. The same ship in the cruise version will already carry approximately 1000 passengers, and the crew will be approximately 500 people. And, of course, the ship will be refurbished and equipped with everything necessary for cruises.
Cruise ships
First of all, expensive, luxurious furnishings and interiors. Everything is magnificent, everything sparkles with mahogany, gilding and mirrors, the crew is in beautiful uniforms, smiling and ready to fulfill your smallest desire! Everything is set up to ensure that passengers are happy that they chose this particular vessel for their holiday! Restaurants, shops, bars, salons, swimming pools, cinemas, children's clubs and nannies for little ones, orchestras and famous actors and pop stars, rock bands... There are various excursions and trips to exotic places in the ports. Constant balls, concerts, games, competitions, all kinds of entertainment.
Let's look at photos of cruise ships and see what's so special about a cruise ship.
Let's look in a little more detail at what a cruise ship is, using the example of two cruise ships “Caribbean Princess” (Fig. 12) and “Sapphire Princess” (Fig. 10).
Cruise ship "Sapphire Princess":
Cruise ship "Caribbean Princess":
These are the world's largest passenger cruise ships and are enormous structures measuring 300 meters long and 36 meters wide. In the cruise version, the ship accepts 3,120 passengers and is served by 1,142 crew members! In total, the ship has 2,400 one- and two-room cabins and 207 extra-class Penthouse-type apartments.
Restaurants have a capacity of 1,700 seats, there are 10 bars, beauty salons, a casino, a chapel, a disco club for 400 people, seven air-pressurized hot pools, Internet and television in every cabin, a laundry, a powerful professionally equipped hospital with staff capable of accepting anyone sick and perform any conceivable operation at sea, a library, a music salon with 600 seats, a cinema with 800 seats, 15 different shops, four saunas, four seawater swimming pools, an indoor ice skating rink, mini golf, two basketball courts, a high climbing wall 20 meters, tennis court, three fitness centers, water activities - surfing wave and " fast water", hundreds and hundreds of gaming areas and slot machines.
And all this is just general and far from full list main attractions" of these cruise ships. A dozen pages are not enough to describe everything!
Passenger yachts
A modern yacht in today's understanding is not only a sailing vessel for sports and pleasure. A yacht can also be an ultra-modern passenger ship. Typically, such a yacht is the official vessel of kings, presidents, and heads of major companies.
The fact is that yachts are made to special orders, using ultra-modern technologies and materials, even precious ones. The yacht has all the conditions for work and rest of passengers. Practically being on the yacht, the passenger has all the means of communication, sophisticated radio and space equipment to perform his duties while at sea.
There are not many such superclass yachts in the world. There are, of course, yachts of a lower level, which are simply boats with improved performance and interior decoration.
Passenger ferries
Let's imagine, for example, the Baltic. To get from one country to another by car, which most residents of these countries prefer to do, they must make very long journeys, driving around numerous bays and fjords. And it’s hard to get to the islands with a car. For these purposes, ferry crossings are created in such places.
A modern ferry crossing is a superbly organized transport system. Cars arrive at the crossing exactly at the time when the ferry is supposed to arrive and usually do not wait long. The ferry, equipped with powerful engines and thrusters, quickly moors and opens the so-called ramp. That is, a kind of bridge is lowered onto the pier, along which the cars that he brought move off the side under their own power and those that he carries drive on board. Inside the hull of the ship there are several car decks along the entire hull of the ship. The machines are placed there and secured with special fasteners so as not to damage them when the ship rocks.
Ferries can accommodate from several to 500-800 cars and from a dozen to 2-2.5 thousand passengers, depending on their size. Passengers leave their cars on the car deck and go up to the passenger premises, where cabins, lounges, cinema halls, restaurants, bars, cafes, etc. await them. Upon arrival at the port of destination, passengers go to their cars and leave the ship to the pier.
There are also railway ferries that transport not cars, but entire trains. On such a ferry there are rails, which, when moored, are connected to the shore ones and the trains enter it, pushed by a diesel locomotive. Such ferry crossings exist on the Black Sea between Ukraine, Russia and Bulgaria, as well as on Far East between the port of Vanino and Sakhalin Island.
Countries such as Canada, USA, Indonesia, Sweden, Norway, Japan traditionally have many ferry lines, as they are located on islands or have many large and deep bays, lakes and rivers.
The largest cruise ships have the most luxurious and impressive amenities. These are practically giant cities floating on the ocean. Below is a list of the ten largest cruise ships in the world.
Liberty of the Seas is a Freedom class cruise ship. Began regular flights in May 2007. This 15-deck ship can accommodate 4,370 passengers, served by a crew of 1,360 people. It was built in 18 months at the Aker Finnyards shipyard in Turku, Finland. It has a length of 338 m, a width of 56 m. Maximum speed is 21.6 knots (40 km/h). Gross tonnage - 155,889 GT.
Norwegian Escape (Norwegian Escape) is a cruise ship built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany in just 17 months in October 2015. It is 325.9 m long, 41.4 m wide, and has a gross tonnage of 165,300 GT. Can accommodate 4,266 passengers and 1,733 crew. The painting on the body is the work of Jamaican artist and conservationist Guy Harvey.
Norwegian Joy is a cruise ship built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany in 2017 specifically for the Chinese cruise market. Unusual in that he was given a godfather, the Chinese singer Wang Lihom, and not, as is customary, a godmother. "Joy" has a length of 333.46 meters, a width of 41.40 m, and a gross tonnage of 167,725 GT. Capable of accommodating 3,883 passengers and 1,700 crew.
MS Ovation of the Seas is a Quantum class cruise ship. Owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and is operated by Royal Caribbean International. She flies the flag of the Bahamas with her home port in Nassau. The vessel was laid down on March 5, 2015 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. Launching took place on February 18, 2016. Godmother The vessel was the Chinese actress Fan Bingbing. Its first flight took place on April 14, 2016 from Southampton (UK) to Tianjin. The length of the liner is 348 m, width - 48.9 m, gross tonnage - 168,666 GT. Can accommodate 4,180 passengers.
MS Anthem of the Seas is a cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. It was laid down on November 20, 2013 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The launch took place on February 20, 2015. On April 10, 2015 the ship was put into operation. He was christened on April 20, 2015, and the British historian and publicist Emma Wilby became his godmother. The liner made its first voyage on April 22, 2015 from Southampton to the coast of France and Spain. Gross tonnage - 168,666 GT, length - 348 m, width - 49.4 m. Capacity - 4,180 people.
MS Quantum of the Seas is a Quantum class cruise ship of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. It was laid down on August 2, 2013 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The launch took place on August 9, 2014. On October 28, 2014, the vessel was put into operation, and on October 31 of the same year it was transferred to the service of the customer company’s fleet. The first flight took place on November 2, 2014. Became the godmother of "Kvant" American actress Kristin Chenoweth. Its first voyage took place on November 2, 2014 from New Jersey along the Atlantic coast of the United States. The length of the liner is 348.1 m, width is 49.4 m. Gross tonnage is 168,666 GT. Passenger capacity - 4,180 people.
MSC Meraviglia is a high-tech cruise ship that entered service on June 3, 2017. Owned by the Italian cruise company MSC Cruises. His baptism ceremony in Le Havre on June 3, 2017 was attended by actor Patrick Bruel, musical group Kids United and comedian Gad Elmaleh. Sophia Loren became the godmother. The 315.83 m long ship with a gross tonnage of 171,598 GT will be able to accommodate 5,700 passengers.
Oasis of the Seas is one of the largest cruise ships in the world. It was built at the Norwegian shipyard in Turku - STX Europe, commissioned by Royal Caribbean International in October 2009. Its construction cost was approximately US$1.5 billion, making it the most expensive passenger ship in the history of civil shipping. Can carry 6,630 passengers and 2,160 crew members. Its length is 361.6 m, width - 47 m, gross tonnage - 225,282 GT.
MS Harmony of the Seas is a cruise ship built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France in 2015. Owned by the American company Royal Caribbean International. The vessel is 362.12 m long, 47.42 m wide and has a gross tonnage of 226,963 GT and has 2,744 passenger cabins. Maximum amount people on board are 6,360 passengers and 2,400 crew members.
MS Symphony of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship built at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France between October 2015 and March 2018. Owned by Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. As of June 2017, it is the largest passenger ship in the world. It has a length of 362 m, a width of 65.68 m and a gross tonnage of 228,081 GT. Capable of accommodating 5,518 passengers, as well as a crew of 2,200.
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Since ancient times, for a person the ability to swim like a fish was no less desirable than the ability to fly like a bird. What the body given by nature cannot do, the machines we built helped to accomplish. From the fragile boats of antiquity, humanity has grown to create huge cities on the water. The largest of them amaze even modern people accustomed to the achievements of progress with their combination of power and beauty.
The largest ships in the world: selection criteria
To name the biggest ship, there are at least two criteria: dimensions (length and width) and displacement (essentially the volume of the underwater part of the ship).
In addition, to determine the winner in individual categories, his ability to fulfill his main task is decisive. For a passenger ship, this is the number of passengers it can take on board and the number of cabins; for a dry cargo ship or tanker, this is the weight of the cargo being transported; for a container ship, this is the number of containers.
Sailboats and steamships
Before moving on to modern record holders, let's remember their predecessors, those who plowed the seas driven by the power of wind and steam.
The largest sailing ship ever launched is the French barque France II. The ship had a displacement of almost 11 tons and a length of 146 meters. For only ten years - from 1912 to 1922 - it carried out regular cargo transportation, until the sailing ship, which ran aground off the coast of New Caledonia, was abandoned by its owners. The ship was finally destroyed in 1944 during a bombing.
The greatest steamship in history is the Great Eastern, launched in 1857. Its length is 211 meters, and its displacement is 22.5 thousand tons. The ship was driven by two wheels and one propeller, but could also sail. The main purpose of the vessel is passenger transportation; the Great Eastern could take up to 4,000 people on board. Unfortunately, the age of coal and steam was not kind to such large-scale projects - the operation of Great Eastern turned out to be unprofitable and was discontinued for economic reasons.
Absolute record holder
For many years, the winner in the category “The largest ships in the world” was the tanker Knock Nevis. Built in 1976 in Japan, it has changed names many times and undergone major renovations. The champion acquired its final dimensions in 1981 (under the name Seawise Giant): 458.5 meters long, 68 meters wide with a displacement of 565 thousand tons.
A huge tanker is a piece of equipment that is not so easy to find a use for. Due to its size, the ship had a low speed, a huge stopping distance (more than 10 kilometers!), could not pass through strategic shipping straits and could only moor in a few ports around the world.
See a photo of yourself big ship You can visit any website dedicated to the history of shipbuilding, but this giant has recently belonged to the past, just like sailing ships and steamships. In 2010, the ship, which had not been used for six years, was cut into scrap metal.
Hard-working giants
Like the Seawise Giant, the other largest ships are also cargo ships: tankers, bulk carriers, container ships.
The longest ship currently in use (397 meters) is the container ship Emma Maersk. According to various sources, its side can be lifted from 11 to 14 thousand standard containers. Since the designers were tasked with ensuring the passage of Emma Maersk through the Suez and Panama Canals, the width and draft of the ship were designed to be quite moderate. Therefore, the displacement of such a giant is “only” 157 thousand tons.
And the largest ships in the world in terms of displacement are four Hellespont supertankers. Although the length of each of them is 17 meters less than that of the leader among container ships, the displacement is one and a half times greater - 234 thousand tons.
The ore carriers of the Brazilian company Vale are not too inferior to them. The largest of them - Vale Sohar - has a displacement of about 200 thousand tons and a length of 360 meters. The maximum cargo that this giant is able to transport is 400 thousand tons.
Cruise beauties
Although passenger ships are not as large as cargo ships, they make an indelible impression. A cruise ship is not a means of transportation, but a luxury vacation destination. The large size of the ship here serves not so much as an opportunity to accommodate as many passengers as possible on board, but rather to create all imaginable comfort that would satisfy the most demanding public.
The largest passenger ships are many times larger than the Titanic, which once seemed incredible. The pair of twin ships Allure of the Seas and Oasis in the Seas are unparalleled in size. 362 meters in length and 225 thousand tons of displacement - figures comparable to the largest cargo ships. Each of the liners can comfortably accommodate 6,400 passengers. In addition, 2,100 personnel serve on board (this is against several dozen sailors serving tankers and dry cargo ships).
Allure of the Seas or Oasis in the Seas offers shops, casinos, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, a fitness center, volleyball and basketball courts, a sauna and swimming pools. There is even a park with real trees and grass.
Sea storm
You cannot ignore the largest warships. These are now aircraft carriers. And this is understandable: no matter how hard aviation engineers work to reduce the take-off mileage of aircraft, the “winged sailors” still need a rather large path to take off from.
In the period before World War II, the most powerful naval powers built especially large warships - battleships. The largest of them is the flagship of the Japanese fleet, Yamato. 263 meters long, 40 wide, with a crew of 2,500 sailors - the battleship seemed simply invulnerable. However, the ship, launched in 1940, was sunk shortly before Japan's surrender.
The development of anti-submarine weapons has made such ships too easy a target. The ships laid down in those years were still in service (for example, the American battleships of the Iowa project), but the main focus in the post-war period was on aircraft-carrying ships.
The largest naval ship of all time was the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. Its length is 342 meters, width - 78 meters. The ship carried up to 90 aircraft (planes and helicopters), which served 1,800 people. The total crew size is 3,000 sailors. After serving for more than half a century, the Enterprise was retired from service with the United States Navy in 2012. Now its place has been taken by Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, slightly inferior in size to their predecessor - the length of the largest modern aircraft-carrying ships is 333 meters.
The largest ships in Russia
Although Russian-made ships do not occupy the top positions in the ratings of the largest ships in the world, some models have no equal in their categories.
Thus, the flagship of the Russian Northern Fleet, the nuclear-powered missile cruiser "Peter the Great" is the world's largest non-aircraft-carrying combat strike ship. Dimensions of the cruiser: 251 meters - length, 28 meters - width, displacement - 28 thousand tons. Main task: countering enemy aircraft carrier formations.
There is also another record holder in service in the Russian Navy - the Akula submarine (project 941). The length of the boat is 173 meters, the underwater displacement is 48 thousand tons, the crew is 160 people. The submarine is equipped with a nuclear reactor and diesel power plants. The main weapons are intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
Among civilian ships, we should mention the largest nuclear icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy", which left the slipway in 1993. Perhaps, knowing what the largest ships in the world are, its 160 meters in length will seem frivolous, but still in its class this ship has no equal.
Giant at the shipyard
In addition to the ships themselves, modern shipbuilders are busy developing other sea giants - floating platforms. The amazingly sized structures can be used for a variety of purposes, from mining to launching spacecraft.
Right now, at the shipyards of South Korean Samsung Heavy Industries, the Prelude floating platform is being completed, which the customer, Royal Dutch Shell, plans to use for the production, liquefaction and transportation of natural gas. In 2013, the Prelude hull was launched. Its dimensions are more impressive than the largest ships in the world can boast. A photo of the unfinished giant became available to everyone interested.
The length of the vessel is 488 meters, width - 78 meters, displacement - 600 thousand tons. It is assumed that the platform will be moved using tugs. Only the lack of its own chassis does not allow the Prelude to be called a champion among giant ships. A platform is still not a ship.
Imagine going on a free cruise on the largest ship in the world. There is a whole metropolis of entertainment and services inside, and everything is free. Fantastic? Yes. But one day, when a parade of planets takes place, the company launches a new ship, this fairy tale becomes reality. Tour operators, the media and everyone who will subsequently sell trips to this liner are invited to the first flight.
Harmony of the Seas is by far the largest cruise ship with a capacity of 8,200 people, of which 2,200 are crew. The height of the ship is comparable to the height of a 20-story building. The length is 362 meters, which exceeds the length of Red Square in Moscow. The construction of the liner cost Royal Caribbean more than 1,000,000,000 euros.
But the most impressive thing is not the dimensions, but the filling of the liner - a helipad, swimming pools, water slides, a casino, a theater, an ice skating rink, a garden with 12 thousand different plants and much, much more. There is even a Bionic bar on board, where robots work as waiters. Let's see what it looks like inside...
General plans of the liner. This is a really huge thing, a giant Noah’s Ark with a displacement of 227,500 tons:
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We left the port of Barcelona. Two fire ships saw us off: in honor of the first voyage, they staged a “salute” of water cannons:
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The first place you go on a cruise is, of course, your cabin. I won’t give the footage, I’ll just mention that my cabin had a separate dressing room:
Common areas of the ship. On the right in the photo is a giant head sculpture that rotates in layers in different directions:
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There are pedestrian streets on board. There is a complete feeling that it is not a ship that has gone out to sea, but a piece of the mainland. There are a lot of people. After a number of incidents on cruises, Royal Caribbean installed an advanced facial recognition system that can, if necessary, identify each passenger in a crowd:
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Many sculptures and works of modern art:
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Let's go up to the upper decks. There are two types of decks - indoor, comfortable in windy weather, and outdoor:
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There are 16 decks on board. 6 main pools and 10 giant Jacuzzis:
The upper deck is replete with public areas:
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Plenty of sunbeds. Pay attention to the slides behind the pool:
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On the other side of the golf course:
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Waves for surfing:
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Rope crossing at seven floors:
There is a huge aqua theater at the stern of the ship. There are two pipes leading down from the upper deck, through which you can go down with your clothes on. It feels very fast, very scary and very dark. You overcome almost 30 meters of height in 13 seconds, making two 360-degree turns along the way:
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To the right of the aquatheater is a pedestrian area called Central Park:
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Naturally, there is a gym, and it is gigantic. Lots of training equipment and equipment:
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There are 20 restaurants on board Harmony of the Seas. The main one occupies three floors, where daily dinners are held:
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And this is the same Bionic bar where robots work. In the arsenal mechanical arms 30 alcohol components. The range of cocktails they can make is endless. One cocktail takes 30 seconds. Looks fantastic:
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Another memorable restaurant is called “Wonderland” and is based on famous work Lewis Carroll:
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Hall decoration:
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Instead of a menu, they bring an empty picture that needs to be painted with water. After these manipulations, words appear. It might seem like a small thing, but it leaves a lasting impression:
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Molecular cuisine restaurant. The dish is called “Vegetable Garden”, and the “ground” is made from bread with the addition of cuttlefish ink:
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A dessert made from a ball that is poured over hot chocolate. After a minute, the ball melts, revealing the ice cream inside. Delicious:
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Every week, the liner's restaurants consume 4,500 kg of chicken and almost 7,000 kg of beef. There are a total of 4,900 seats on board in restaurants and bars. The assortment of desserts again confused me:
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There are dozens of shops in Central Park for every budget:
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You won't be bored in the evening. Rather, on the contrary, you will need to run from one view to another:
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At the theater there is a Broadway production of “Grease.” The film of the same name, based on this musical, made Travolta a star already in 1978:
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Ice show. Just pay attention to the quality of the costumes that were prepared for the performance.
