The 'Sovereign Maersk' (6,600 teu) was at Tilbury Container Services for just one day before sailing to Rotterdam, but it smashed all records for the river. At a whopping 346 metres, it is longer than three Wembley football pitches laid end to end, and 47 metres longer than the Port's previous record holder 'Maersk Kalmar'. Traditionally the biggest regular visitors to the Thames have been the 272 metre 'Monte Class' Hamburg Sud vessels that run between London and the South American east coast. Richard Everitt, the Port of London Authority's chief executive, said: "Working together, the PLA, Tilbury Container Services and Maersk have confounded the traditional assumptions of what is possible on the Thames. "Not long ago the Sovereign Maersk was the world's largest container ship. Its successful visit has demonstrated that London is a progressive alternative port for UK calls."

Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark, accompanied by HRH Prince Henrik, honoured in September 1997 Odense Steel Shipyard and A.P. Moller by naming the world’s largest container vessel at the time. Royal naming before Sovereign Maersk, Her Majesty the Queen had three times honoured A.P. Moller by being sponsor of a vessel. The heir apparent named the tanker A.P. Moller – the first vessel delivered to A.P. Moller after the death of its founder – in 1966. During a state visit to Japan in 1981 Her Majesty the Queen honoured A.P. Moller by naming the product tanker Peter Maersk, named after A.P. Moller’s father, Captain Peter Maersk Moller. In 1991 Her Majesty named the container vessel Majestic Maersk – obviously named. Sovereign Maersk, speed 25 knots - was constructed in only 201 days and has a cargo carrying capacity of 6,600 TEU – 600 more than the six vessels in the existing series of so-called post-panamax vessels whose size does not allow them to sail through the Panama Canal. Sovereign Maersk’s length is 346 metres, and the vessel is 42 metres wide – the dimensions of the Panama Canal allows a maximum length of 294 metres and a width of 32 metres.

The France II was a French sailing ship and the second one of that name. She was the largest sailing ship in the world merchant fleet ever built. She was an extremely large tall ship of 5,633 GRT and of square rigging as s five-masted steel-hulled barque. Her five masts, all yards and the spanker boom were made of steel tubing, lower mast and topmast made in one piece. She featured a so-called "jubilee rig", also called "bald-headed rig", i. e. she was rigged with no royal sails above double top sails and double topgallant sails. She had a huge sail area of 6,350 m² [68,350 sq ft]. Her long yards and the less tall masts gave her a rather wide and depressed appearance in comparison to other tall ships of her class. She was 146.5 meters (480.5 ft) long, her displacement was 10,710 t (10,541 tons (tons standard (ts)), and she could carry 7,300 tons of cargo. The vessel had some wooden components built in, including wooden deck covering, a beautiful lounge equipped with a piano and precious furniture, seven luxury passenger cabins, a library, a darkroom, and a seawater therapy equipment making her one of the most elegant sailing cargo carriers. Her deck-line was striking in that she had an extremely long poop similar to sail training ship, forecastle, and midship island (three-island-ship) with only two short open upper deck sections, each containing one of her huge loading hatches.

History: Built in 1911 at the Gironde yards ("Chantiers et Ateliers de la Gironde") in Bordeaux according to the plans of chief designer Gustave Leverne (1861-1940) for the nickel ore trade and was owned by the "Société Anonyme des Navires Mixtes (Prentout-Leblond, Leroux & Cie.)". The huge barque was equipped with two Schneider 950 hp diesel engines which have been removed in 1919. At that time she became the largest sailing ship ever built. Her crew consisted of 5 officers: captain, 2nd captain (on French ships); a naval officer of a captain's rank as a vice-captain and security officer), 1st, 2nd, and 3rd mates and 40 able seamen including cook, steward, sailmaker ship's carpenter, later on (1919) the brew numbered 45. In 1915 she was sold to Leroux-Henzey, in 1916 to the "Compagnie Française de Marine et de Commerce" ("French Company of Marine and Trade"), all of Rouen, her port of registry remained the same. During the night of the 12th of July 1922 she went aground on the Teremba reef (Urai bay) north west to the Ouano reef, nearly 60 nm north west of Noumea, New Caledonia, homeward bound to Europe with a cargo of chrome ore from Pouembout. Because of fallen cargo rates her owner refused to tow her free from the Ouano reef by a tug which was absolutely possible. In 1944, American bombers bombed the wreckage as a targeting practice. There are currently plans to build a replica of the France II.

The World's Biggest Submarine is Russian. The Typhoon.
Displacement:   33,800 tons submerged
Dimensions:      172 x 23.3 x 11 meters/564.3 x 76.4 x 36 feet
Propulsion:       Steam turbines, 2 OK-650 reactors, 2 shafts, 100,000 shp, 25 knots
Crew:                160
Sonar:               Skat series/Shark Gill LF active/passive suite
Armament:        20 RSM-52/SS-N-20 Sturgeon SLBM, 6 21 inch torpedo tubes (20+ Type 53-65K, SET-65, SAET-60M torpedoes and/or RPK-6/SS-N-16 Vodopod/Stallion ASROC), 1 SA-14 SAM position

The Ohio Class submarine is the largest US Submarine 
Displacement:   18,750 tons submerged
Dimensions:       560 x 42 x 36.25 feet/170.7 x 12.8 x 11 meters
Propulsion:        1 S8G reactor, steam turbines, 1 shaft, 35,000 hp, 25 knots
Crew:                 Dual crews; 163 each crew
Sonar:                BQQ-6 or BQQ-5E(V)4 passive suite (bow array), TB-23 towed array
Fire Control:       CCS Mk 2 combat system, Mk 98 missile control, Mk 118 torpedo control
EW:                    WLR-8(V)5 suite, 8 countermeasures launchers (SSBN 738-743: 15 launchers)
Armament:         24 Trident II D-5 SLBM (Trident I C-4 in SSBN 727-731, 733), 4 21 inch torpedo tubes (Mk 48 torpedoes)

The Russian Ladies

• Gross Tonnage: 150,000 tons (approx.)
• Length:              1132 feet (345 metres)
• Beam:                135 feet (41 metres)
• Beam at Bridge: 147 feet 6 inches (45 metres)
• Draft:                   32 feet 8 inches (10 metres)
• Height :               236 feet 2 inches (72 metres)
• Passengers:        2,620 (3,090 max)
• Decks:                19 (17 pax)
• 7th  Jun 1998:    'Project Queen Mary' announced and initial plans for a new liner unveiled.
• 8th Nov 1999:     General plans completed and first images released.
• 10th Mar 2000:    Letter of intent signed with Chantiers de L'Atlantique in France.
• 6th Nov 2000:      Formal contract signed.
• 16th Jan 2002:    First sheet of steel cut.
• 4th Jul 2002:       Keel laying ceremony Captain Ron Warwick appointed Master Designate.
• 1st Dec 2002:      Float out.
• 25th Sep 2003:    First sea trials.
• 7th Nov 2003:     Second sea trials. Speeds of 30knots reached.
• 22nd Dec 2003:    Formal hand-over of QM2 to Cunard Line.
• 26th Dec 2003:    Maiden arrival in home port of Southampton, England.
• 8th Jan 2004:     Queen Mary 2 named by HM Queen Elizabeth II
• 12th Jan 2004:    Departure on Maiden Voyage from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale, USA.
• 16th Apr 2004:    Maiden Transatlantic Westbound crossing to New York.
• 25th Apr 2004:    Historic Eastbound Transatlantic crossing in tandem with QE2.

The RMS Queen Mary 2 is a Cunard Line ocean liner named after the earlier Cunard liner Queen Mary, which was in turn named after Mary of Teck, the Queen Consort of George V. It does not commemorate the reign of Queen Mary II. At the time of her construction in 2003 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique, the Queen Mary 2 was the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built, and at 148,528 gross register tons (GRT), was also the largest. She lost the gross tonnage distinction to Royal Caribbean International's 154,407 GRT Freedom of the Seas in April 2006, but Queen Mary 2 remains the largest ocean liner (as opposed to cruise ship) ever built, and her width, length, and waterline breadth are unsurpassed by any other passenger ship. Moreover, the Queen Mary 2 displaces approximately 76,000 tons; the Royal Caribbean Freedom ships displace about 64,000 tons. The Queen Mary 2 was the first major ocean liner built since the Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969. Queen Mary 2's facilities include 15 restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, a theatre, and a planetarium. Cost £460 million.

Top the Queen Mary 2 ready to leave Sydney. Meeting the QE2 at Lady Liberty and her side view.

The RMS Titanic was an Olympic-class passenger liner owned by the White Star Line and built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. For her time, she was the largest passenger steamship in the world.

On the night of the 14th of April 1912, during her maiden voyage, Titanic hit an iceberg and sank two hours and forty minutes later, early on the 15th of April 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people, making it one of the most deadly peacetime maritime disasters in history. The high casualty rate was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard. The ship had a total lifeboat capacity of 1,178 people even though her maximum capacity was 3,547 people. A disproportionate number of men died also, due to the woman-and-children-first protocol that was followed. The Titanic used some of the most advanced technology available at the time and was, after the sinking, popularly believed to have been described as “unsinkable”. It was a great shock to many that, despite the extensive safety features and experienced crew, the Titanic sank. The frenzy on the part of the media about Titanic's famous victims, the legends about the sinking, the resulting changes to maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck have contributed to the interest in and fame of the Titanic that continues to this day.

Fuel consumption at maximum power is 0.278 lbs per hp per hour (Brake Specific Fuel Consumption). Fuel consumption at maximum economy is 0.260 lbs/hp/hour. At maximum economy the engine exceeds 50% thermal efficiency. That is, more than 50% of the energy in the fuel in converted to motion. For comparison, most automotive and small aircraft engines have BSFC figures in the 0.40-0.60 lbs/hp/hr range and 25-30% thermal efficiency range. Even at its most efficient power setting, the big 14 consumes 1,660 gallons of heavy fuel oil per hour.

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) is the eighth Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy, named after the 33rd President of the United States.

Construction: The keel was laid by Newport News Shipbuilding on the 29th  of November 1993 and the ship was christened on the 7th of September 1996. HST was authorized and laid down as USS United States but her name was changed after the keel laying. Three Newport News shipworkers died during construction when a pump room filled with methane and hydrogen sulphide gases during a sewage leak on Saturday, 12 July 1997. They are commemorated by a brass plaque in the tunnel off Hangar Bay number 1. The official launching of the ship was on 13 September 1996. The crew moved aboard ship from contract housing in Newport News in January 1998. The ship successfully completed builder's trials on the 11th of June 1998 and acceptance sea trials on the 25th of June 1998 before being commissioned on the 25^th of July 1998. The builder's trials and sea trials were delayed from the initial scheduling dates in May 1998 due to noise issues in one of the reactor closure heads during hydrostatic testing. Two brass plaques in the entrances to the Reactor Rooms list all personnel on watch in the Reactor Room and Main Machinery Room (MMR) when number 1 and number 2 reactors first became "critical". One of the crew members is incorrectly listed as MM2 Pres Ilog, when that member was an MM3 for more than two years after that date.

USS Enterprise (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth U.S. naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of WWII fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E." At 1,123 ft (342 m), she is the longest naval vessel in the world, though her 93,500 tons displacement places her as the second heaviest supercarrier, surpassed only by the Nimitz-class. Enterprise is a single class ship and is currently the oldest active vessel still in commission under the US Navy, excluding the ceremonial commission of USS Constitution. As the oldest carrier in the fleet, she is currently scheduled for decommissioning some time in 2014-2015 depending on the life of her current reactors and when the construction of her replacement, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is completed. Efforts for an earlier retirement in 2012-2013 is under consideration but has to be approved by Congress. At earliest possible date, Enterprise would retire with just over 50 years of continuous service, serving as the longest of any aircraft carrier in the history of the United States Navy. Enterprise is currently homeported at Norfolk, Virginia.

Harry S. Truman and Enterprise (second photo)

Double-decker buses are in common use throughout the UK and have traditionally been favoured over articulated-buses by many operators, though this primarily down to the shorter length of double-deckers and less need to have standing capacity. The majority of double decker buses in the UK are between 9.5 and 11.0 metres long, the latter being more common since the mid-1990s though there are 3-axle 12.0 metre models in service with some operators. Double-decker coaches in the UK have traditionally been 12.0 metres in length, though many newer models are about 13.75 metres. The maximum permissible length of a rigid double-decker bus and coach in the UK is 15.0 metres, and although there are no theoretical restrictions on height, coaches are normally built to 4.0 metres high while 'highbridge' buses are normally about 20 centimetres taller. Articulated double-deckers are also allowed at a maximum length of 18.75 metres. Double-deckers have become a symbolic image of the country in particular the use of the red double decker buses in London. A particularly iconic example was the Routemaster bus, which had been a staple of the public transport network in London for nearly half a century following its introduction in 1956. Because of cited difficulties accommodating disabled passengers, the last remaining examples in use finally retired in 2005, although Transport for London has established two "heritage routes", which will continue using Routemasters.

Abramovich to Complete World's Largest Yacht. Posted on the 13th of April 2009

It seems that despite a disastrous economy in which he lost a reported $20 billion, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich is pressing on with plans for the Eclipse, the $355 million megayacht which will be the world's biggest upon completion next year. The 555-ft. ship, which includes a military-grade missile defense system, armour plating and bullet-proof windows, will literally eclipse the recently-debuted $350 million, 531-ft. Dubai owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai. There has been much speculation over whether Abramovich would shelve the Eclipse and / or sell off some of his other superyachts such as the 377-ft. Pelorus, but the Moscow Times reports he plans to keep them all. In fact, Abramovich is said to have already purchased a berth for the Eclipse at Porto Montenegro, the new megayacht marina under construction in the former communist country being billed as "the Monaco of the Balkans" .

World's Largest Yacht: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai, has finally unveiled the largest yacht in the world. Formerly known as Project Panhandle / Golden Star, the 531-ft. Dubai (was originally commissioned by Prince Jefri of Brunei. Al-Maktoum purchased the partly-constructed behemoth in 2006, and had it transported from Blohm & Voss in Hamburg to the the newly formed Platinum Yachts shipyard in Dubai for completion (renamed then Project Platinum), at a total cost of about $350 million. With eight decks, the Dubai can accommodate 115 people including a crew of 88. In addition to the swimming pool, Jacuzzis, helipad and multiple dining areas, saloons, guest and VIP suites, the yacht features two owner's suites on the sixth and seventh decks and two heli-observations rooms on the seventh and eighth decks, Superyacht Times reports. The interior is garish in the extreme, a floating Las Vegas casino by way of the UAE. She has a maximum speed of 26 knots and a cruising speed of 25 knots with a range of 8,500 nautical miles. The Dubai may not hold its world's largest yacht title for long, however; as we reported back in October, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich commissioned an even larger yacht, the $355 million, 555-ft.

Eclipse and Dubai

The Maltese Falcon is a clipper sailing luxury yacht owned by American venture capitalist Tom Perkins. It is one of the largest privately-owned sailing yachts in the world at 88 metres (290 feet). She was built after the Dynaship or Dyna-Rigg concept, a 1960 invention of the German engineer Wilhelm Prolss which was intended to operate commercial freight sailing ships with as few crew as possible. The ship has fifteen square sails (five per mast), stored inside the mast; they can fully unfurl into tracks along the yards in six minutes. The three carbon fibre masts, which are free-standing and able to rotate, were manufactured and assembled by a company financed by Perkins at the Perini Navi Istanbul "Yildiz Gemi" (literally: Star Ship) yard in Tuzla, 50 miles east of Istanbul, under the supervision of the English company Insensys and Dutch company Gerard Dijkstra & Partners. Other design was provided by Ken Freivokh Design. The Falcon was the third yacht built by Perini for Perkins. The yacht is easily controlled and has been seen to sail off her anchor and away from berths within harbors. The yacht's sophisticated computer detects parameters such as wind speed automatically and displays key data. An operator must always activate the controls, yet it is possible for a single person to pilot the yacht. In a radio interview for the BBC World Service's Global Business programme broadcast in December 2007, Perkins revealed that he personally wrote some of the yacht's unique control software. The Falcon has two 1,800 horse-power Deutz engines running at 1,800 rpm with a top speed of 20 kn (23 mph; 37 km/h) with minimal wave-making and virtually no vibration or noise and with a smooth and non-turbulent wake. The yacht has a permanent crew of 18 to maintain the technical aspects including the rig and to operate the onboard "hotel", which can accommodate twelve guests plus four guest staff. The boat also includes an onboard gourmet chef, stewards and stewardesses. The Falcon was registered in Valletta, Malta in 2006. She completed her trial sail in the Sea of Marmura to the Bosphorus strait on the 12th of June 2006, and made her maiden voyage from Turkey to Italy via Malta in July 2006. Since that time, Perkins has been renting out The Falcon for between € 325,000 to 335,000 per week plus expenses. Lusso Magazine ran a cover feature on The Maltese Falcon in their January 2008 edition, where they reported that yacht brokers Edmiston and Company were the first to set up a charter – for "a piffling €350,000 per week. This price includes a crew of 16, but you still have to pay for food and wine". In a 60 Minutes profile on the 4th of November 2007, Perkins suggested the yacht cost more than $150 million but less than $300 million, but refused to be more specific.

Eos is a three masted Bermuda rigged schooner sailing luxury yacht, currently owned by Barry Diller. It is one of the largest private sailing yachts in the world, its overall length measuring approximately 305 feet (93 m). She was launched in Germany from the Lurssen yard in 2006 after being designed by Bill Langan, with Rondal/Huisman supplying the rig, and the naval architecture being completed by the Lurssen team. The interior was designed by François Catroux. The yacht has been docked in Venice since July 2008. The Eos has been spotted at Raffles Marina, Singapore, as of the 18th of April 2009.

• Length Overall:     (LOA) - 304.86 feet (a significant amount of Eos' overall length comes from her bowsprit)
• Length on Deck:    (LOD): 271 feet (83 m)
• Waterline Length: (LWL): 233 feet (71 m)
• Beam:                    44.29 feet (13.50 m)
• Hull Material:         Aluminium
• Gross Tonnage:     1500
• Engines:                 2 x 2,333 hp (1,740 kW) MTU Diesels
• Propulsion:            Twin Screw
• Max Speed:           16 knots (30 km/h)