Largest Ships to Sail

7 of the Biggest Ships to Sail the High Seas

From aircraft carriers to tankers, all ridiculously huge.

By Tim Newcomb

The science of density—not to mention surface area—has allowed us humans to enormous craft for centuries. But as the science has become more advanced, the limits of what we can float has only increase, so much so that we can practically build mobile, artificial islands of metal. Here are seven different styles of particularly enormous ships and the largest each style has to offer.

Harmony of the Seas



The Royal Caribbean cruise line just keeps outdoing itself, debuting the Harmony of the Seas in 2016 as the world's largest cruise ship, surpassing the previous record-holder, Allure of the Seas, also a Royal Caribbean ship. With capacity for nearly 9,000 souls, the Harmony of the Seas weighs 226,963 gross tons and stretches 1,188 feet in length, or nearly a quarter of a mile. With seven distinct on-board neighborhoods, expect everything from zip lining to ice skating and 3D movies to pool hopping.

TI Oceania



Based on a calculation of internal volume as opposed to mass, the Tankers International (TI) class of tankers boast the largest ships in the world. With the TI Oceania, TI Europe, TI Africa and TI Asia all similar to one another, the Oceania comes in as the newest, launching in 2002 at 1,246 feet in length and stretching 223 feet wide. As for toting oil around, the Oceania has 440,000 dead-weight tonnage, enough to hold over 3 million barrels of oil in the double hull.

USS Gerald R. Ford



Since the retirement of the USS Enterprise in 2012—the largest warship in the world—the United States has been waiting for the launch of the Gerald R. Ford class (CVN-78) of supercarriers. And while the first in the fleet is constructed, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the ship hasn't launched due to delays in making it war ready. At 1,106 feet in length and 250 feet high, the carrier can hold more than 75 aircraft, travel faster than 30 knots with its four-shaft propulsion engines.

Pioneering Spirit



The Pioneering Spirit comes in as the world's largest construction vessel, designed to help with both the movement and installation of oil and gas platforms. With a displacement of 900,000 tons and gross tonnage of over 400,000, it has a topside lift capacity of 48,000 tons. Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Pioneering Spirit first started working on the seas in August 2016 by lifting 13,500 tons in the Norwegian North Sea.

Irish Ferries Ulysses



At 12 decks high—including six for vehicles decks—and reaching heights of 167 feet from keel to mast, the Irish ferry passenger ship Ulysses is one of the largest passenger ferries in the world. The vessel can carry more than 2,000 passengers and crew, 1,342 cars, and 240 articulated trucks between Dublin and Holyhead. Of course, if you want to pretend you're on a cruise ship and not a ferry, enjoy the two-screen cinema, bars, shops and dining on board.

MSC Oscar



The Mediterranean Shipping Company knows big container shipping. In 2015 the MSC Oscar took over the title as the largest container ship in the world, able to hold over 19,000 20-foot cargo crates within its 1,297 foot long, 194 foot wide form. Powered by an engine 51 feet tall and 82 feet long, Oscar reaches nearly 200,000 in dead-weight tonnage.

Sailing Yacht A



Mega-wealthy Russian Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko must like sailing, and going big. His Sailing Yacht A represents the world's largest sailing superyacht, with a 468-foot-long steel hull, a 300-foot-tall main mast, and even a helipad. At a cost of £260,000 (about $375,000), the sailing yacht, which is also equipped with a motorized propulsion system, can cruise at 18 miles per hour with a top speed of 24 mph.