The Longest Ship Ever Built Belonged to a Hong Konger

In 1979, Sumitomo Heavy Industries completed the construction of a 418,611-ton ultra-large crude carrier at the shipyards in Oppama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. However, following a disagreement with its Greek owner, who refused to take delivery, the ship remained unnamed.

Fortunately, the shipyard reached a deal with Tung Chao-yun, better known as C.Y. Tung, the founder of Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). The deal included the jumboisation of the ship to increase her total length to 458.45 meters (1,504.10 feet), making it the longest ship ever built—a record it still holds to this day.

The ship was named Seawise Giant, with “seawise” being a pun on the owner’s initials: C.Y. Tung. Incidentally, C.Y. Tung was also the owner of Seawise University, formerly known as RMS Queen Elizabeth, which was the longest passenger ship from 1942 to 1972.

Unfortunately, on May 14, 1988, Seawise Giant was hit by an airstrike during the Iran-Iraq War while carrying crude oil, which caught fire. Although the ship did not sink, she was declared a constructive total loss. Eventually, in 2010, after being sold to various Norwegian firms, Seawise Giant, renamed the Jahre Viking, was scrapped.

Its 36-ton anchor was subsequently donated to the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.