Prairial (supertanker)
Encyclopedia
Prairial was a supertanker, built in 1979 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France...
at Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
for Compagnie Nationale de Navigation. Prairial, which was the fourth and final vessel of Batillus class supertankers
Batillus class supertankers
The Batillus-class supertanker is a class of the biggest ships by gross tonnage ever constructed. At , and 414-metres, the four vessels were built in the Louis Joubert Lock, and launched from the shipyards of Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint Nazaire, France at the end of the 1970s.The only other...
(the other three were Batillus
Batillus
Batillus was a supertanker, built in 1976 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for the French branch of Shell Oil. The first vessel of homonymous Batillus class supertankers...
, Bellamya
Bellamya
The Bellamya was a supertanker, built in 1976 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for the French branch of Shell Oil. It was the second Batillus class supertanker...
and Pierre Guillaumat
Pierre Guillaumat (supertanker)
Pierre Guillaumat was a supertanker, built in 1977 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for Compagnie Nationale de Navigation. Pierre Guillaumat, which was the third vessel of Batillus class supertankers , is distinguished as the biggest ship ever constructed, surpassed in size only by...
). She was the only ship of that class to have a career longer than ten years, sailing until 2003, although under
different names: Sea Brilliance (1985), Hellas Fos (1986) and Sea Giant (1997). She is also distinguished as the third biggest ship ever constructed, surpassed in size only by Seawise Giant (later Jahre Viking, Happy Giant and Knock Nevis) built in 1976 and subsequently lengthened, and her sister ship Pierre Guillaumat.
The vessel
Watercraft
A watercraft is a vessel or craft designed to move across or through water. The name is derived from the term "craft" which was used to describe all types of water going vessels...
was completed and commissioned in 1979. As other ships of Batillus class, she was laid up, arriving at Vestnes
Vestnes
Vestnes is a village and a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway, a 35 minute ferry ride from the town of Molde. Vestnes is part of the Romsdal region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Vestnes...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
on April 5, 1983, but was sold and recommissioned in 1985. She was in service under different names and owners until 2003, when she arrived at Gadani ship-breaking yard in order to be scrapped.
Technical data
Length overall was 414.22 m, beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
63.05 m, draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
28.60 m, deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew...
555,046 (however, if she were loaded to the same freeboard
Freeboard (nautical)
In sailing and boating, freeboardmeans the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship...
as the Seawise Giant, at 233 tons/cm., her deadweight tonnage would have been on the order of 604,000 tonnes,unrivaled in maritime history), and gross tonnage
Gross tonnage
Gross tonnage is a unitless index related to a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage...
274,826. Propulsion was provided by two propellers each driven by two Stal-Laval steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s developing a total power of 65,000 Hp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
. The service speed was 16.7 knots, with fuel consumption of about 330 tonnes of heavy oil per day and fuel enough for 42 days.
The cargo was carried in 40 tanks
Storage tank
A storage tank is a container, usually for holding liquids, sometimes for compressed gases . The term can be used for reservoirs , and for manufactured containers. The usage of the word tank for reservoirs is common or universal in Indian English, American English and moderately common in British...
with a total volume of 677,300 m3. They were divided into central and lateral tanks, whose dimensions was designed to reduce considerably the risk of pollution caused by collision or grounding. Ahead of the international standards of the time, the wing tanks had a maximum unit volume not exceeding 17,000 m3, which was reduced to 9,000 m3 in the most vulnerable parts of ship.
See also
- Batillus class supertankersBatillus class supertankersThe Batillus-class supertanker is a class of the biggest ships by gross tonnage ever constructed. At , and 414-metres, the four vessels were built in the Louis Joubert Lock, and launched from the shipyards of Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint Nazaire, France at the end of the 1970s.The only other...
- BatillusBatillusBatillus was a supertanker, built in 1976 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for the French branch of Shell Oil. The first vessel of homonymous Batillus class supertankers...
- BellamyaBellamyaThe Bellamya was a supertanker, built in 1976 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for the French branch of Shell Oil. It was the second Batillus class supertanker...
- Pierre GuillaumatPierre Guillaumat (supertanker)Pierre Guillaumat was a supertanker, built in 1977 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for Compagnie Nationale de Navigation. Pierre Guillaumat, which was the third vessel of Batillus class supertankers , is distinguished as the biggest ship ever constructed, surpassed in size only by...
- Batillus