- Batillus class supertankers
The biggest ships by gross tonnage ever constructed were four Batillus class
supertanker s built inFrance at the end of the 1970s, having DWT|555,000|metric|first=yes and a 414 meters length. They were launched from the shipyardChantiers de l'Atlantique atSaint Nazaire . The only larger ship was the "Knock Nevis " (ex "Jahre Viking", "Happy Giant" and "Seawise Giant") of 1981, which was originally designed with a smaller tonnage than the Batillus class, but had its length and tonnage increased during construction. If gross tonnage is considered, the Batillus and Bellamya each had a gross tonnage of 275,276 tons. This is the greatest in history, including the Knock Nevis (260,581 gross tons when in service as an oil tanker).Ships of the Batillus class included:
* "Batillus", built in 1976, scrapped in 1985. [cite web |url = http://supertankers.topcities.com/id22.htm |title = Batillus | author = Auke Visser | work = International Super Tankers]
* "Bellamya", built in 1976, scrapped in 1986. [cite web |url = http://supertankers.topcities.com/id42.htm |title = Bellamya | author = Auke Visser | work = International Super Tankers]
* "Pierre Guillaumat", built in 1977, scrapped in 1983. [cite web |url = http://supertankers.topcities.com/id38.htm |title = Pierre Guillaumat | author = Auke Visser | work = International Super Tankers]
* "Prairial", built in 1979, renamed "Hellas Fos", renamed "Sea Giant", scrapped in 2003 [cite web |url = http://supertankers.topcities.com/id37.htm |title = Prairial | author = Auke Visser | work = International Super Tankers]References
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