10 Major Launches of The Maritime Industry in 2013

In the year 2013, the maritime industry witnessed some of the major launches which crossed milestones and created history. It was an year of breaking records and creating benchmarks in the field of shipbuilding and design. The year marked the launching of not only the biggest container ship in the world but also the hull of the largest floating structure, along with several other interesting and important launching events which are worth mentioning.

As the year comes to an end, we look back at some of the major ships and marine vessels which created news in this year.

1. Maersk Triple E Vessels – Biggest Container Ships in the World

The world’s largest container ship Maersk’s Triple E Vessels – Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller was delivered in the month of July this year. The most awaited ship of the year, the Triple-e vessel has a length of 400 meters and capacity of 18,000 TEU. A total of 20 such vessels, which have been planned by Maersk, are currently being built at the DSME shipyard in Okpo, South Korea, and will be delivered to Maersk Line over the next two years. The “E” in the class name refers to the most important design characteristics of these ships: Economy of scale, Energy efficiency and Environmentally improved performance. The 20 Triple-E vessels will operate in a loop on the world’s busiest trade lane, carrying cargo between eight ports in Asia and six in Europe. Checkout exclusive pictures of Maersk Triple E Vessels.

2. Shell Prelude – Largest Floating Structure in the World

In December 2013, the 488 meter long hull of Shell’s Prelude floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility was floated out of the dry dock at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) yard in Geoje, South Korea, where the facility is currently under construction. Once complete, Prelude FLNG will be the largest floating facility ever built. The facility will unlock new energy resources offshore and produce approximately 3.6 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per annum to meet growing demand. Watch the video of the launch here.

3. India’s Aircraft Carrier Vikramaditya

The Indian Navy got the long awaited INS Vikramaditya Aircraft Carrier from Russia in November 2013. The $2.3 billion and 44500 tonne warship was commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Sevmash Shipyard in the northern Arctic port at a handing over ceremony. INS Vikramaditya is a Kiev class aircraft carrier which was commissioned by Russian Navy in 1987 under the name Baku. It was later renamed as Admiral Gorshkov and last sailed in 1995 in Russia, before being offered to India.

4. Shell’s First 100% LNG Powered Barge

In March 2013, Shell launched the first 100% LNG powered tank barge at a Christening ceremony attended by Shell CEO Peter Voser at Peters Shipyards in The Netherlands. The LNG powered barge, Greenstream, has been built and designed at Peters Shipyards in The Netherlands and will be managed by the Dutch based Interstream Barging (ISB). This is the first of two new LNG powered barges to be chartered by Shell. Watch the video of the maiden voyage of the barge here.

5. FSRU Toscana – World’s First Floating Gas Plant

The the very first floating ‘gas plant’ in the world, the FSRU Toscana, was delivered in August 2013. The Toscana, a one of a kind unit, was towed from Dubai via Malta where final equipment was installed. The Toscana is a so called floating, storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) which is now moored 12 miles offshore Livorno and will be used as a terminal and export point for liquefied natural gas (lng). The unit is the converted 2004 build 288 meters long lng tanker Golar Frost. When fully operational the unit has a re-gasification capacity of 3.75 billion cubic meters a year (11 million cubic meters a day) and a storage capacity of 137,500 cubic meters of lng.

6. U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Stealth Destroyer USS Zumwalt

U.S. Navy launched the first Zumwalt class destroyer in October 2013 at Bath, Maine shipyard. The ship, the first of three Zumwalt-class destroyers, will provide independent forward presence and deterrence, support special operations forces and operate as part of joint and combined expeditionary forces. The Navy has incorporated many new technologies into the ship’s unique tumblehome hull, including an all-electric integrated power system and an Advanced Gun System, designed to fire rocket-powered, precision projectiles 63-nautical miles. Watch a great video of launch here.

7. The Next Generation IMR Seven Viking – The Ship of the Year

The cutting edge Seven Viking vessel, designed for operations in the harshest environments was unveiled in Stavanger, Norway, by Subsea 7, Eidesvik Offshore and Ulstein in January 2013. The Seven Viking incorporates the X-BOW® hull line design to reduce motion in transit and gives increased stability in the potentially high waves that characterize the North Sea. Despite this enviable stability usually associated with size, this version of the Ulstein SX148 design has been crafted to be compact in stature – measuring only 106.5 metres long and 24.5 metres wide. The dimensions allows the Seven Viking to manoeuvre with ease in confined spaces, such as between platforms, accessing difficult to reach areas. The IMR vessel ‘Seven Viking’ has been nominated as ‘Ship of the Year 2013’ by the maritime magazine ‘Skipsrevyen’.

8. Azzam – The Largest Superyacht in the World

Launched in April 2013 and owned by an undisclosed Middle Eastern billionaire, Azzam is the world’s largest superyacht built by the revered German shipbuilder Lurssen at Bremen. The yacht’s construction is based on the engineering model provided by the Italian ship architectural company, Nauta with technical specifications detailed by reputed maritime engineering expert, Mubarak Saad al-Ahbabi. Azzam replaced Superyacht Eclipse, which was the world’s largest superyacht until the launch of Azzam.

9. Jumbo Kinetic – Biggest Heavy Lift Ship

Jumbo Kinetic, the largest ‘heavy lifter’ in the world was launched in September 2013. It is a prototype which was completed in record time, 21 months, from the start of planning to its launch. The ship was launched at Brodosplit shipyard and will be used to set up very heavy and expensive equipment for offshore oil drillings and transportation of heavy or large size cargo. The Heavy Lift Vessel with 152m length, 27m width and 14.000t dead weight at draft of 8,1m, will be equipped with two engines of 4500 kW at 750 rev/min, which would enable them to develop maximum speed of 17 knots. Watch the video of the launch here.

10. Norwegian Breakaway – The Fifth Largest Cruise Ship

Norwegian Breakaway, cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line and the fifth largest cruise ship in the world, was launched in April 2013. Construction of Norwegian Breakaway began in September 2011 at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and she was delivered to NCL in April 2013.
The cruise ship is 144,017 GT in size, and has capacity for 4,000 passengers, double occupancy. The ship has a total of 1,024 staterooms and 238 suites, designed by Priestmangoode and Tillberg Design. Norwegian Breakaway is home ported at the New York Passenger Ship Terminal in Manhattan and is the largest cruise ship home-ported year-round from New York City.

Some more interesting launches this year:

The Biggest stainless steel chemical tanker built in Asia

Launching of India’s Third Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvette

World’s First LNG Carried Built On Ground Launched

Launching of the World’s Third Biggest Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger

Are we missing anything? Let us know in the comments below.

About Author

Raunek Kantharia is a marine engineer turned maritime writer and entrepreneur. After a brief stint at the sea, he founded Marine Insight in 2010. Apart from managing Marine Insight, he also writes for a number of maritime magazines and websites.