Batillus class supertankers
 The oil tanker Batillus at the end of her construction in Saint-Nazaire, being fueled by Port-Vendres |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Batillus class |
| Operators: |  Société Maritime Shell France |
| In service: | 1976 to 2003 |
| In commission: | 1976 to 1979 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Supertanker |
| Tonnage: | 275,268 GT 555,000 DWT 225,473 NT |
| Displacement: | 74,140 long tons light ship 629,191 long tons full load |
| Length: |
LOA: 414.22 m (1,359.0 ft) LBP: 401.10 m (1,315.9 ft) |
| Beam: | 63.01 m (206.7 ft) |
| Draft: | 28.5 m (94 ft) |
| Depth: | 35.92 m (117.8 ft) |
| Installed power: | 64,800 bhp (48.3 MW) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × Stal-Laval steam turbine engines 2 × propellers |
| Speed: | 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Notes: | [1][2] |
The Batillus-class supertanker is a class of the biggest ships by gross tonnage ever constructed. At 555,000 metric tons deadweight (DWT), 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 ship considered larger was the Seawise Giant (ex-Jahre Viking, Happy Giant and Knock Nevis) of 1981, which was originally designed with a smaller tonnage than the Batillus class, but had her length and tonnage increased during construction. If gross tonnage is considered, Batillus and Bellamya, each with a gross tonnage of 275,268 tons, are the largest ever built, exceeding even the Seawise Giant (260,581 gross tons when in service as an oil tanker). When considering fully loaded displacement, the Seawise Giant still holds the record, edging out the Batillus ships. The Batillus class's depth of nearly 36 metres and full load draft of 28.5 metres are records for tankers — slightly more than the two Globtik Tokyo class ULCCs.
Unlike Seawise Giant and most other ULCCs, the Batillus class vessels had twin screws, twin boilers of full size and power, and twin rudders. As a result, in an emergency they could more easily and safely be operated with a single propeller and a single boiler.
[edit] Batillus class sister ships
- Batillus, built in 1976, scrapped in 1985.[3]
- Bellamya, built in 1976, scrapped in 1986.[4]
- Pierre Guillaumat, built in 1977, scrapped in 1983.[5]
- Prairial, built in 1979, renamed Sea Brilliance, renamed Hellas Fos, renamed Sea Giant, scrapped in 2003[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Clarkson Research Studies Ltd. (1987). Tanker Register 1987. International Publication Service. ISBN 0800241436.
- ^ a b Auke Visser (Thursday, 10 June 2010). "Prairial". International Super Tankers. http://www.aukevisser.nl/supertankers/id37.htm. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ Auke Visser (Thursday, 10 June 2010). "Batillus". International Super Tankers. http://www.aukevisser.nl/supertankers/id22.htm. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ Auke Visser (Thursday, 10 June 2010). "Bellamya". International Super Tankers. http://www.aukevisser.nl/supertankers/id42.htm. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ Auke Visser (Thursday, 10 June 2010). "Pierre Guillaumat". International Super Tankers. http://www.aukevisser.nl/supertankers/id38.htm. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
