⚓ Giants of the Sea
The largest ships ever built — by length, tonnage & capacity (2026)
Length overall (LOA)
Gross tonnage (GT)
Deadweight (DWT)
Container capacity (TEU)
📸 Views & photographs real giants
Ultra-large container ship
MSC Irina class · 24,000+ TEU · image for illustration
Floating city · Icon class
Legend of the Seas · 20 decks · photo reference
Crude oil carrier
ULCC class · Seawise Giant legacy · view
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)
Largest warship · nuclear powered · photo
* Photographic illustrations via Unsplash — representative of each ship type.
📏 Length comparison (meters) — the ultimate size race
*Prelude FLNG is a floating facility, not self-propelled, but often listed in size comparisons.
🏆 Record holders by category 2026
Seawise Giant LONGEST EVER
Length458.45 m
Deadweight564,763 DWT
TypeUltra Large Crude Carrier
Built / Scrapped1979 / 2010
The undisputed length and deadweight record holder of all time. Scrapped in India, but her legacy remains.
MSC Irina LARGEST CONTAINER
Length399.9 m
Capacity24,346 TEU
Beam61.3 m
OperatorMSC
Current champion among ultra-large container vessels, pushing the 24,000 TEU barrier.
Legend of the Seas BIGGEST CRUISE
Length~365 m
Gross tonnage248,660 GT
Passengers (max)7,600
ClassIcon class
The newest floating city by Royal Caribbean, slightly longer than her sisters and packed with 20 decks of attractions.
USS Gerald R. Ford LARGEST WARSHIP
Length333 m
Displacement~100,000 t
Aircraft75+
Propulsion2 nuclear reactors
The most advanced aircraft carrier ever built, capable of 220 sorties per day and housing 4,500 crew.
🛳️ Schematics & silhouettes side view
MSC Irina (Container)
Ultra-large container ship · 24 rows across
Legend of the Seas (Cruise)
Icon-class cruise ship · 20 decks, 7 pools
Seawise Giant — ULCC profile
The longest ship ever built · scrapped in 2010
📄 Full dataset
All record holders in one plain-text file.
⬇ Download ships.txt
All record holders in one plain-text file.
⚙️ How big is big? The Seawise Giant’s length of 458 m is roughly 1.5 times the Eiffel Tower’s height. The container ship MSC Irina can carry over 24,000 standard 20‑ft boxes — enough to fill more than 600,000 refrigerators. Modern cruise giants like Legend of the Seas host nearly 10,000 people (passengers + crew) and feature waterparks larger than many land‑based ones.
Data compiled from Guinness World Records, classification society records, and industry sources (2026).
Data compiled from Guinness World Records, classification society records, and industry sources (2026).