Compare ships
Choose two or three vessels and compare dimensions, capacity, purpose and propulsion.
Build a comparison →Giants of the sea.
Ranked. Measured. Explored.
230 vessels, from historic supertankers to today’s container and cruise ships.
What is the largest ship ever built?
By length among self-propelled ships, Seawise Giant holds the historical record at 458.45 metres. It was scrapped in 2010. Read the sourced answer ↗
Container ships153Cruise ships64Tankers7Construction vessels1Bulk carriers2Historic liners2Floating LNG facilities1
A world of maritime giants
230 published profiles · 23 vessels on the AIS watchlistHistoric and shipyard pins indicate approximate areas, not exact berths or navigable routes. Current-vessel pins, when available, show timestamped AIS reports. A missing report does not establish a vessel’s location.
Explore beyond the rankings
All tools & ship stories →See their scale
Put a vessel’s length beside a sprint straight, an example pitch or the height of the Eiffel Tower.
Open the size explorer →Follow the records
Trace historical milestones in length, gross tonnage and cargo capacity without mixing their units.
Read the record timeline →Check received positions
See report ages, verified AIS identities and coverage gaps across the fleet.
Open vessel tracking →THE HISTORICAL RECORD HOLDER
Seawise Giant
Why it was built. Where it went. What became of it.
Explore the vessel →
FROM FIRST PLATE
Where ships are built
The shipbuilding centers behind the world’s biggest hulls, from Japan to South Korea and China.
Visit the shipyards →TO FINAL VOYAGE
Where ships are scrapped
The places where ships are dismantled, materials recovered and maritime careers end.
Explore ship recycling →FROM THE SHIPYARDS
Shipbuilding news
Construction milestones and vessel deliveries, with dates and original sources.
Read the news →BEHIND THE STEEL
The shipbuilding blog
How ships are assembled, how propulsion works, and the yards behind the cruise fleet.
Explore the stories →Map locations & sources
- Yokosuka, Japan · Construction · Historical evidence
- Larak Island, Iran · 1988 · Historical evidence
- Singapore · Repairs before return to service · Historical evidence
- Antifer, France · 1995 · Historical evidence
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates · 2004 conversion · Historical evidence
- Al Shaheen field, Qatar · 2004–2009 · Historical evidence
- Alang, India · Final voyage and dismantling · Historical evidence
- Alang, India · Guinness World Records
- Aliağa, Turkey (Türkiye) · İzmir Development Agency
- Ancona, Italy · Fincantieri
- Chattogram / Chittagong, Bangladesh · International Maritime Organization
- Gadani, Pakistan · International Maritime Organization
- Marghera / Venice, Italy · Fincantieri
- Monfalcone, Italy · Fincantieri
- Papenburg, Germany · Meyer Werft
- Saint-Nazaire, France · Chantiers de l’Atlantique
- Sestri Ponente / Genoa, Italy · Fincantieri
- Shanghai, China · China State Shipbuilding Corporation
- Turku, Finland · Meyer Turku
- Ulsan, South Korea · HD Hyundai Heavy Industries
- Yokosuka / Oppama, Japan · Sumitomo Heavy Industries
The collection is growing. Current-position markers will appear only for published, tracked vessels with received AIS reports. Illustration: Shipsprofiler, CC BY-SA 3.0, resized and converted to WebP.
