What is the displacement of a ship?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

What is displacement? In order to get an answer to this question, let's turn to marine concepts.

Terminology

Displacement is the volume of water displaced by a ship. The weight of this liquid is the weight of the vessel. Therefore, displacement is usually measured in units of weight - tons, and not in units of volume - liters and gallons. The weight of a ship is a non-constant value that varies depending on the fuel consumption and cargo load of the ship. Therefore, the displacement of the vessel is divided into "in full load" and launching. Let's consider each of the options. What is the displacement "in full load"? This is the weight of the ship when fully loaded. Launching weight means the weight of the vessel when launched, i.e. without equipment. If you ask what displacement is, then, in simple terms, this is the weight of the vessel.

Displacement measurement

Displacement of ships is measured at the design stage according to a theoretical drawing. How does this happen? Lines are marked along the entire drawing length of the vessel, dividing the hull into 20 equal parts. Then cross-sectional lines and waterline lines are drawn. The Simpson method is then resorted to in the same way as in calculating tonnage, converting the result from cubic feet to tons by dividing by 35 if the ship is intended to sail ins alt water, or 36 for fresh water.

The largest ships in the world

Having figured out what displacement is, let's look at the largest ships in the world. There are many.

The largest oil tanker in the world is the Norwegian-flagged Knock Nevis. With a length of 460 meters, the ship has an amazing displacement - 657 thousand tons. Launched in 1979 by order of the Greek shipowner, the giant ship had a very sad fate. In 1986, at the very beginning of the Iran-Iraq war, Knock Nevis was attacked in the Persian Gulf by a group of Iraqi fighters. In 1988, after the end of the war, the ship was raised and repaired, continuing its service until 2010. After that, the obsolete supertanker was sent for recycling.

The US Navy aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, commissioned on May 31, 2017, is now considered the largest warship. The length of the vessel is 337 meters. Displacement - 99 thousand tons. It is planned to place 90 fighters, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles on the new aircraft carrier. "Gerald Ford" is the lead ship of a series of three aircraft carriers.

And the largest icebreaker in the world is the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika launched on June 16, 2016. The length of the ship is 159 m. The displacement of the nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika is 34,000 tons.