Behold this colossal anchor. It’s the Anchor of Seawise Giant. A true giant among anchors.
This massive anchor isn’t just any old piece of maritime hardware. It’s a relic from the Seawise Giant the largest ship ever built. A Hong Kong tycoon Tung Chao-yung owned it. He even made it bigger.
The Seawise Giant wasn’t just big. It was ridiculously big. Longer than the Empire State Building. It could carry over four million barrels of crude oil. Too big for the Suez Canal the Panama Canal and even the English Channel. Imagine trying to turn that behemoth. Its turning circle was nearly two miles. Stopping it took over three miles.
This incredible ship had a dramatic life. During the Iran-Iraq War Iraqi fighter jets attacked it. They hit it with Exocet missiles. The crew abandoned ship. It sank.
But the story doesn’t end there. A Norwegian company salvaged the Seawise Giant. It took weeks to refloat it. The repairs cost over $100 million. The ship was renamed multiple times. Happy Giant Jahre Viking Knock Nevis and finally Mont.
Its final journey was to India. There it was scrapped. But its legacy lives on. This anchor a testament to the ship’s incredible size and tumultuous history now resides here. A 36-ton piece of history. Twenty links of chain support it. It’s seven meters long 4.45 meters wide and 1.13 meters thick.
A fitting tribute to a ship that defied the odds and survived a war. The Anchor of Seawise Giant a reminder of a nautical legend. A legend that once sailed these waters.