The world's biggest ships 2024

The ship is one of the largest transports in the world, along with airplanes. But as we are in Nautical Channel, we want to highlight in this article the ships, since they are the transports that go at water level, sailing the seas and oceans. 

Within the ships, we have several types. It is not the same in terms of capacities and size of sailing ships, cargo ships or cruisers. That is why we will now classify the classificares by type. 

Cargo ships 

Let's start by explaining what we mean when we call a cargo ship. In this case, it is a ship that is used to transport all kinds of goods from one point to another.   

According to the IMO (International Maritime Organization), maritime transport moves 90% of world trade, so we are very used to seeing this type of vessel on our seas. 

They can transport all kinds of goods, from different samples of products such as clothes or toys, to minerals, coal or oil... and depending on the materials transported, they receive one name or another, container ship, Ro Ro vessel, bulk carrier, oil tanker...  

We include them all in cargo ships as among the largest ships in the world. 

1. Evergreen Ever a lot 

It is the largest cargo ship in the world and was the first to exceed 24,000 TEUs (standard size containers) capacity. It is a container ship of the Chinese shipyard group CSSC. Its approximate dimensions are 400 m in length and 61.50 m in beam.  

It was built in 2022. Its length is very large and we can compare it to the dimensions of three or four soccer fields. 

2. HMM Algeciras and HMM Oslo 

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) is the shipowner of the world's largest container ship, the Algeciras was built in September 2019 and the Oslo in 2020. After the Evergreen the Algeciras is in the largest, with a capacity of 23,964 TEUs, specifically it is positioned second only by a difference of 28 containers. 

Like the previous one, it is about 400 meters long and 61 meters wide. Its keel can be submerged more than thirteen meters below the surface. It is the first of the Megamax 24 class.  

The HMM Oslo is the sister ship and has practically the same dimensions and a capacity of 23,820 TEUs. 

3. MSC Gülsün and MSC Mina 

MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) is a well known cargo ship company that wants to conquer the main commercial maritime routes. In addition, it has not only cargo ships but also cruise ships, which we will talk about later. 

The MSC Mina is considered one of the largest ships in the world and was manufactured in 2019 and at the time of its presentation (in early 2020) it was the largest container ship in the world, it was at the time the first to exceed 23,000 TEUs, since it has a capacity of 23,756. In addition, this ship is ready to transport any type of refrigerated food or medicine since it has almost 2,000 refrigerated containers. 

From the same company we have other of the largest vessels such as the MSC Gülsun with a capacity of 22,960 TEUs, which was at the time the largest, months later surpassed by her brother the Mina. The difference between the two is the decks. The MSC Mina has 13 decks while the Gülsun has 12. 

Sailboats 

Sailboats are those vessels in which its circulation is through wind propulsion. In Nautical Channel sailboats are a big part of our interest and content and we have on our website several articles on this subject.  

Next, top 3 of the biggest sailboats in the world. 

1. Sailing yacht “A” 

In this case, we could say that it is a hybrid between yacht and sailboat. It is a motor yacht assisted by sail, composed of three large masts that have a height of up to 91 meters.  

We could say, without any doubt, that it is the largest sailing yacht in the world with 142.81m in length. It has a beam of 24.88 meters, and weighs 12,558 tons. It is composed of 8 decks and has all kinds of luxuries and comforts that can be enjoyed by up to sixty passengers.

She is worth approximately 425 million euros and can reach a maximum speed of 21 knots. 

Sea Cloud II 

One of the largest sailing passenger vessels in the world, specifically, is number two. Despite being a sailing ship that is more than 20 years old, it still holds the second place due to its 117 meters in length and 16m beam, composed of 3 masts and 23 sails.  

As one of the largest ships in the world, it has a capacity for more than 95 passengers, can reach a maximum speed of 14 knots and has a range of 10,000 nautical miles.

Valued at 100 million euros, it is currently available for charter in its entirety or to rent some of its cabins (around 5,000 euros) when the crossings from one country to another begin. 

Velero EOS   

The sailing yacht EOS is another of the private yachts/sailing yachts on our list. This vessel built by the Lurssen shipyard (yacht specialists) in Germany at the request of multi-millionaire Barry Diller. It took approximately three years to build and cost $150 million.  

It is 93 meters long and has a beam of 13.5 meters. Its masts have a height of 60 meters.

It is a yacht with a capacity of up to 30 passengers between crew and guests. 

Cruises 

We call cruises to that type of passenger ship used for recreational trips. They are pleasant voyages on luxurious vessels. This type of ships is one of the largest along with cargo ships. The 3 largest cruise ships in the world are: 

Wonder of the seas 

Royal Caribbean cruise ship, a company that owns the largest cruise ships in the world. The Royal Caribbean is currently the largest manufactured and in circulation.  

It has a capacity of 362 meters long and 65 meters wide. It can reach a speed of 22 knots and can accommodate almost 7,000 guests in 2,867 cabins and up to 2,300 crew members. It has a host of services and luxuries at the height of very few, theme parks, slides, swimming pools, theaters, bars, restaurants .... 

If we were to make a top 3 of the largest cruise ships in the world without taking into account their ownership, all of them would belong to Royal Caribbean, since it currently owns the 4 largest. Wonder of the seas, Harmony of the seas, Oasis of the seas and Allure of the seas.   

But this does not end here, it currently has another cruise ship under construction that is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

This cruise ship will be called Icon of the Seas and will dethrone the "Wonder of the seas" as the largest cruise ship in the world. The Icon of the seas will be 365m long. 

Queen Mary 2 

The RMS Queen Mary 2 is one of the largest ships in the world known to all, as it is the predecessor of the Queen Mary, a ship full of history; from its aid and transport in World War II to its sinking. 

The Queen Mary 2 has a length of 345 meters, this measurement made it for several years the largest in the world (until the intrusion of the Royal Caribbeans). Despite her great length, she does not have the accommodation of other more modern cruise ships. This is due to the fact that the Queen Mary 2 is more of an ocean liner, at the time it was created to transport people, not so much for leisure but for the mere transfer.   

Currently, it combines both services, to cross the Atlantic Ocean (North Atlantic route) and also in its role as a cruise ship. It has a capacity for 3,000 passengers, including passengers and crew, and more than 1,300 cabins.   

As a curiosity we would like to point out, the Queen Mary 2 is the only cruise ship that accepts pets on board. 

MSC World Europa 

It is the most recent MSC cruise ship in circulation, since it began its navigation at the end of 2022. Its measurements are as follows: it has a length of just over 333 meters, a beam of 47 meters and a height of 68 meters. It has a capacity for about 8,000 passengers including crew. It has more than 2,600 cabins. 

It is the first MSC cruise ship to be powered by liquefied natural gas.  

Like most, if not all, cruise ships have all kinds of luxuries, comforts and services: swimming pools, bars, restaurants, stores, gym, discotheque, theaters... 

Yachts 

The yacht, like the cruisers, is a boat, generally a motor boat, dedicated purely to leisure. With the difference that they are usually privately owned and therefore much smaller than a cruise ship that is enjoyed by thousands of people.  

Being basically defined by a pleasure craft, a sailboat or catamaran could also be considered a yacht. We will also add the fact that it is a motor boat. Next we will show the 3 largest yachts in the world. 

1. Azzam 

This yacht is number one due to its 180 meters in length and almost 21m in beam. It is owned by one of the richest men in the world, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahaya, president of the United Arab Emirates.  

This yacht is valued at more than 500 million euros. It can accommodate 36 guests and 80 crew. It has all kinds of luxuries such as a gym, cinema, discotheque? even a heliport!

This yacht can reach almost 32 knots. 

2. Eclipse 

The second most expensive and largest yacht on this list is the eclipse, owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, also owner of the English club Chelsea CF. It measures 170 meters in length, 22 meters in beam and reaches a maximum speed of 25 knots.  

It has a capacity for 100 people distributed in more than 50 cabins, including passengers and crew. Like the azzam, it is worth approximately 500 million euros and has swimming pools, a beach club, a heliport and even an anti-paparazzi system. 

3. Dubai 

Another of the largest yachts in the world belongs to another UAE personality. In this case, this yacht "Dubai" is owned by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai.  

It measures 162 meters in length and 22 meters in beam, powered by 4 engines that will allow it to reach a speed of 26 knots.

It is worth more than 300 million euros. 

As you can see, they are boats of very different styles, but we could assure that all of them are the largest boats in the world.