Largest man-made moving object in the world holds three separate Guinness World Records and was created by billionaire
Published on Feb 11, 2026 at 2:42 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Feb 11, 2026 at 2:42 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
The largest man-made moving object in the world is an ultra-large crude carrier (ULCC), created by a billionaire, which holds multiple Guinness World Records.
Created by a Greek billionaire, the ULCC was in operation from the 1970s to the 2010s, and its conception meant it was the largest man-made moving object ever made.
Built in Japan, the giant ship would sell all over the world and dwarf everything around it when it arrived at port.
Even though it was scrapped many years ago, it’s still a Guinness World Record holder.
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The history of the largest man-made moving object
Work began on what was known as the Oppama in 1979.
Construction took place at the Japanese shipbuilder Sumitomo Heavy Industries.
Oppama is the shipyard in which the ship was built, and it was the vision of Greek billionaire Stavros Niarchos.
A shipping magnate, he held a dream of building a ULCC to add to his current shipping fleet.
However, Niarchos either went bankrupt, refused delivery, or withdrew from the shipping market soon after.
So his giant ship was sold in 1979 to a Hong Kong-based shipping magnate called C.Y. Tung.
Eventually, the ship was launched in 1981, now bearing the name Seawise Giant.
During the latter part of its construction, several more feet were added to the length of the ship.
Pretty soon, the largest man-made moving object in the world would enter commercial service.
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The giant ship soon began racking up world records
From bow to stern, the ship was 1,504ft long.
If placed vertically, it was taller than the Empire State Building, and it was longer than anything in the US Navy’s fleet, too, including its giant aircraft carriers.
It was so big that it took crew members 30 minutes to walk from one end to the other, and soon racked up some impressive Guinness World Records.
These were for the longest ship in the world, and the largest ship by deadweight tonnage.
Eventually, it would become the largest ship ever scrapped.
The ultra-large crude carrier had a wild life, including being sunk during the 1988 Iran-Iraq War.
Remarkably, a Norwegian company salvaged the record-breaking vessel, renaming it the Happy Giant.
After a few more years of service and more changes in name, it was finally retired in 2009.
Now named Knock Nevis, this remarkable vessel was scrapped in India in 2010.
But it still holds those three Guinness World Records. And there’s a good chance nothing will ever take them away.
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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a leading heritage steam railway in England.
