Aranui 5 — cargo/passenger ship
Many cargo ships offer a cabin or two for passengers, you wont have the exuberant luxury as on a cruise ship but yo have a lot more destinations. Aranui 5 is different, its forward part is a cargo ship, the aft is a cruise ship.
Shipyard: Huanghai Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (China)
Year of built: 2015
Length: 126.1 m
Width: 22.2 m
Draft: 5.2 m
Speed: 13.2 knots
Current location: Port of Papeete (Tahiti)
Bottsand — anti-pollution vessel
MS Bottsand is a German special use naval vessel for oil recovery. When travelling to an oil spill it looks like a normal ship, on site it’ll splitt lengthwise and open from the bow. The inside hulls are designed to collect the oil while the vessel is slowly moving forwards. At the aft is a powerful vacuum cleaner sucking up the oil.
Shipyard: C. Lühring (Germany)
Year of built: 1984
Length: 46.4 m
Width: 12 m to about 50 m
Draft: 3.7 m
Speed: 10.3 knots
Current location: Port of Rostock (Germany)
Dockwise Vanguard — heavy lift vessel
On the streets this monster would be called heavy goods transport, on the sea it’s called Dockwise Vanguard. This ship is the world’s largest heavy lift vessel, its purpose is to lift other ships out of the water for transport or repair work. In 2001 a similar vessel transported the largest yacht-to-be (162 m) including it’s own floating dock from Germany to the United Arab Emirates to finish construction.
Shipyard: Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (South Corea)
Year of built: 2013
Length: 275 m
Width: 70 m
Draft: 8 m
Speed: 6.9 knots
Current location: Ulsan (South Corea)
USS M80 Stiletto — stealth ship (prototype)
Stiletto is not only a stealth ship but also a pentamaran—a five hulled vessel. It’s pretty much the same as a catamaran but with three additional hulls. This special form enables the vessel to reach high speeds while keeping a very shallow draft.
Shipyard: not specified
Year of built: not specified
Length: 24 m
Width: 12 m
Draft: 1 m (0.5 meters while underway at top speed)
Speed: 34,8 knots (unofficial sources say 50+ knots)
Current location: underway to Little Creek Naval Base (US East Coast)
Natori — container ship
In fact this is just another container ship. What makes it weird enough for this list is it’s unusual bow. The bridge is located at the front rather than in the middle or aft and it’s shaped in a spherical way. This should be a lot more streamlined than conventional vessels. The more containers it carries the more efficient is the unusual form.
Shipyard: Kyokuyo Shipyard Corp. (Japan)
Year of built: 2015
Length: 136.3 m
Width: 21 m
Draft: 4.7 m
Speed: 17.3 knots
Current location: underway to Yokohama (Japan)
OSG Vision — towing vessel
OSG Vision is one of many similar vessel for towing/pushing barges along the US coastal waters. It’s towering bridge provides excellent views over the barge it may push. When you see it in action pushing freight you wont notice there are actually two vessels moving—the barge and the tug.
Shipyard: Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co. Inc. (US)
Year of built: 2010
Length: 46.7 m
Width: 15.5 m
Draft: 7.9 m
Speed: 10.1 knots
Current location: Port of Philadelphia (US)
Ramform Titan — seismic research ship
According to flow channel research this hull form is one of the most efficient hulls ever. Despite its efficiency this form offers a pretty stable platform for all kinds of research instruments. Titan offers lots of aft area to tow seismic sensors to examine oil and gas deposits.
Shipyard: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (Japan)
Year of built: 2013
Length: 104.2 m
Width: 70 m
Draft: 7 m
Speed: 11.5 knots
Current location: underway (Gulf of Guinea, Ghana)
RP FLIP — research vessel
The vessels name is an abreveation for Research Platform – FLoating Instrument Platform. It was built after the former platform—a navy submarine— was adjudged unsuited. FLIP consits of two parts, a large tank and the living and research section. When the water tank is flooded the ships ‘stands up’, reaching 300 ft down.
Shipyard: Gunderson Brothers Engineering Corporation (US)
Year of built: 1962
Length: 124 m
Width: 7 m
Draft: 3.8 m to 90 m
Speed: no engines, needs tug to move
Current location: Port of San Diego (US)
Sailing Yacht A — private yacht
Some say Sailing Yacht A is the largest sailing yacht in the world, according to it’s registration it isn’t—she’s officially a sail assisted motor yacht, making it the 8th largest yacht ever built. The Russian owner used to have a motor yacht styled in a similar way with the same name “A” which is currently for sale. Original buidling costs: $320 million dollar.
Shipyard: Nobiskrug GmbH (Germany)
Year of built: 2015
Length: 142.8 m
Width: 25 m
Draft: 7.9 m
Speed: 11.6 knots
Current location: Port of Cartagena (Spain)
USS Zumwalt – US Navy vessel
Speaking of the motor yacht A, USS Zumwalt looks very similar. It’s the first of the Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers of the US Navy. Astonishingly the radar signal other ships will receive will indicate a small fishing vessel rather than the most modern naval destroyer due to it’s shape. Despite its recent build and modern technology, the vessel suffered engine failure in Panama Canal in November 2016.
Shipyard: not specified
Year of built: 2014
Length: 182.9 m
Width: 24.6 m
Draft: 8.4 m
Speed: 30+ knots
Current location: not specified
Venus — private yacht
This might be the most common vessel in this list. Commissioned by the late Steve Jobs and owned by his family the decks looks a little bit like stacked I-Pads. The unique exterior is instantly recognizable where ever this yacht will be.
Shipyard: Feadship Shipyards (Netherland)
Year of built: 2012
Length: 78.2 m
Width: 11.8 m
Draft: 3.5 m
Speed: 17.4 knots
Current location: Panama Canal (Panama)
You’ll find even more weird ships in the video below. Enjoy some of the strangest and most unusual ships in the world.
