The gas platform that will be the world's biggest 'ship'

[Archean]

Shell has unveiled plans to build the world's first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform. The 600,000-tonne behemoth - the world's biggest "ship" - will be sited off the coast of Australia. But how will it work?

At Samsung Heavy Industries' shipyard on Geoje Island in South Korea, work is about to start on a "ship" that, when finished and fully loaded, will weigh 600,000 tonnes.

That is six times as much as the biggest US aircraft carrier.

By 2017 the vessel should be anchored off the north coast of Australia, where it will be used to harvest natural gas from Shell's Prelude field.

Not bad

 

[captaincranky]

I suppose the irony of calling this thing the, "Titanic", would be beyond the scope of justifying, or repairing the damage, through the use of even the "best" corporate spin doctors.

A major gas leak with something like this, would indeed cause a "titanic" explosion! Australia would probably sink from the blast.

 

[Archean]

Australians has a habit of giving simple names, e.g. The Great Sandy Desert / The Great Barrier Reef etc. So why not call it 'The Great Sea Ship' or something like that?

A major gas leak with something like this, would indeed cause a "titanic" explosion! Australia would probably sink from the blast.

Why do we need to have Australia anyway?

 

[captaincranky]

Why do we need to have Australia anyway?

Because we'd have to do without the Australians quaint but incoherent slang expressions, and there would be no more "Crocodile Dundee" movies.

That notwithstanding, we would still need Australia to plug the hole in the earth where Australia was. Removing an entire incontinent, would have global ramifications, such as the earth tipping over due to balance issues. Ecuador might be the next, "Land of the Midnight Sun"! We might have to develop sunscreen for polar bears. Well, we need that already.

Picture if you will, the earth careening through space, as though it were running on a flat tire. That's why we need Australia! :haha: