Fun Toosh: Ships

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The SS Ayrfield is one of many decommissioned ships in the Homebush Bay, just west of Sydney, but what separates it from the other stranded vessels is the incredible foliage that adorns the rusted hull. The beautiful spectacle, also referred to as The Floating Forest, adds a bit of life to the area, which happens to be a sort of ship graveyard.

Originally launched as the SS Corrimal, the massive 1,140-tonne steel beast was built in 1911 in the UK and registered in Sydney in 1912 as a steam collier which was later used to transport supplies to American troops stationed in the Pacific region during World War II. The ship went on to serve as a collier between Newcastle and Miller's terminal in Blackwattle Bay.

Eventually, in 1972, the SS Ayrfield was retired and sent to Homebush Bay which served as a ship-breaking yard. While many ships were taken apart, about four metallic bodies of vessels that are over 75 years old currently float in the bay, though none are enveloped by nature quite like the Ayrfield. The ship continues to attract visitors to its majestic presence, rich with mangrove trees.

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Ship Knok Nuis is the largest super-tanker in the world. It has a capacity of 565,000 tons and it is 1,502 feet long. However, there was a desire to increase the load of the ship and make it a symbol of sea transportation as well as the largest ship ever built. So it was renovated. When it first appeared outside the shipyard, we could clearly see that its capacity increased by 87,000 tons and that its name was changed to Jahre Viking. However, this boat is extremely difficult to steer since it can enter only in a few ports in the world. It cannot pass through the Suez and Panama Canals. It was anchored in the Persian Gulf and it serves as a storage tank for crude oil. Current capacity is a whopping 647,955 tons or 4.1 million barrels of oil. To get the idea how big it is, we can say that one delivery of that tanker can keep the entire world economy running on fuel for two whole days! That's why many super-tankers are used in the world, but at the same time they are a huge risk to the environment.