LAST month we witnessed the opening of the world’s tallest building. Two days after it was completed, the world’s largest ship was beached at Alang in India, ready for scrapping.
The Burj Dubai in, you guessed it, Dubai, is 828m tall, has 162 floors and took 5 years to build. Built in 1979, the “Knock Nevis”, formerly known as the “Seawise Giant”, “Happy Giant”, and “Jahre Viking”, was 458m long and could carry 565,000 tons of oil.
To put both into context, the Swiss Re gherkin in London is 180m, the Eiffel Tower is 319m, the Empire State Building is 381m tall and the Petronas Twin Towers are 452m tall.
The Burj Dubai was opened amid a firework display that probably cost as much as a banker’s bonus. Blimey, it even rivaled the fireworks at Clarksons’ Posidonia party!
RIP the world’s longest ship.
