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''Batillus'' was a supertanker, built in 1976 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for the French branch of Shell Oil. The first vessel of homonymous Batillus class supertankers. ''Batillus'', together with her sister ships ''Bellamya, Pierre Guillaumat'' and ''Prairial'', was one of the biggest ships in the world, surpassed in size only by ''Seawise Giant''〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.aukevisser.nl/supertankers/id23.htm )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.aukevisser.nl/supertankers/id132.htm )〕 (later ''Jahre Viking, Happy Giant'' and ''Knock Nevis'') built in 1976, and extended in 1981, although the four ships of the Batillus class had a larger gross tonnage. == History == The contract to build the Batillus class supertankers was signed on April 6, 1971, and the first sheet metal was cut in January 1975. Meanwhile, the oil shock caused by the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, resulted in higher oil prices and reduction of imports from industrialized countries. The cancellation of the order had been seriously considered, but Shell concluded that it was better to continue, mostly to not put the shipyard in very difficult position with withdrawal of such a huge, already initiated project, (the work commitments were already well advanced, with extremely heavy cancellation charges) hoping also on better times in future. The ship was completed and put in service in 1976, simultaneously with new, purposely built, oil terminal Antifer, near Le Havre, one of very few ports in the world capable of accommodating Batillus class tankers. She made a total of 25 voyages between the Persian Gulf and northern Europe, and one-off sail between the Persian Gulf and Curaçao in June-July 1977, a total of 20 dockings to Antifer. In the Gulf, oil terminals that served were Mina al Fahal (Oman), Halul island (Qatar), Kharg Island (Iran), Ras Tanura, Ras al-Ju'aymah (Saudi Arabia), Mina Al-Ahmadi and Sea Island (Kuwait). In Europe, the only other port of call was Europoort, Rotterdam, but there were also transloadings at sea to smaller units in England and Irish Sea. The international oil market, however, did not improve, and while from 1977 to 1980, the ''Batillus'' performed four to five regular trips per year, she had a bit more than two trips in 1981 and three in 1982. From early November 1982, she was in permanent waiting for cargo at the Gulf entrance, until June 1983 when last oil shipment was embarked. From August 22, 1983 to November 8, 1985 ''Batillus'' was moored at Vestnes, Norway.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/84784/size-restricts-vessels039-employment )〕 On October 17, 1985, Royal Dutch Shell decided to sell the ship for scrap, for less than $8 million. Her last voyage was from Vestnes to Kaoshiung (Taiwan) where she arrived on December 28, 1985. to be scrapped. The first commandant of the Batillus was Roger Priser. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Batillus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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