Pierre Guillaumat (supertanker)

Pierre Guillaumat was a supertanker built in 1977 by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at Saint-Nazaire for Compagnie Nationale de Navigation. It was the third vessel of the Batillus-class supertanker and distinguished for being the biggest ship ever constructed (by gross register tonnage). It was surpassed in length, deadweight tonnage and displacement only by Seawise Giant, which, though it was originally smaller when it was built in 1976, was subsequently lengthened and enlarged.

It was named after the French politician and founder of Elf Aquitaine oil industry, Pierre Guillaumat, and was completed in 1977. However, the poor state of the tanker market, accentuated by the huge dimensions of the ship that restricted where it could be employed, meant that Pierre Guillaumat was unprofitable for most of its career and the vessel was laid up at Fujairah anchorage on 2 February 1983. Later that year, it was bought by the Hyundai Corporation and renamed Ulsan Master, she arrived at Ulsan, South Korea for demolition on 19 October 1983.

Its gigantic proportions left Pierre Guillaumat with very limited employment opportunities. The vessel could not pass through the Panama Canal, and its draft meant it was only able to enter a small number of ports. It was therefore often moored at offshore rigs and oil terminals such as Antifer and, after lightering to reduce her draft, at Europoort.