By STANLEY REED: 12 November 2012
A version of this special report appeared in print on November 13, 2012, in The International Herald Tribune.
THE HAGUE — At a shipyard on a South Korean island called Geoje, an army of welders and metal cutters are beginning to assemble what is by many measures the largest ship ever made.
It will span 488 meters, or about 1,600 feet — about one-third longer than some U.S. aircraft carriers. The vessel, the first of its type, will spend much of its time in one place, over a natural-gas field called Prelude, about 200 kilometers, or 120 miles, off the coast of Australia. The gargantuan craft’s majority owner is Shell. Minority partners include Korea Gas.
