Oh, you should know the Blue Marlin!

Big Ships too!

Blue Marlin lifting an oil platform

 Cargo ships play a huge role in international trade and albeit slow, they are one of the best ways to get something to the other side of the globe. But what happens when you need to ship a ship? That’s when the MV Blue
Marlin comes in. And it’s more than just ships on its CV – it has also carried gigantic oil rigs (like BP’s Thunder Horse PDQ) whose construction and transportation, i saw on TV Myself!
The Blue Marlin is a 217m semi-submersible heavy lift ship that has a deadweight of 56,000 metric tons. The engine has an output of 12,640 kW which is definitely needed when you see the things it has carried.
Semi submerging ships are often called ”flo/flo” for float-on/float-off ships. They have a low and long well deck that allows floating vessels and rigs to be picked up out of the water once the Blue Marlin has submerged itself underneath. The tanks are then pumped out and the ship rises, collecting its cargo ready for transportation.
The Blue Marlin along with its sister ship the Black Marlin were owned by Offshore Heavy Transport of Oslo, Norway, during construction in 1999 through to 2001 when they were sold to Dockwise Shipping of the Netherlands. The company is currently building another heavy weight named the Vanguard that will have 50% greater lifting capacity (110 000 tons) and 70% greater deck area than the Blue Marlin.
But until the Vanguard comes to flaunt its muscle, be prepared to be blown away by the capability of the Blue Marlin.
Oil platforms are no big deal: it has being used to ship the most expensive oil rig in the world- belonging to Statoil, which was constructed in Europe and shipped to the Antarctica for about 14 days!