Step aboard the Emma Maersk for a glimpse at the adventures of the crew on a two-week, 13,000-kilometre crossing from Malaysia to Spain. At 20 storeys tall, this ship is capable of carrying millions of dollars worth of cargo.
Unlike most cruise ships, the Becrux is a mighty ship made for four-legged passengers. With a capacity of nearly 20,000 cattle or 60,000 sheep, the Becrux is the largest custom-built livestock carrier in the world.
With the ability to ferry 8,000 luxury cars, heavy trucks and tractors from one continent to another, the Faust is the biggest and the newest ocean faring vehicle carrier on the planet.
Climb aboard the CCGS Henry Larsen as she does an ice patrol around the sub-zero waters of the Notre Dame Bay area of Newfoundland and Labrador. Built for the cold, she is capable of the year-round operations in the high Arctic.
The Paul R. Tregurtha is equipped to deal with the harsh weather conditions of North America's inland seas, but her first mission of the shipping season will push the vessel, and her crew, to their limits. Hop aboard the "Queen of the Lakes" as she attempts to deliver a much-needed 55,000-ton coal supply to a generating plant in Michigan. To get there, she must break through a barricade of ice and pass a shallow passage with just two feet of water beneath her keel. If the captain and crew aren't careful, they could find themselves stopped dead cold.
Tyco Resolute has one job: to keep the world wired. She installs and maintains the undersea cables that form the backbone of the Internet, and right now she needs to connect a nation in need of a 21st-century upgrade. Hop aboard as she lays fiber optic cables off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, a mission that's anything but simple. Malfunctioning cables and equipment, pounding surf, and low tides have put Tyco Resolute way behind schedule. If she doesn't pick up the pace, the entire mission will be in jeopardy.
The first ever purpose built vessel for constructing wind turbines, MV Resolution, docks at Belfast, Northern Ireland to collect turbine components before setting sail for the Robin Rigg Wind Farm in the Solway Firth to assist with its construction.
Just off the coast of South Africa, a futuristic remote crawler creeps along the ocean floor. Its high tech nozzle is sucking up seabed gravel that's full of diamonds, and hoovering them up to the mother ship on the surface - MV Peace in Africa - the world's biggest underwater mining vessel.
Shrimp trawler of Royal Greenland fleet, Akamalik, sets sails from Sisimiut to the shrimping grounds of the North Atlantic Ocean as the lives of the crew are put at risk in the freezing winter weather.
She's the biggest, meanest, most lethal weapon in the arsenal of a global power. The USS Nimitz, like the whole US Navy, has to be ready for any mission, anywhere in the world. That's why she undergoes a rigorous - and often dangerous - evaluation before every deployment.
HDMS Absalon, one of the most modern warships in the world, has set sail to stop modern-day pirates off the coast of Somalia.
If there's a muscleman among ships, then its name is Fairplayer. A tour of the Jumbo Fairplayer, the biggest and strongest in a new class of heavy-lift mega ships.
G.O. Sars sets sail from Tromsø, Norway on a research voyage to the Arctic Ocean to examine a sub-sea volcano and hydrothermal vent field,with the aim of discovering new lifeforms.
Africa Mercy is a floating hospital capable of delivering top-notch medical care. You're invited to come aboard on a six-month life and death mission as the ship and her crew bring hope to western Africa, one of the world's poorest regions. For the crew of Africa Mercy, treating the ailing patients will only be half the challenge. In order to reach those who need them, they will have to outsmart faulty technology, outmaneuver South Atlantic squalls, and outwit marauding pirates.
Cristóbal Colón represents a whole new breed of massive construction vessels. She's a hi-tech ocean dredger, twice the size of her closest competitor, and can store over 1.5 million cubic feet of sand on board. Follow this super-sized ship on her first mission: dredging and delivering 88 million cubic feet of sand from the sea floor to a construction site in Germany. It's an assignment no other dredger can handle, but up against a tight deadline and Germany's worst winter in 100 years, this job may even be too big for the biggest dredger ever built.
The USS Kentucky is considered the U.S. Navy fleet's ultimate weapon of mass destruction. One of the biggest submarines ever built, she can launch a devastating nuclear attack on any country in the world. But she was designed to prevent wars, not start them. This sizable but silent 18,000-ton beast carries 24 Trident missiles, each one 80 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Until now, no civilian film crew has ever joined her on a mission. Where she's going is classified, but you're invited to come along for the ride on this top-secret patrol in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The Oasis of the Seas accommodates 5,400 guests, all in lavish luxury. With 21 pools, 24 restaurants, and her own version of Central Park and the Atlantic City Boardwalk, no expense has been spared. But running a massive cruise ship comes with a price, and demands cutting edge technologies to navigate her through the shallow waters of the Caribbean. Grab your first class ticket and witness the inside story of the maiden voyage of the world's greatest cruise ship. It could be the most important voyage she will ever take.
Set sail on Solitaire, the largest pipe-laying ship in the world. Join a crew of 420 mariners and welders as they take on the most challenging job they've ever faced. The crew will lower 7.5 miles of natural gas pipeline into the cold Norwegian Sea, onto a seabed strewn with giant boulders and steep drops. Solitaire was custom-made for the job, but can she deliver against a tight deadline and an impending storm? Be there for the action as her world-class reputation is put to the test.
The super-sized ship MV Beluga Bremen Colon was built to be a heavyweight champion, capable of lifting and transporting the largest machinery in the world. Witness her very first mission: to lift, transfer, and deliver two of the largest autoclaves ever built to a gold mine in the Dominican Republic. Follow the crew on this 12,500-mile journey as they test-drive new technology and fight through rough seas to complete this massive job on time. Billions of dollars are riding on their success. Will the weight of the pressure (and the cargo) prove to be too much?
USNS Peary is a high-tech Mighty Ship, built for 21st-century naval warfare. Her mission: to resupply a fleet of 20 warships patrolling the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden. Peary is considered to be one of the most luxurious military ships on duty, but this is no pleasure cruise. Acting as the supply lifeline to the naval anti-pirate task force, her role is critical to keeping warships operational and marauding pirates at bay. To add to the pressure, her timeline is strict. If she fails to supply one warship on schedule, the entire fleet could be at risk.
Climb aboard the world's most advanced dive support vessel, the Skandi Arctic. On board, a crew of more than 90 life support supervisors will assist saturation divers hired to repair a gas pipeline on the floor of the icy North Sea. To prepare, the divers must live in a pressurized habitat aboard the ship before diving hundreds of feet below the surface in diving bells. For both the divers and the ship's crew, the mission is critical, the environment hostile, the technology space age, and the potential for disaster constant. Can they handle the pressure?
Take a tour of the largest, most luxurious, most technically advanced ferry in the world. Stena Britannica caters to everyone, from truck drivers to business professionals to vacationing families on its 6-hour jaunt across the English Channel. With 530 cabins, three restaurants, a movie theater, even a casino, she's one super-sized ferry sailing a very busy ferry route. The crew must run a tight ship in tight traffic. One mistake on the bridge, in the engine room, or at the terminal could mean super problems.
Loaded with chase boats, high-tech weaponry, and a helicopter gunship, the U.S. Coast Guard ship Cutter Bertholf is America's latest weapon in the war on drugs. Bertholf is the first of eight Legend Class ships built for homeland security. Join her and her crew as they patrol the dangerous waters of the eastern Pacific off the coast of Colombia. Hunting for drugs, weapons, human trafficking and other suspicious activity is one mighty assignment, but this maritime super-cop is fully equipped for the task.
Canadian Coast Guard Ship Amundsen is a state-of-the-art research icebreaker. With 12 world-class labs, a multi-beam echo-sounder to map the ocean floor, and a moon-pool to launch an ROV under the arctic ice, she's a battle tested workhorse. Yet this mission will push her to the brink as she transports 24 scientists on a dangerous expedition into the treacherous Northwest Passage. Out in the cold water, deadly weather, rogue icebergs, and battered equipment threaten to put this mission into deep-freeze.
The Norwegian Epic is a billion-dollar showboat with more than 20 bars and restaurants and pool decks that transform into nightclubs.
The Roll-On/Roll-Off (Ro-Ro) ship North Star is one of the only links between Alaska and the continental U.S., delivering everything from food to building supplies to pickup trucks from Seattle to Anchorage on time - within a short 72-hour window.
Le Boreal is as sleek and nimble as a yacht, with the luxurious appointments and service of a cruise ship. She's also tough - custom-crafted to take on the furious weather and towering waves of the Southern Ocean
The FPSO Maersk Peregrino is the world's biggest oil production ship and is permanently hooked up at the Peregrino oil field.
Umiak I is the world's most powerful ice-breaking carrier, hauling mining equipment from Quebec City to Labrador and returning with nickel concentrate.
The U.S. Navy's newest ship, a guided missile destroyer, goes through testing with its crew in preparation for deployment.
This ship deploys a fall-pipe that reaches the seafloor; rocks are loaded into the pipe and "fall" down to the bottom, hence the term "fall-pipe". The rocks provide foundations and protection for pipelines that are laid on the ocean floor.
She's the "Swiss Army Knife" of the US Navy. Recovery of downed aircraft, towing of sunken vessels, or clearing of debris to reopen a harbor in the wake of a natural disaster, USNS Grasp has done it all.
Consistently voted the world's top cruise ship by Condé Nast, Crystal Serenity features contemporary suites, dining by the likes of Nobu, and even penthouse suites with a full-service butler.
With 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the wreckage of the Twin Towers forming her bow stem, USS New York is a tribute to those who perished on September 11, 2001.
The Northern Eagle can catch and package fish at the same time. She creates more profit because she doesn't waste time and fuel bringing her catch back to shore to be processed.
Built to install the world's most powerful wind turbines, this ship can raise herself 15 meters out of the water to create a stable construction platform in the middle of the sea, with a 600-ton crane ready to reach high into the sky.
For the first time, our crews venture inside a shipyard to follow the construction of the world's newest mega-cruiser from keel-laying to sea trials.
The world's newest mega-cruiser has only 48 hours before she departs on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic, readying for her debut. She was constructed faster than any other cruise ship, but the job's not quite done.
She is the largest sailing yacht in the world, a sleek, five-masted luxury sailing yacht that's large enough to pamper and yet small enough to tuck into tiny harbors and hidden coves where no one else can go.
The Avataq is a lifeline to Canada's near-Arctic communities, carrying everything from food and furniture to mining equipment and explosives to Quebec's inaccessible northern regions.
Ibn Battuta is one of the strongest dredgers of her type. With a powerful spinning cutter head and a pair of heavy-duty cylinders called "spuds," She is capable of breaking up the hardest sub-sea soil. The spuds brace the ship in position while the cutter head's teeth grind away at the sea floor to deepen the Son Duong Port in Vietnam's poorest province.
Other cable laying vessels require a second vessel to transport one end of their cables to shore. Stemat Spirit approaches the shore during high tide, then settles on the sand as the tide recedes. When the tide returns she floats up and sails out to sea, laying her cable as she goes.
Over seven seasons, Mighty Ships has featured 42 of the biggest, most technologically advanced on the planet. This special edition will feature the best of the best: from the world's largest cruise ships to the most powerful warships, from the strongest working ships to smaller, super-specialized vessels.
The world’s most innovative cruise ship sails from New York to the Caribbean on her maiden voyage, facing off against technical glitches and challenging weather.
To transport one of the world's largest oil rigs around the world, Hawk has to sink before she swims. To load, she sinks down in the water, submerging her expansive deck.
This episode follows Happy Star during her second - challenging - voyage from Nansha, China, to Sept Isles, Canada and provides an insight into the ship and its crew.
She is built to haul more cargo faster, using less fuel than any other Laker. On this voyage she transports grain across the world's largest inland waterway.
HDMS Peter Willemoes is a Royal Danish warship built for 21st century combat, equipped with sophisticated detection systems and powerful weapons. But before her crew can take her out to sea, they've got to prove they have what it takes to fight off enemy threats. Enter restricted waters and witness the series of intense battle simulation exercises her sailors must pass in order to join the multinational NATO Response Force. The stakes are high, but fortunately, they have one of the world's most advanced frigates on their side
A large storm hits the drilling rig out on the North Sea.
With a specialized crane system and five propellers to counter heavy seas, North Sea Giant can perform powerful and precise lifts in seas as high as 4.5 metres – four times the capability of other such vessels. On this voyage, she’s out to lift and install the final massive module of the world’s first subsea gas compression station nearly 300 metres underwater. But when strong winds and currents threaten the delicate operation, her team of underwater robots must come to the rescue before the module crashes the entire project!
Tønsberg carries anything that can be rolled up her ramp: not just automobiles and bulldozers, but also heavy, awkward-sized cargo such as cranes, subway trains, or yachts. In some of the busiest ro-ro ports in Europe, Tønsberg’s crew rushes to overcome the obstacles that could delay her. Sailing across the Atlantic, two storms threaten to cross her path as the crew keeps a sharp eye on the lashings that hold the cargo in place.
Almost three football fields long, the USNS Comfort is second in size only to U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. She is the largest hospital ship on the planet, with up to 1,200 crew, 12 operating rooms, 1,000 beds, and an impressive array of medical equipment. MIGHTY SHIPS joins the USNS Comfort midway through “Operation Continuing Promise” – a six-month mission to provide humanitarian aid to 11 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. Sailing to the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica, Comfort’s crew sets out to aid 10,000 patients in just nine days.
Northern Leader is Alaska’s biggest and toughest longliner. Catching fish with hooks, not nets, she sends out 80 kilometres of fishing line containing 76,000 hooks. In the heart of the Bering Sea, her crew battles a hurricane with 13 metre-high waves and winds of more than 110 kilometres per hour. All the while, this 56-metre ship keeps fishing – bringing home a massive catch of Pacific Cod – until one deckhand working is washed out by a powerful wave.
One of the world’s most advanced drill ships builds an oil well more than 2000 metres below the waterline in the Gulf of Mexico.
The world’s most adventurous cruise ship fights through the ice-choked fjords of Greenland to visit a spectacular collection of wildlife and icebergs.
Noronna ferries passengers, vehicles and millions-dollar cargo to Iceland and the Faroe Islands
One of the world’s largest container ships races from port to port in China, Malaysia and Germany, transporting almost 20,000 crates of cargo.
MSC’s biggest cruise ship navigates tight Mediterranean harbors, offering a brand new water park, classic excursions and Cirque du Soleil at Sea
Powership Yasin Bey is built to sail anywhere and deliver badly-needed electricity. The ship’s first-ever voyage starts with Yasin Bey limping back to the shipyard - tilting to the side so much that it feels as if the ship will keel over.
Off the coast of Malaysia, Sapura 3500 lays a pipeline and builds an offshore gas platform in just three weeks.
With specialized cranes and underwater robots, Edda Freya repairs and replaces critical pipelines running to an oil and gas platform.
A tour of the Queen Mary II, the largest and most expensive ocean liner ever built, which has engines powerful enough to provide light for an entire city
