Today Oasis of the Seas undoubtedly is the biggest cruise ship in the world yet many people cannot easily imagine how big it is compared to other ships. while doing some research on the internet, I came across a nice photograph of the vessel which has been placed in overlapping position with the Titanic passenger ship. Because most of us have watched Titanic movie, it will be easier for us to compare the two of them. From Wikipedia, I got the principal dimensions of the RMS Titanic as follows: LOA: 882 feet; Breadth: 92 feet. RMS stands for Royal Mail Steamer. As for the Oasis of the Seas, her principal dimensions are as follows; LOA: 1,181 ft; Breadth (moulded): 154 ft. LOA stands for Length over all. It is the length of a ship measured from the extreme forward point to the most afterward point. However, the above dimensions are not enough for ordinary people or even naval architects to compare accurately the physical appearance of these luxurious cruise and passenger ships.
source of the above cruise ship photograph: http://www.zimbio.com
So far, I haven't got any information related to the maximum size and gross tonnage a cruise ship can be constructed. In the case of oil tanker ships, there are some national and international regulations which limit the maximum displacement of the ship to prevent disastrous marine pollution caused by oil spill if such ship gets accident at sea. Perhaps, IMO should consider of applying similar regulation to limit the maximum number of passengers a cruise ship can carry in order to prevent disastrous loss of lives in case if a cruise ship faces an accident in the middle of the sea.
source of the picture: http://boards.cruisecritic.com
Although we are now equipped with mobile telecommunication, GPS and echo-sounding technologies, inflatable boats and rafts as well as lifejackets, the potential risk of accidents at sea still exists. With the limitation of the maximum number of passengers that a cruise ship can carry, we will not see a lot of causalities at sea should an accident similar to the sinking of Titanic in the Atlantic ocean happen again now or in the future time. The limitation is also important to reduce extensive marine pollution caused by sewage, gray water and oily bilge water that comes out of a cruise ship during her operation at sea. by Charles Roring
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