on 27 December 1990, after being struck by an
Iraqi Exocet missile in May of 1988 during the
Iran–Iraq War Seawise Giant was ordered in 1974 and delivered in 1979 by
Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (S.H.I.) at Oppama shipyard in
Yokosuka,
Kanagawa, Japan, as a 418,611-ton Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC). The vessel remained unnamed for a long time, and was identified by her hull number, 1016. During sea trials, 1016 exhibited severe vibration problems while going astern. The unknown Greek owner refused to take delivery and the vessel was subject to a lengthy arbitration proceeding. Following settlement, the vessel was sold and named
Oppama by S.H.I. "Seawise", a pun on "C.Y.'s", was used in the names of other ships owned by C.Y. Tung, including
Seawise University. After the refit, the ship had a capacity of , a
length overall of and a draft of . She had 46 tanks, and of deck space. When
Seawise Giant was fully loaded, her 25 meter/81 foot draft was too deep to safely navigate the relatively shallow
English Channel.
Seawise Giant was damaged in 1988 during the
Iran–Iraq War by an
Iraqi Air Force attack while anchored off
Larak Island,
Iran on 14 May 1988 while carrying Iranian crude oil. The ship was struck by Iraqi French made Exocet missile launched from aircraft. Fires ignited aboard the ship, spreading to the oil leaked into the surrounding water and blazing out of control. Contrary to some later internet reports the vessel did not sink; images of the burnt-out but still afloat vessel have been published online. After the fires were extinguished, the remaining cargo was discharged to other tankers. The ship was declared a
constructive total loss, meaning she was intact but so damaged that she would not be economical to repair. Shortly after the Iran–Iraq war ended, a Norwegian investment firm managed by Finanshuset bought the damaged vessel, which had by then been towed to a lay-up location off
Labuan. The manager was Norman International AS, a Norwegian ship manager that was subsequently dissolved in 1992. The vessel was then towed from Labuan to Singapore and repaired at the
Keppel Corporation. She was renamed
Happy Giant, in line with Norman International's tradition of naming tankers with the prefix «Happy» and bulkers with the prefix «Norman». She re-entered service in October 1991. The vessel was beached on 22 December 2009. Due to the vessel's extreme size, scrapping took until the end of 2010. The ship's 36 tonne anchor was saved and donated to the
Hong Kong Maritime Museum in 2010. It was later moved to a
Hong Kong Government Dockyard building on
Stonecutters Island. As of 20 November 2025, the anchor of the Seawise Giant is now on public display in the newly opened Anchor Plaza outside piers 9 and 10 of Central Ferry Pier. == Size record ==