Sea
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World Almanac for Kids
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Star Clipper cruise ship
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Ships are used for many activities, from fishing, to vacationing, to exploration, to war. But their most important job has always been carrying cargo. The Egyptians were building reed and wooden sailboats some 5,000 years ago. They also built wooden barges over 200 feet long that could carry close to 2,000,000 pounds of cargo.
By the 1500s, huge sailing ships called galleons were hauling cargo around the world. Spanish galleons carried gold, spices, and other riches back to Europe from South America. These ships had to be big and needed cannons to defend themselves from pirates. Later cargo ships did without cannons (though modern-day pirates still raid ships). Packet ships began regularly scheduled passenger service across the Atlantic in 1818. In the 1840s, the U.S. built the first clipper ships. With a slender hull and many sails, they were the fastest ships of the pre-steam era.
The world's biggest ship today is the supertanker Jahre Viking. It's 1,502 feet long. That's longer than the Empire State building is tall. The Jahre Viking can carry 4.2 million barrels of oil.
The Queen Mary 2, which was launched in January 2004, is the largest passenger ship ever. It's 23 stories high and 1,131 feet long. That's almost 150 feet longer than the height of Eiffel Tower.
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Cunard Line
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The Queen Mary II
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Transporte: Marítimo (Spanish Version)