Samsung's 'floating facility' is world's largest vessel

[SEOUL] South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries has floated a tanker-shaped vessel tagged as the world's largest "floating facility" with a length greater than the height of the Empire State Building in New York.

A Samsung spokeswoman said yesterday that the 488-metre long floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform - named "Prelude" - was set in the water at its southern shipyard in Geoje on Nov 30.

The vessel cannot be described as a "ship" because it is unable to move under its own steam and must be towed.