Every component of a large tanker ship is carefully designed and built. Here's the process of making the propeller blades.

Building a large ship requires a massive amount of engineering work. Even the smallest parts require lots of time and effort to design and build. Case in point: the ship's propeller. The prop has to hold up to millions of miles of travel, and move the ship fast enough to get from port to port on time. Precision Engineering

In this case, the propeller is cast in one piece, and is made of a complex alloy involving 8 different metals. Take a look at the process:

Long before the actual casting process has been started, the propeller had to be designed. Dozens of variables have to be accounted for to design the most efficient propeller possible. A poorly-designed propeller can lead to poor fuel efficiency or low top speeds, and even reduce the lifespan of other ship components.

Once a design has been selected, the molten metal is poured into the mold and left to cool. The propeller is so massive that the metal takes a full 5 days to cool and harden.

Once the metal has cooled, the mold is broken off and the propeller is sent to the milling machine. The machine is computer controlled and spends the next 15 days polishing the propeller.

After almost 3 weeks of production, the propeller is finally ready to be attached onto the ship. All that work for just a single component on a massive tanker.

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