Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it’s said. But it's hard to see how anyone could be enchanted by some of the ships being delivered at the moment...
We’ve compiled a Top 10 of some of the most aesthetically-challenged vessels of recent times – but would welcome further contributions. Email telegraph@nautilusint.org with your contenders for the most unfortunate work of naval architecture.
The results of our January ugly ships poll will be published in the February print edition of the Telegraph.
The Norwegian firm Lade has developed this concept car carrier, whose specially-shaped 'symmetrical airfoil' hull would harness the wind to achieve fuel savings of up to 60% over conventional vessels.
The Russian floating nuclear reactor Akademik Lomonosov
The Italian-flagged ro-ro containership Grande Benin
Problems with visibility from the hemispherical wheelhouse of the car carrier City of Rotterdam were highlighted in a Marine Accident Investigation Branch report on a collision in the Humber in 2015.
Block of flats? No, the stern of the 153,516gt MSC Seaside, which also features a glass-bottomed walkway – 'Bridge of Sighs' – a multi-deck atrium, and an open-air 'Forest Adventure Park'.
The livestock carrier Awassi Express
The 26,000 cu m floating storage and reclassification unit Karunia Dewata, delivered to the Indonesian operator Jaya Samudra Karunia in December 2018.
The Dutch-flagged general cargoship Oceanic maximises cargo-carrying capacity and minimises accommodation.
The 540TEU Japanese feeder containership Natori was described by its owners, Imoto Lines, as 'an experiment in energy saving'.
The Norwegian Epic has been described as the 'ugly duckling' of the cruise industry, with a 'protruding Frankenstein's monster forehead' and a superstructure 'like a stack of Lego blocks'.
