It was surpassed in length, deadweight tonnage and displacement only by Seawise Giant,[5][6] which, though it was originally smaller when it was built in 1976, was subsequently lengthened and enlarged.

It was named after the French politician and founder of Elf Aquitaine oil industry Pierre Guillaumat and was completed in 1977.

However, the poor state of the tanker market, accentuated by the huge dimensions of the ship that restricted where it could be employed, meant that the Pierre Guillaumat was unprofitable for most of its career and the vessel was laid up at Fujairah anchorage on February 2, 1983.

They were divided into central and lateral tanks, whose dimensions were designed to reduce considerably the risk of pollution caused by collision or grounding.

Ahead of the international standards of the time, the wing tanks had a maximum unit volume not exceeding 17,000 m3, which was reduced to 9,000 m3 in the most vulnerable parts of ship.