HDMS Absalon, one of the most modern warships in the world, has set sail to stop modern-day pirates off the coast of Somalia.

The Norwegian Epic is a billion-dollar showboat with more than 20 bars and restaurants and pool decks that transform into nightclubs.

The FPSO Maersk Peregrino is the world's biggest oil production ship and is permanently hooked up at the Peregrino oil field.

She's brand-new and about to make history. The Dutch company Van Oord has just received its new fallpipe vessel called Stornes. She deploys a long hollow pipe that runs from the ship to the seafloor. Rocks are loaded into the pipe and "fall" down to the bottom, hence the term "fallpipe". The rocks are used to provide foundations and protection for pipelines that are then laid on the ocean floor. Stornes has been designed and built specifically for this purpose. Now, MIGHTY SHIPS follows Stornes on a project that has her working deeper than any other fallpipe vessel in history.

She's the "Swiss Army Knife" of the US Navy. Recovery of downed aircraft, towing of sunken vessels, or clearing of debris to reopen a harbor in the wake of a natural disaster... USNS Grasp has done it all. Her cranes enable deep-sea salvage of all sorts. But what makes her special is her ability to support a team of up to 14 Navy divers on dangerous mixed-gas descents to depths of more than 200 metres. She's one of only four vessels in the entire US fleet capable of doing so.

She's an all-in-one mega fishing trawler and factory. Northern Eagle can catch and package fish at the same time. She creates more profit because she doesn't waste time (and fuel) bringing her catch back to shore to be processed. In fact, once she's out to sea, Northern Eagle doesn't return to port until her hold is full of 1500 tonnes of frozen, packaged product ready for market.

For the first time, our crews venture inside a shipyard to follow the construction of the world's newest mega-cruiser from keel-laying to sea trials.

The Avataq is a lifeline to Canada's near-Arctic communities, carrying everything from food and furniture to mining equipment and explosives to Quebec's inaccessible northern regions.

Other cable laying vessels require a second vessel to transport one end of their cables to shore. Stemat Spirit approaches the shore during high tide, then settles on the sand as the tide recedes. When the tide returns she floats up and sails out to sea, laying her cable as she goes.

Over seven seasons, Mighty Ships has featured 42 of the biggest, most technologically advanced on the planet. This special edition will feature the best of the best: from the world's largest cruise ships to the most powerful warships, from the strongest working ships to smaller, super-specialized vessels.

A large storm hits the drilling rig out on the North Sea.

Noronna ferries passengers, vehicles and millions-dollar cargo to Iceland and the Faroe Islands

Off the coast of Malaysia, Sapura 3500 lays a pipeline and builds an offshore gas platform in just three weeks.

The Cristobal Colon dredges millions of cubic metres of sand from the seabed for a construction site in Germany.

One of the world’s most advanced drill ships builds an oil well more than 2000 metres below the waterline in the Gulf of Mexico.

With a specialized crane system and five propellers to counter heavy seas, North Sea Giant can perform powerful and precise lifts in seas as high as 4.5 metres – four times the capability of other such vessels. On this voyage, she’s out to lift and install the final massive module of the world’s first subsea gas compression station nearly 300 metres underwater. But when strong winds and currents threaten the delicate operation, her team of underwater robots must come to the rescue before the module crashes the entire project!

In the midst of a giant offshore wind farm, a fantastical ship comes to a stop, jacks up on six enormous legs, and plants itself on the ocean floor.

Le Boreal is as sleek and nimble as a yacht, with the luxurious appointments and service of a cruise ship. She's also tough - custom-crafted to take on the furious weather and towering waves of the Southern Ocean

Tønsberg carries anything that can be rolled up her ramp: not just automobiles and bulldozers, but also heavy, awkward-sized cargo such as cranes, subway trains, or yachts. In some of the busiest ro-ro ports in Europe, Tønsberg’s crew rushes to overcome the obstacles that could delay her. Sailing across the Atlantic, two storms threaten to cross her path as the crew keeps a sharp eye on the lashings that hold the cargo in place.

Umiak I is the world's most powerful ice-breaking carrier, hauling mining equipment from Quebec City to Labrador and returning with nickel concentrate.

MSC’s biggest cruise ship navigates tight Mediterranean harbors, offering a brand new water park, classic excursions and Cirque du Soleil at Sea

Climb aboad the CGCS Henry Larsen as she does an ice patrol around the sub-zero waters of the Notre Dame Bay area of Newfoundland and Labrodore. Built for the cold, she is capable of the year-round operations in the high Arctic.

Saturation Dive Support Ship DSV Skandi Arctic is the biggest and newest saturation dive support ship, the mother ship for aquanauts working hundreds of metres below the surface in some of the world's most dangerous jobs; see her in action on a gas pipeline repair in the North Sea.

Unlike most cruise ships, the Becrux is a mighty ship made for four-legged passengers. With a capacity of nearly 20,000 cattle or 60,000 sheep, the Becrux is the largest custom-built livestock carrier in the world.

The world's newest mega-cruiser has only 48 hours before she departs on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic, readying for her debut. She was constructed faster than any other cruise ship, but the job's not quite done.