Every year, shipyards from around the world push the boundaries of superyacht design to deliver bigger and better yachts. The Samuda-built El Mahrousa may have carried the title unchallenged for a remarkable 119 years, but in the 21st century, she has descended down the pecking order to make room for even larger and longer yachts. German shipyard Lürssen currently holds a near monopoly in the construction of supersized superyachts, having delivered 13 of the world’s top 25. But the list is ever-changing with the 158 metre Blue breaking into the top five in 2022. These yachts, all measuring over 100 metres, are impressive not only for their hull length but for what they carry above and below deck. From submarines and helicopters to swimming pools, cinemas and science labs, the onboard features of these superyachts show them to be truly ground-breaking pieces of engineering. Read on to discover our official list of the largest, privately owned yachts in the world.
1. Azzam | 180.6m
In October 2013, Lürssen delivered the largest privately owned superyacht in the world in the form Azzam. Originally, she was designed to be 145 metres, but in the process of optimisation grew to 180 metres. Other stunning facts about Azzam’s impressive design include her staggering 13,000 GT and accommodation for 36 guests and as many as 80 crew members. The behemoth was reportedly built for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, for use as a dayboat to reach his favourite diving grounds. The main saloon alone encompasses nearly 522m² and has a relaxed French Empire style and mother of pearl finishes, designed by Christophe Leoni. On board features include a gym, pool and a special ‘golf training room’.
Exteriors have been penned by Nauta Yacht Design, and the technical engineering was directed by Mubarak Saad al Ahbabi for the owner. The yacht has an impressive speed for her size owing to her innovative water-jet propulsion system (two fixed jets, two directional), which catapults her along at a staggering 31.5-plus knots. At 17.5 metres longer than Roman Abramovich’s Eclipse, this boat takes the prestigious title of the world’s largest yacht. The all-white superyacht has held her title unchallenged for nearly seven years, but this reign will come to an end with the expected delivery of 183 metre REV.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2013
- Length Overall:180.61 m
- Beam:20 m
- Gross Tonnage13136 t
2. Eclipse | 162.5m
After five years of intensive design, development and construction, Eclipse left the Blohm + Voss yard in December 2010. She carried the title of world’s largest superyacht for just three years before being usurped by Azzam. Managed by Blue Ocean Yacht Management, Eclipse features a diesel-electric propulsion system with generators powering rotating Azipod drives, dramatic exterior styling and a stunning interior design by London-based Terence Disdale Design, which has been responsible for all aspects of aesthetic design and layout, including the superstructure design, deck layouts, interior design and construction supervision. Eclipse was voted Motor Yacht of the Year at the World Superyacht Awards in 2011 and Motor Yacht of the Decade at the 10th World Superyacht Awards in 2015.
Her accommodation includes an owner’s deck of 56 metres in length and facilities for up to 92 crew. Her interior boasts hundreds of custom finishes exclusively developed especially for this project, while her deck areas include a 16 metre swimming pool which can be transformed into a dance floor. The yacht can also accommodate three helicopters, one on each of the two helipads and the third in a storage hangar below the fore deck.
- Builder:Blohm & Voss
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2010
- Length Overall:162.5 m
- Beam:22 m
- Gross Tonnage13564 t
3. Dubai | 162m
Dubai was originally commissioned by Prince Jefri of Brunei with exterior styling and interior design by Andrew Winch. The Blohm & Voss project was suspended in 1998 with just the bare hull and partially complete superstructure. It was eventually sold to the Dubai government, and responsibility passed to Kostis Antonopoulos of Platinum Yachts, which prepared a new in-house interior design completed in 2006.
The aptly named Dubai is the royal yacht of Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Dubai. The accommodation, styled by Nakheel Interiors, is designed for 24 guests and comprises an owner’s suite, five VIP suites and six guest suites, all with open balconies. Special features include a 21.3m-wide atrium, a swimming pool, barbecue area, cinema, disco, a landing platform for a Blackhawk helicopter, a gymnasium, and a garage for the yacht’s submarine and a vast array of water toys. Full certification was obtained from Lloyds Register of Shipping in October 2006 and she has since made several voyages. She can reach a maximum speed of 25 knots.
- Builder:Platinum
- Country of build:United Arab Emirates
- Delivery year:2006
- Length Overall:162 m
- Beam:22 m
- Gross Tonnage12488 t
4. Blue | 158m
Taking her place at number four in the list of the world’s longest yachts, Lürssen’s Blue is so voluminous that she beats all the longer boats in terms of gross tonnage. Built for a Middle Eastern owner, she is exceeded for internal space only by those behemoths Dilbar (15,917GT) and Al Said (15,850GT). Terence Disdale has penned classic exterior lines with a sharply raked bow and gentle curves to the deep overhangs of the decks. The main helipad is positioned on the bow, with a smaller one aft. Other exterior features include a pool under cover on the main deck aft, a bathing platform at the stern and twin balconies flanking the owner’s cabin forward. Blue’s interior is designed to be timeless and rich in “feminine elegance”, a deliberate contrast to the exterior.
Blue is equipped with a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system that was developed in-house. An electric Azimuth pod drive can manoeuvre the boat alone or in conjunction with the twin propeller shafts. To reduce noise, vibration and NOx levels, Blue has a state-of-the-art exhaust treatment system. The boat is also equipped with new membrane technology that means her treated waste water achieves drinking water quality.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2022
- Length Overall:160.6 m
- Beam:22.5 m
- Gross Tonnage14785 t
5. Dilbar | 156m
With a total interior volume of over 15,000 GT, Dilbar is the largest yacht in the world by gross tonnage, if not by length. She was built in steel and aluminium by Lürssen to a design by Espen Øino. In 2016, she was delivered in the Mediterranean for her owner, the Uzbekistani billionaire Alisher Usmanov. She replaced Usmanov’s previous yacht of the same name, which has since been renamed Ona. She is usually spotted cruising around the South of France, northern Spain and sometimes Cyprus.
Record-breaking features on board this SOLAS-class superyacht include her 180 cubic metre swimming pool and her 30,000KW electric diesel power plant. Her interiors, styled by Winch Design, can accommodate up to 24 guests served by nearly 100 crew members. She also has two helipads, 3,800 square metres of living space amd an expansive garden complete with a specially developed variety of grass that tolerates salt air, according to its creator Axel Massmann. Dilbar has a single colour for her exterior, a buttery cream shade, that makes her instantly recognisable at sea and can reach a top speed of 21 knots.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2016
- Length Overall:156 m
- Beam:23.5 m
- Gross Tonnage15917 t
6. Al Said | 155m
This Lloyd’s-classed vessel, known as Project Sunflower during construction, was delivered by Lürssen’s Vegesack yard to her owner, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman, in March 2008. Measuring an impressive 155 metres, Al Said is the principle vessel of the Oman Royal Yacht Squadron. Designed by Espen Øino with the looks of a classic cruise liner, she sails under the Omani flag and her home port is Muttrah Harbour in Muscat.
This Germanischer Lloyd-classed, 15,850GT yacht can reach a top speed of 25 knots and is reported to have a crew capacity of 150. Her panelled interiors, designed in a traditional style by Jonathan Quinn Barnett, offers huge entertaining spaces and accommodation for 65 guests. Her pièce de résistance is the on-board concert hall that can accommodate a 50-strong orchestra, but across her six decks she also has a helipad and a cinema.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2008
- Length Overall:155 m
- Beam:24 m
- Gross Tonnage15850 t
7. El Mahrousa | 150.6m
El Mahrousa was first delivered by the Samuda Brothers shipyard in 1865. She held on to the title of longest yacht in the world for over a century before finally being usurped by the delivery of Prince Abdulaziz in the 1980s. She was originally built for the Ottoman governor of Egypt, Khedive Ismail, receive visiting dignitaries. and was present at the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal in 1869, when she was used to receive visiting dignitaries. She was lengthened by 12.1 metres in 1872, when her paddle wheels were removed, and by a further 5.2 metres in 1905. Her last major rebuild was in 1950.
Significant moments in her lifetime include her participation in 1976 as the Egyptian representative at the Bicentennial Fleet Review in New York harbour. She slipped into disrepair after this while being used as a museum ship. In 1992, a major effort was put into making her seaworthy enough to travel to Italy for the Christopher Columbus Fleet Review. She now serves as the Egyptian Presidential Yacht but is seldom seen in public. She is usually berthed in Alexandria, where she is cared for by the Egyptian Navy, which lists her as a training ship. Powered by three Parsons steam turbines, she can achieve a top speed of 16 knots.
- Builder:Samuda
- Country of build:United Kingdom
- Delivery year:1865
- Length Overall:150.57 m
- Beam:12.98 m
- Gross Tonnage4560 t
8. A+ | 147.3m
Formerly known as Topaz, the Tim Heywood-designed A+ was launched by Lürssen in 2012 and uniquely features Heywood’s signature illuminated on her superstructure. Although she flies a Cayman flag, her owner is a member of the UAE elite – reportedly Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who also owns the UK’s Manchester City football club.
Having previously been chartered twice by Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the 147.25 metre superyacht features a helicopter landing pad located at the bow and her interiors have been designed by Terence Disdale – but not much else is known about this superyacht, as many of her details are still shrouded in secrecy.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2012
- Length Overall:147.25 m
- Beam:21.5 m
- Gross Tonnage12532 t
9. Prince Abdulaziz | 147m
The 5,200-tonne Prince Abdulaziz was delivered by Danish shipyard Helsingor Vaerft in 1984 to her first owner, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. Since then, she has continued to serve the Saudi royal family and is berthed beside the king’s palace in Jeddah. She has been refitted three times; in 1987, 1996 and in 2005.
Prince Abdulaziz was built at a reported cost of $184m to a design by Maierform. Her interior, designed by the late David Hicks, blends ancient and modern. One notable feature is the large lobby, said to be designed to mimic that of the Titanic. She includes a hospital, a mosque and a cinema, and there are also rumours of surface-to-air missiles and an underwater surveillance system on board. The mega yacht can accommodate as many as 64 guests and is manned by a crew of 65.
- Builder:Helsingor Vaerft
- Country of build:Denmark
- Delivery year:1984
- Length Overall:147.01 m
- Beam:18.3 m
- Gross Tonnage8233 t
10. OK | 146m
OK has just completed a refit to convert it for private use. This unusual vessel spent decades plying the seas as a float-on yacht carrier for DYT Yacht Transport with the unglamorous moniker Super Servant 3 – and it is this carrying ability that caught the owner’s eye.
Now, 40 years after its original launch by Japan’s Oshima Shipbuilding, the yacht has emerged from a root-and-branch refit at Karmarine in Turkey. The exterior has been smartened up, with a new matt-black paint job, gold-tinted glazing, teak decking at the bow, stern and sides and an expanse of artificial grass on the submersible aft deck, an idea of the owner’s to enliven the guest cabins’ view. There are reports that this space doubles as a tennis court and, at 32 metres by 100 metres, there would certainly be the room for it.
With a strengthened hull, the boat’s original role as a yacht carrier has been enhanced. Pumping ballast into tanks under the aft deck allows the platform to lower so that the owner’s 46-metre ketch can be floated aboard and secured. There’s also a 40-tonne crane for positioning other toys – reportedly up to 70 of them, from launches and cars to a seaplane.
Under the direction of Bozca Design, Karmarine has stripped out and rebuilt the accommodation area at the front of the yacht. There are cabins for up to 20 guests, a glazed sundeck spa pool, a “botanical” garden and an outdoor cinema. The lift between decks runs through a glass tower outside the superstructure.
- Builder:Oshima Shipbuilding
- Country of build:Japan
- Delivery year:1982
- Length Overall:146 m
- Beam:32.01 m
- Gross Tonnage11296 t
11. Sailing Yacht A | 142.8m
This Philippe Starck-designed vessel is the second superyacht commissioned by Russian businessman Andrey Melnichenko, after his first Motor Yacht A. She was built in Germany by the Nobiskrug yard and delivered in February 2017.
Melnichenko pushed his team to put the accent on innovation and create a sail-assisted yacht like no other. Sailing Yacht A comprises eight decks, and her rotating curved carbon fibre masts tower to 100m. She is made to set 3,747m² of sail and is manned by crew of 54. She sports an underwater viewing pod (moulded into the keel) and balconies enclosed by the largest pieces of curved glass ever. There are 24 shell doors in her hull, and she has a diesel-electric power plant controlled by computer. Records claimed by the Starck superyacht include the world’s tallest carbon masts, with the tallest standing at 100 metres above sea level.
- Builder:Nobiskrug
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2017
- Length Overall:142.81 m
- Beam:24.88 m
- Gross Tonnage12700 t
12. Nord | 142m
Nord started life as Project Redwood, then Opus. Everyone involved in her design and build has remained tight-lipped about the details, but build manager Rob Moran shared some exclusive insight with BOAT International.
First up, she has an Ice Class hull for real exploration. Her aluminium superstructure runs to four decks, contained within the dramatic sweep of a black-painted arch – a key part of the vision of designers Nuvolari Lenard. Not one but two helipads are in evidence, while a vast beach club and tender garage gives “space to store a plethora of toys including 16 tenders, a submarine and an ROV”, according to Moran. The largest tender reportedly measures 15 metres LOA, and there is a watersports and dive centre on the lower deck. Nord has a generous touch-and-go helipad at its heavily flared aircraft carrier bow, but there is also a much bigger space aft up on the bridge deck that offers landing, parking and bunkering for the owner’s helicopter, as well as an entire hangar for protection during longer passages.
Also visible to onlookers was the exceptional 25-metre-long swimming pool on the main deck aft, plus a spa pool on the upper deck. She features imposing bridge wings and a purposeful array of four satellite domes on her mast. From the exterior, at least, this is an unashamedly masculine boat. Her interior is reported to include a gym, spa, sauna and a whole deck devoted to the owner. Accommodation is for 36 guests across 20 luxurious suites. “The owner wanted a unique design and, of course, a boat built to the highest standards possible,” says Moran.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2021
- Length Overall:141.6 m
- Beam:19.5 m
- Gross Tonnage10154 t
13. Yas | 141m
Delivered in 1978 by De Schelde as a navy frigate, Yas was rebuilt in 2013 by Abu Dhabi MAR. Previously known under the project name Swift 141, she was completely modified with new machinery and electronic systems and outfitted with a luxurious interior. It has been suggested that her owner is a member of the Emirati royal family.
She has been designed inside and out by Pierrejean Design Studio of Paris. The unique superstructure of Yas is built in advanced composites and glass and was supposedly inspired by the profile shape of a dolphin. She is reportedly able to accommodate 60 guests and 56 crew, and on-board features include a heli-pad and al fresco dining spaces aft, and a jacuzzi on her top deck. Her beach club jacuzzi is complemented by a waterfall feature and a spiral staircase connects her the multiple decks. Powered by twin MTU diesels, Yas has a top speed of 26 knots.
- Builder:De Schelde
- Country of build:Netherlands
- Delivery year:2012
- Length Overall:141 m
- Beam:14.6 m
- Gross Tonnage5002 t
14. Ocean Victory | 140m
Ocean Victory was completed at Fincantieri’s Muggiano yard in Italy after launching in April 2014. This seven-deck yacht is based on a design by Espen Øino and her interior is by Alberto Pinto and Laura Sessa. She has internal seawater dockage for a 14m tender and six pools of up to 8m in length. There’s a certified helideck and a hangar to store the aircraft, while inside Ocean Victory boasts an underwater observation room and more than 300m² of spa facilities. She is SOLAS-classed and is the largest yacht ever built in Italy.
In 2016, the superyacht world was shocked and saddened to hear of the death of one of Ocean Victory’s crew members, who suffered critical leg injuries while setting the anchor off the coast of Mu Ko Similan National Park in Thailand. Little else is known about this top-secret yacht, which is kept much under wraps and away from prying eyes.
- Builder:Fincantieri
- Country of build:Italy
- Delivery year:2014
- Length Overall:140 m
- Beam:20 m
- Gross Tonnage8506 t
15. Scheherazade | 140m
Another titan by Lürssen, Scheherazade carries the same name as the enigmatic story-teller of the Middle Eastern epic One Thousand and One nights. She hit the water in July 2019 and, at 10,167 GT, she offers phenomenal volumes. Her Espen Øino exterior features a four-deck aluminium superstructure with elegant tapering roofs and an eclectic range of coloured LED exterior lighting. She also has two large helipads – one at the bow and one on the upper deck – plus a prominent beach club aft.
There is very little information regarding her interior by François Zuretti, but if the work of the French design house on 106-metre Amadea is anything to go by, it is imperious and sophisticated. With the owner known to be a Middle Eastern billionaire, this yacht is designed with warmer climates in mind. Temperatures in excess of 45°C are quite normal in the region during the summer months, so Scheherazade has relatively little exterior space for a yacht of this size. There is limited covered deck space at the aft end of the main and upper decks, but it is well enclosed by glass sides for cooling. Even the sundeck is completely shaded by a hardtop, which all helps to give her an astonishing internal volume.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2020
- Length Overall:140 m
- Beam:23.3 m
- Gross Tonnage10167 t
16. Solaris | 140M
The 140 metre expedition yacht Solaris is the latest addition to the list of the world’s largest superyachts. Launched in the city of Bremerhaven in February 2021, Solaris is the flagship model of German shipyard Lloyd Werft. She is the debut project of Australian designer Marc Newson, who has given her a dramatic grey and white superstructure which features a unique fashion plate which wraps around the mast and connects both sides of the hull. Spanning eight decks in total, Solaris has been constructed in aluminium and steel and offers a 26 metre beam. Little information has been shared about her interiors, but her exterior is equipped with a large helipad, a sun deck and a spacious beach club aft.
Turning to the technical elements, Solaris is reportedly outfitted with a power and energy management system from ABB and features two Azipods powered by nine megawatts – the most powerful propulsion system of its kind to ever be installed on a yacht. She runs on a total of eight MTU diesel engines, providing 19,040hp. Little else is known about the superyacht, on which construction first began in 2018.
- Builder:Lloyd Werft
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2021
- Length Overall:139.7 m
- Beam:22 m
- Gross Tonnage11247 t
17. Al Salamah | 139.3m
Built by the consortium of Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel and the Lürssen shipyard in Germany, Al Salamah is often referred to as Mipos, the code name used during the construction of this most secret of yachts. Mipos was short for ‘Mission Possible’, a statement proved correct by her delivery in 1999.
She has a length of 139.29 metres, a massive beam of 23.50 metres, and is reported to have a top speed of 21.5 knots. Both the interior design and the exterior styling are by the London-based Terence Disdale Design. Al Salamah was owned by the late Sultan bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, who also owned 147 metre Prince Abdulaziz. She was refitted by Lürssen in 2007 and is rumoured to carry a hospital room with an underwater treadmill for physical therapyon board.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:1999
- Length Overall:139.29 m
- Beam:23.5 m
- Gross Tonnage12234 t
18. Rising Sun | 138m
Rising Sun was built for Larry Ellison, co-founder and CEO of Oracle. Rising Sun was the last yacht that ever came from designer Jon Bannenberg’s drawing board, and her interiors styled by Laura Seccombe. Rising Sun’s naval architecture experimented with an extensive use of structural glass for a clean and stripped-down profile.
In 2006, Ellison sold half ownership to media mogul David Geffen, who bought the remaining half in 2010. Rising Sun is reported to have cost more than $290m and was extended by 18m in-build to ensure she was larger than the 126.2m Octopus belonging to Microsoft’s co-founder, Paul Allen. Her 8,000m² of living space can accommodate 45 crew members, and includes a wine cellar and basketball court, plus accommodation for 16. One of her tenders, a catamaran, carries the yacht’s 4×4 vehicle ashore.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2004
- Length Overall:138.01 m
- Beam:19 m
- Gross Tonnage7600 t
19. Flying Fox | 136m
Formerly Project Shu, PYC-compliant Flying Fox was built by Lürssen for an experienced serial charter yacht owner and completed her sea trials off the coast of Germany in May 2019. The 136-metre, six-deck yacht towers 32 metres above the waterline – as tall as three London buses balanced end on end. Her elegant, well-balanced profile by Espen Oeino conceals an extraordinarily voluminous interior by Mark Berryman, including a double-height atrium that forms the main deck lobby. There are 11 cabins for 36 guests, all with private sea-view terraces, and expansive outdoor living spaces, such as a 12 metre swimming pool transversing the main deck aft, swim platforms and two helipads. The 400m2 spa is the stand-out feature. It has heated limestone floors, a Hammam, massage and beauty treatment rooms and the first cryosauna ever installed on a yacht with a main chamber that reaches a chilly -110C. There’s also an on-board hospital.
One of the most expensive superyachts in the world available for charter, Flying Fox is crewed by an experienced team of 54. She boasts a toybox stuffed with jet skis and other Seabobs, hoverboards, room for a submarine and and nine different tenders, plus she even has her own dive centre and kite surf store on board.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2019
- Length Overall:136 m
- Beam:20.5 m
- Gross Tonnage9100 t
20. Savarona | 135.9m
Built by Blohm + Voss for American bridge cable heiress Emily Roebling Cadwalader in 1931, Savarona was sold in 1938 to the Turkish government and became the presidential yacht of Kemal Atatürk. In 1989, Kahraman Sadikoglu obtained a 50-year lease and, with investors, spent $35m on the refit of this classic superyacht, including a library suite dedicated to the memory of Atatürk and furnished with his personal artefacts. In 2010, after an alleged scandal, the Turkish government cancelled the lease and resumed ownership. In 2014, she was refurbished and now serves as the state yacht of Turkey. Savarona was for a time offered on the market for superyacht charters around Istanbul, although she is no longer available to the public. Key features on-board this superyacht include a marble-finished Turkish hammam bath that spans the entire 16 metre beam, a swimming pool, a gold-trimmed grand staircase and a private cinema. She is named after a type of black swan found in the Indian Ocean region.
- Builder:Blohm & Voss
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:1931
- Length Overall:135.94 m
- Beam:16.12 m
- Gross Tonnage4701 t
21. Crescent | 135.5m
Crescent, formerly Project Thunder, has what the yard called a “traditionally styled” interior by Zuretti, exterior design by Espen Øino and naval architecture by Lürssen. Øino went to great lengths to maximise what he calls the “vision lines” from the interior and the decks – especially from the centreline, which on such a beamy boat is a long way from the sides – by having full height windows and keeping the bulwarks as low as possible.
She has a steel hull and aluminium superstructure and was built to DNV GL standards. Her striking black hull is matched with a silver superstructure that has distinctive wing stations amidships. Just forward of the wing stations are three-deck windows that provide spectacular views for her 18 guests.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2018
- Length Overall:135.5 m
- Beam:21 m
- Gross Tonnage9194 t
22. Serene | 133.9m
Built for a Russian owner, Serene was the first superyacht delivered by Italian yard Fincantieri. She can accommodate up to 24 guests and 52 crew, and boasts 4,500 square metres of interior space designed by Reymond Langton.
She has seven decks, two helipads and a hangar, carries a custom submarine certified to 100m depth and has underwater viewing ports in her Nemo room. A snow room can make up to four inches of snow, while the impressive spiral staircase rises through six decks and is lit by a large skylight. Serene won Best Motor Yacht of 3,000GT and Above at the 2012 World Superyacht Awards. Powered by a diesel engine, Serene can reach a top speed of 20 knots and has a maximum cruising range of 6000 nautical miles.
- Builder:Fincantieri
- Country of build:Italy
- Delivery year:2011
- Length Overall:133.9 m
- Beam:18.6 m
- Gross Tonnage8231 t
23. Al Mirqab | 133m
Al Mirqab was built by Peterswerft – Kusch for Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the former prime minister of Qatar. Her exterior design is by Tim Heywood and her interiors were styled by Winch Design. She is propelled by five generators that power two electric motors driving conventional shafts and a centrally positioned azimuthing electric pod drive. A grand staircase floats through four floors and surrounds suspended glass artwork by Dale Chihuly. Al Mirqab won Motor Yacht of the Year at the World Superyacht Awards 2009 and Best Interior Design among motor yachts. She can accommodate 60 guests and is manned by an equal number of crew.
- Builder:Peterswerft – Kusch
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2008
- Length Overall:133 m
- Beam:19.5 m
- Gross Tonnage5000 t
24. Y721 | 127m
Widely reported to be the new boat for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oceanco’s Project Y721 remains shrouded in secrecy. However, the tight-lipped Dutch yard couldn’t prevent the world getting a look at the huge hull of the yacht as it was floated downstream from Alblasserdam for final commissioning in Rotterdam.
At 127 metres long, it is set to be the world’s largest true sailing yacht, eclipsed only by the sail-assisted Sailing Yacht A. It sports gleaming black topsides and a relatively low-profile white superstructure. With the elegant curve of the bow and a bowsprit, the lines are certainly classic, but we still have no idea which designer drew them. Three slender masts make this a schooner, with what appears to be an in-boom furling Bermuda rig. Two huge forestays give it a cutter configuration.
There appear to be three decks of accommodation, with a long line of circular portholes suggesting guest cabins on the lower deck. The purpose of a vast top-hinged shell door at the bow is unclear, although the fact it opens upwards hints at tender storage. A large shell door on the waterline aft may give guests beach-club access to the water – something that is impossible at the stern with its long overhang.
- Builder:Oceanco
- Country of build:Netherlands
- Delivery year:2023
- Length Overall:125.9 m
- Beam:16.95 m
- Gross Tonnage3493 t
25. Octopus | 126.2m
Octopus was owned by the late Paul Allen, one of the founders of Microsoft, who also owned Tatoosh. She is one of the largest explorer yachts in the world and was designed by Espen Oeino with interiors by Jonathan Quinn Barnett and Sam Sorgiovanni. Octopus features a helicopter pad and garage aft and can also accept a second helicopter on the bows. Her impressive deck also features a glass-bottom swimming pool which can transform into a dancefloor with a nearby bar for drinks served poolside. Another novel facility of her design is her internal dock, which, opening from her transom, runs forward through the yacht, allowing a 20-metre submarine and a tender of a similar size to float into their storage positions. Once secured, the water is pumped out, leaving them resting on chocks.
- Builder:Lurssen
- Country of build:Germany
- Delivery year:2003
- Length Overall:126.2 m
- Beam:21.01 m
- Gross Tonnage9932 t