Superyacht News

A crowd of 300 joined Benetti Yachts for the launch of the 50-meter, full custom motor yacht Blake as it moved down the slipway on May 28, 2018. The third in the series and the 11th yacht to travel the slipway since 1999, Blake is a 499 GT GRP fiberglass hull with aluminum superstructure built at the Viareggio yard.

Inspired by the lines of classic cars and instilled with a sense of collective calm, Heesen Project Maia was christened Omaha and sent out from the Oss shipyard for sea trials April 20, 2018. Omaha is the first of Heesen's 50-meter steel yacht series revealed to the market in March of 2016.

Returning from successful trials in the North Sea off the coast of Germany on May 30, 2018, Lürssen's 136-meter Project SHU is now preparing for an autumn delivery. The extraordinary vessel collects the best and brightest of creative minds to showcase a top-of-industry masterwork admired by all who are privileged with the view.

The owners and design team responsible for the Wider 165 Cecilia were proud to announce a successful launch this May in Ancona, Italy. The launch event was the second for the relatively new shipbuilders and was attended by a wide variety of people including the shipyard staff, suppliers, owners, and numerous other individuals who collaborated on the project.

As yachting enthusiasts have been anticipating for quite some time, the superyacht Nautor’s Swan 98 is currently in the process of being constructed in Finland and is expected to be launched in the very near future. Keeping in line with what has earned the company a global reputation, the ship is one that Nautor’s Swan has proudly described as “30 meters of volume, contemporary elegance, and effortless performance.”

After an extensive series of trials in and around the North Sea, Heesen’s Irisha was successfully delivered to her owners. The 51 meter masterpiece is a motor yacht that has an impressive interior and exterior design tailored to the specific requests of the owners.

What is it like inside the shipyards of Germany's iconic yacht building giant, Lürssen? A rare peek at what is usually reserved for clients of this respected group recently found us touring four of the eight Lürssen facilities. Turning out extraordinary megayachts like the world's longest 180-meter Azzam and the world's largest nearly 16k GT Dilbar, all while carefully attending to the build and refit of yachts down to 60 meters, Lürssen has deep knowledge of the yachting industry embracing a wide range of size and purpose.

NAVIS just released the latest edition of NAVIS Luxury Yacht Magazine #41, including an in-depth review of the most recent superyachts.

Complimentary copy: https://www.navisyachts.com/navis-magazine-complimentary-copies/23-navis-luxury-yacht-magazine-41.html

Sophisticated and refined, Benetti's launch of the 49-meter custom displacement yacht Elaldrea took place at the Viareggio yard March 29, 2018. The contemporary yacht was built for a previous Benetti owner in Benetti's signature Italian style, christened Elaldrea upon launch from its construction name of Project Zafiro.

Horacio Bozzo Design created a minimalist interior, assisted by the Benetti Style Department. Underscoring the feel on board Elaldrea, Bozzo commented, “The minimalism and purity of the lines are the heart and soul of this project, in which the demand for functionality embraces the design.”

Feadship often captures attention for the exceptional, luxurious, fully custom yachts in their shipyards at Kaag, but the April 26 launch of Project 815, aka Sherpa, had many doing a double take. The hull is unmistakably that of an explorer, sporting a purposely industrial appearance with an unfaired hull exposing welding and platework. The height of the vessel is what put her on display, requiring Sherpa to be moved outside the shed to accommodate her huge mast, air/exhaust funnels, and cranes. Upon delivery later in the year, she will be the tallest of the Feadship fleet.

Created in a partnership with British Design House RWD and brokerage house Cecil Wright & Partners, Sherpa was built to carry, and carry she will. The enormous technological and engineering effort required to create structures and solutions for this very active yacht benefited immensely from Feadship expertise. The experienced owner, already a Feadship fan, is expected to use Sherpa as a support vessel for the 78.5 meter Hampshire II, built by Feadship in 2012.

Heesen Project Ayla, christened White upon her February 8, 2018 launch, was sold in October 2017, and delivered in April 2018 after successful trials in the North Sea. The 50-meter aluminum semi-displacement yacht is the latest in the award-winning 5000 class, just below the 500 GT threshold. Responsive and exceeding speed expectations, the yacht's performance pleased all.

Large rudders combined with a power steering unit, powerful bow thruster, and specialized selection of props optimized White for her speed range, instilling confidence while maneuvering in tight spaces and difficult conditions. Heesen's experience in weight reduction placed two high power-to-weight ratio MTU 2880kW engines in White, delivering a maximum speed of 23 knots and a 3,100 nm range at a cruising speed of 11 knots. White was also notably quiet in vibration tests.

Muscular, sporty, aggressive, and dynamic are just a few of the adjectives Overmarine CEO Maurizio Balducci used to describe the new 54-meter Gransport El Leon upon the April 28 launch near Pisa. The all-aluminum yacht with bulbous bow and efficient running surface works with four 16V MTU 2000 diesel engines to give the yacht the power expected of a Mangusta yacht that looks ready to rumble.

Features shared by motorcars prompted Balducci to comment further, "In the automotive sector the definition of GranSport is synonymous with high performance and optimal comfort. These principles have been the key starting point for the creation of the new line. We translated them and applied them to our business, giving life to a model that is an authentic combination of excellence between performance and autonomy."

Big is a relative term. It can be used as a measure of size as well as an assessment of impact. Used as a descriptor for Oceanco's recent Project Shark SY 717 superyacht launch, both definitions apply.

The 90-meter yacht was launched from the yard off the coast of the Netherlands on Feb. 21, successfully completing sea trials at the end of April. Notable not only for the length of the yacht placing Shark in the top 100 largest superyachts on the water today, but for Luiz DeBasto's extensive sweeps of glazing forming the superstructure, she is remarkable in terms of both extraordinary size and innovative style.

On March 26, during the 7,600 nm 7th leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, the sailing world lost a great sailor, competitor, and friend in John Fisher. Chasing his dream to participate in this opportunity to sail around the world with incredibly skilled sailors like himself, on board highly technical boats, he was certainly in his element. His presence will be greatly missed by the sailing community.

On board with Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, "Fish" embraced every challenge. Equipped with experience, patience, and strength, both physical and mental, he was an integral part of a team and a race so iconic, he knew anything could happen.

In an April 25, 2018 press release, Wally Yachts announced the launch of the new Nahita 93 high-performance luxury sailing yacht at the Marina di Ravenna Performance Boats facility in Italy. The Nahita 93 takes over where the 2009 Nahita 80 left off for her experienced European yachtsman owner. Nahita is unique among Wallys with regard to her advanced deck design, collecting additional kudos for her beautiful features that perfectly dovetail posh cruising with impressive maxi yacht racing performance

Remarkable for the stylish camouflage of her central social cockpit, Nahita sports innovative window and coaming designs to display a flush, ultra clean deck with clear sight lines. The result is a modern sea-loving sculpture that is also a very talented yacht that collects compliments wherever she goes.

Displaying two-class ticketing with a 2-2-2 business class cabin configuration, the first of 10 restyled Emirates Boeing 777-200LR aircraft boarded in Ft. Lauderdale on Mar. 6, 2018. Rolling out a posh menu of changes designed to make overseas flights more enjoyable, Emirates chose the FLL to DXB route as the first to experience the new look.

The spirit of individuality and realizing a dream - this is what Royal Huisman of The Netherlands promises its astute clientele. And they were remarkably successful in delivering Aquarius, a classic ketch 56m/184’ luxury sailing yacht. The Owner’s are an American couple who desired a yacht that was comfortable for cruising with their family and friends. Also included in their brief was a vessel well suited for Bucket regatta racing. While Aquarius looks beautiful while cruising through calm waters, she is fierce when her sails are full and the sun and waves splash upon her sailors’ faces. The naval architecture was by Dykstra Naval Architects and interior design by Mark Whiteley Design.

Launched in a private ceremony on February 10, 2018, Latona is an elegant, five deck super motor yacht. She is gorgeous and her builder is Italian CRN of the Ferretti Group. Her inspiration is from the historic 1960’s Superconcero yacht. The project was created by CRN’s Engineering and Interiors & Design departments with the famous Zucco International.

Love was in the air on February 14th, 2018, at Hessen Yachts as VanTom was delivered in international waters. She is a spectacular 50m/164’ motor superyacht. Her sea trails were conducted in the rough winter waters of the North Sea in January 2018, with waves up to one meter. Captain David Burge comments that her performance in the trails were extremely successful and that she ran very smooth. He looks forward to her maiden voyage to the Mediterranean Sea and the summer cruising season. The yacht’s designer is Frank Laupman at Omega Architects with the naval architect by Van Oossanen & Associates.

The mysterious Black Pearl sailing yacht launched in September 2016 with sea trails in 2017. She was built by Dutch Oceanco and has a spectacular LOA of 106.7m/350’, making her the largest Dynara Rig in the world and one of the largest superyachts around. Few details have been officially released about this yacht making her cloak of secrecy intriguing and leaving us wanting more. Given a brief statement and a fantastic video full of interviews, this is what we have learned. The yacht was designed by Ken Freivokh & Nuvolari Lenard with Dykstra Naval Architects developing the naval architecture and interior by Nuvolari Lenard & Gerard P.Villate. Twelve guests can be accommodated in six cabins and while we do not have images, we can imagine the accommodations are stunning.