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New 200 million pound royal yacht is a ‘good idea’, business minister says

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Royal yacht: Why Britannia will definitely cost more than £200m to build

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Boris Johnson has confirmed that there is to be a replacement for the Royal Yacht Britannia using new green technology.

The surprise announcement came in a statement from 10 Downing Street at the end of May. Rather than purely serving the British Royal Family, however, this new vessel will be a national ship rather than a private yacht – a floating embassy that will be operated by the Royal Navy.

The idea is that the new royal yacht will support working royals and government departments alike, while furthering the nation’s interests abroad, both commercial and strategic.

“Every aspect of this ship, from its build to the businesses it showcases, will represent and promote the best of British,” said Johnson, “a clear and powerful symbol of our commitment to be an active player on the world stage. It will be the first vessel of its kind in the world.”

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Following appropriate consultations with the Royal Family, the Royal Navy, Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Treasury, the Government will put the design and construction out to tender. If all goes to plan the build could start as early as next year with a view to entering service by 2024.

Some critics had suggested that World Trade Organisation obligations would mean the tendering process would have to be open to overseas yards as well as British ones, but the fact it will be operated by the Royal Navy gives it ‘warship’ status and therefore renders her exempt.

Various sources have quoted ballpark figures of £200 million to build the new Royal Yacht Britannia but once a working specification has been drawn up for a suitably large yacht MBY expects this to rise considerably.

Superyacht designer Andrew Winch’s proposal was for a much larger craft

Everything will depend on how much space is needed for conferencing and entertainment areas as well as the number of staterooms, guest cabins and crew, not to mention helicopter and tenders, and the high levels of security needed to protect her passengers and guests.

How much will the new royal yacht cost?

So exactly how big will the new yacht be? Length is not the key metric for superyachts ; usable volume measured in gross tonnage is the name of the game.

£200 million sounds a lot and could buy an impressive 280ft (86m) quad-deck superyacht with a volume of around 2,500GT from a superyacht yard, but a ship of that length is unlikely to be big enough.

The old Britannia measured 421ft and 5,769GT. The Royal Navy is unlikely to spend less than £100,000 per tonne today for such a vessel and will probably end up spending a significant amount more given that this would be a full-custom project. We suspect the final bill for New Britannia is likely to be more like £600 million.

The New Flagship Company also produced this rendering to try and win private backing for a Britannia replacement

This isn’t the first time a new royal yacht has been mooted. Businessman Ian Maiden launched the New Flagship Company in 2001 to try and garner private backing for a similar national ship to promote the UK and Commonwealth’s business interests. Superyacht designer Andrew Winch also drafted plans for a new royal megayacht.

As far as we know neither of these designs have been adopted by Number 10, which released its own uncredited rendering of what the new Royal Yacht Britannia might look like . One man that has had a bigger hand than most is Craig Mackinlay, Conservative MP for South Thanet, who recently led a cross-party campaign supported by no fewer than 70 MPs.

Mackinlay is a lifelong sailor and the commodore of the House of Commons Yacht Club, and his most recent submission seems to have influenced the government’s statement. Some have suggested that an alternative to a brand-new yacht could be a keel-up rebuild of the old Royal Yacht Britannia , which is now lying alongside in Leith, Edinburgh.

Winch’s design was first proposed in 2016

She was formally retired in 1997 after 44 years of service and over 1 million nautical miles. Until recently she has been open to the public. Any new Royal Yacht Britannia is expected to have a service life of at least 30 years.

The expert view

“The debate about how or even whether to replace the Royal Yacht Britannia has been gong on for as long as I’ve been editor and seems to crop up every few years when there’s no real news to talk about,” says MBY editor Hugo Andreae.

“But this time it’s different, this time it’s government policy – at least until Boris changes his mind, which has been known to happen!

“I sincerely hope he doesn’t because a new Royal Yacht Britannia really could invigorate British ship building and cast fresh light on the amazing leisure boat industry we do still have.

“But if we’re going to do it, please don’t skimp on the budget. We don’t want Britannia being overshadowed by a tasteless megayacht belonging to some shady despot!”

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Her Majesty's Ship the royal yacht Britannia in Hong Kong before it was decommissioned in 1997

After reports circulated of a new ship to replace the now decommissioned Royal Yacht Britannia earlier this year - including to name it after the late Duke of Edinburgh - the new “national flagship ” has actually been given the go-ahead by the prime minister .

The vessel, which was previously estimated to cost up to £200 million, will look to “boost British trade and drive investment” into the UK economy by hosting trade shows negotiations.

“This new national flagship will be the first vessel of its kind in the world, reflecting the UK’s burgeoning status as a great, independent maritime trading nation.

“Every aspect of the ship, from its build to the businesses it showcases on board, will represent and promote the best of British,” the prime minister said in a statement .

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In April, several Tory MPs proposed a new royal yacht in memory of Prince Philip, after the royal passed away aged 99.

However, a senior royal source told The Sunday Times that it was considered “too grand” a symbol for the monarchy, adding that “it is not something we have asked for”.

Now that the plans have officially been confirmed, it appears as though many members of the public share that sentiment, suggesting other areas where the money could be spent:

Oh look everyone is talking about a Royal yacht and a secret wedding in the Sunday papers and not wallpaper, Matt H… https://t.co/JBRkaFYqsm — John Russell (@John Russell) 1622355425

I don’t see how it’s a royal yacht if the Palace doesn’t approve it. It seems a remarkably old-fashioned, environme… https://t.co/Ru6wryXWHe — Chris Bryant (@Chris Bryant) 1622359888

The new Royal Yacht matters. It demonstrates clearly once again that Johnson does not have a single original idea i… https://t.co/fP4Wb5ZocH — Otto English (@Otto English) 1622362523

Yesterday I walked past a long queue of people waiting for a food bank but today I am told there is £200 million fo… https://t.co/mzgzJJQJyM — Martin O'Neill (@Martin O'Neill) 1622362718

UK government slashes the overseas aid budget, which actually does boost trade and the country's "soft power", to s… https://t.co/ybCmUlGeCz — Daniel Sohege 🧡 (@Daniel Sohege 🧡) 1622357655

The ship, which will be manned by the Royal Navy, is expected to be in service for around 30 years once it sets sail, which Downing Street says will be “within the next four years”.

Construction of the ship, meanwhile, could begin “as soon as next year”.

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Royal Yacht or Fishing Trawler? Either Way, Even the Royal Family Isn’t Interested.

For Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the proposed $280 million vessel would serve as a symbol of Global Britain. To critics, it’s an ill-conceived boondoggle.

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By Mark Landler

LONDON — The naval architect who designed the Queen Mary 2 likened it to a “1950s fishing trawler, ” while a retired Navy admiral sniffed that the plans for it looked like an “oligarch’s yacht.” A Conservative Party grandee ridiculed it as a “complete waste of time, silly populist nonsense.”

The target of all of this venom is Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest pet project: a replacement for the royal yacht Britannia, mothballed in 1997. Mr. Johnson wants to spend 200 million pounds, or $280 million, to build a new Britannia — not as a plaything for the royal family, which has evinced no interest in another yacht, but as a floating brand ambassador for post-Brexit Britain.

“This new national flagship will be the first vessel of its kind in the world,” the prime minister declared recently, “reflecting the U.K.’s burgeoning status as a great, independent maritime trading nation.”

For Mr. Johnson, whose fondness for grand projects ranges from an island airport in the mouth of the Thames River (never built) to a sleek new fleet of double-decker buses for London (built), the appeal of a new Britannia is obvious. With Britain eager to strike trade deals around the world, it could dispatch the yacht to distant ports as a visible manifestation of the Global Britain that Mr. Johnson says was birthed by Brexit.

But the project, which is also championed by the pro-Tory paper The Daily Telegraph, has been caught up in the pesky arithmetic of public finances. The Johnson government is already busting its budget to cushion the economic blow from the pandemic. It is splashing out billions of pounds on big-ticket projects like a high-speed rail link — part of Mr. Johnson’s promise to “level up” inequities between the country’s hard-knocks north and its prosperous south.

To its critics, a royal yacht is a folly — an unaffordable vanity project from a government grasping for atavistic symbols of Britain’s greatness.

“It’s a symptom,” Kenneth Clarke, a former chancellor of the Exchequer and senior figure in the Conservative Party, told the BBC. “Two hundred million pounds is not going to cause problems. But it shows there are people in No. 10 who just think there’s free money and who think that waving a Union Jack and sending yachts and aircraft carriers around the world shows what a great power we are.”

Mr. Clarke was purged from his party in Parliament by Mr. Johnson in 2019 after he voted against one of the government’s Brexit deals. He had previously blocked a plan to replace the Britannia in the 1990s when he was serving under Prime Minister John Major, according to Richard Johnstone-Bryden, who wrote a history of the Britannia and supports the proposal to replace it.

Still, even more sympathetic members of Mr. Johnson’s party have pronounced the idea “daft,” with some predicting it would end up like other chimerical Boris Johnson projects. As mayor of London, he championed a pedestrian bridge across the Thames, topped with trees and a garden. The bridge never made it past blueprints, though it still ended up costing more than $70 million in contracts and other planning costs.

Mr. Johnson also latched on to the idea of an airport to replace Heathrow. To be built on an artificial island in an estuary of the Thames River at a projected cost of tens of billions of dollars, it was perhaps inevitably nicknamed “Boris Island” by the British press. Mr. Johnson is still beguiled by a proposal to build a 28-mile bridge connecting mainland Britain with Northern Ireland.

By these Xanadu-like standards, a $280 million boat is modest. Government officials argue it would pay for itself many times over by helping secure trade deals, military contracts and private investment in Britain.

During its 44 years of service, the Britannia was a reliable closer for the government: Once, after Mr. Major had negotiated $2 billion in contracts during a trip to India — he traveled there by plane — the yacht was dispatched to help the British nail down signatures from foot-dragging Indian officials.

“It’s not a silver bullet in the sense that if you build a royal yacht, your economy doubles overnight,” Mr. Johnstone-Bryden said. “But because of the yacht’s prestige, you can attract top officials for an event promoting a particular industry. Receptions at embassies or hotels don’t have the same draw.”

He likened the Britannia’s iconic status to that of Air Force One. In the same way that the American president’s customized blue-and-white 747 symbolizes the global reach and power of the United States, a royal yacht pays tribute to Britain’s mighty seafaring history. “I’m sure it would be inconceivable to many Americans to retire Air Force One without replacing it,” he said.

In truth, Britain has done just fine without the Britannia. While Queen Elizabeth II famously wiped away a tear when she attended the yacht’s decommissioning ceremony, the royal family has been resolutely silent about replacing it. According to The Daily Mail, it demurred at a proposal to name the new vessel the Duke of Edinburgh, after the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, who died in April . The duke, a former naval officer, had a hand in designing the original Britannia.

Under the influence of Prince Charles, the royal family has become sensitive to showy displays of wealth, particularly when they drain the public purse. The queen, who is 95, does not travel overseas anymore, so the yacht would be used by her heir, Charles, and his son, Prince William, neither of whom have her emotional connection to the Britannia.

Some question whether the whole concept of a royal yacht is superannuated in an era in which Britain is negotiating complex bilateral trade agreements with Australia, the United States, and other countries.

“At the very most, it could be useful as a trade promotion tool,” said Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Center for European Reform in London. “But it won’t make even the tiniest difference to whether U.K. concludes a trade deal or not.”

Nor does the yacht have an obvious military purpose, even if the defense ministry would be likely to supply its crew and foot at least part of the bill for its operation.

But all of this may be missing the point. Andrew Gimson, one of Mr. Johnson’s biographers, said his pet projects — whether groovy retro buses or garden-topped bridges — invariably serve a political purpose. Mr. Johnson, he said, is akin to a Roman emperor putting on public spectacles. A royal yacht evokes the glories of Britain’s imperial past for a country still groping for a post-Brexit identity.

“There’s at least some working-class voters who would love this,” Mr. Gimson said. “And it’s yet another way of teasing the intelligentsia.”

If that is the case, the biggest problem with Mr. Johnson’s yacht may be that it is a bit dinky. An artist’s rendering issued by Downing Street drew catcalls. Stephen Payne, a naval architect who designed the Queen Mary 2 to evoke the great ocean liners of the past, said the yacht would be too small to have adequate exhibition and conference space. As currently designed, it has only two masts; a royal yacht needs three — to fly the royal standard, the Union Jack and the flag of the admiralty.

The government has said little about the design process. Scuttlebutt in the industry is that it went to a Finnish ship designer. Mr. Payne, who submitted his own design, said the government’s yacht would look more at home unloading its catch in the fishing port of Hull than presiding in the royal dockyard in Portsmouth.

“I really wonder whether the people involved in it understood what they were doing,” he said. “That bridge front looks very much like a Hull fishing trawler.”

Mark Landler is the London bureau chief. In 27 years at The Times, he has been bureau chief in Hong Kong and Frankfurt, White House correspondent, diplomatic correspondent, European economic correspondent, and a business reporter in New York. More about Mark Landler

New 200 million pound royal yacht is a 'good idea', business minister says

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LONDON — The British government’s plans to build a 200 million pound ($276.3 million) successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was retired in 1997, are a good idea, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on Monday.

“I think it is a good idea actually,” Kwarteng told Sky, though he said there was still a discussion in government over the plans. “It’s a huge amount of money.”

“What it does is it represents Britain – it is a symbol of Britain and if you are going on trade missions – that is exactly the way we would drive trade,” he said. ($1 = 0.7239 pounds) (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden)

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New £200 million royal yacht named for Prince Philip reportedly set to be commissioned

Downing street has not denied that the yacht, long demanded by tory backbenchers, could cost up to £200 million.

Plans are reportedly afoot to name a new national yacht, which could cost up to £200 million, after the late Prince Philip. 

According to The Sunday Telegraph , the new vessel is set to be named HMS Prince Philip and will be pitched as promoting British trade around the world. 

According to the report, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce the national flagship in the coming weeks.  

The newspaper attached a £200 million price tag to the ship – a figure that has not been ruled out by Downing Street.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister has an exciting vision for shipbuilding in this country and is committed to making the UK a shipbuilding superpower.  

“We are always looking for new ways to promote Global Britain around the world, driving investment back to the UK and delivering value for money for the British people.”

WWII veteran who fought alongside Prince Philip paid tribute by watching the funeral in his Royal Navy uniform

The successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was decommissioned under cost-saving measures in 1997, would reportedly be intended to promoted British businesses abroad, intended to moor near international trade fairs and host trade negotiations. 

The move is likely to prove controversial, however, with campaigns for a new royal yacht by some Tory backbenchers attracting criticism due to the steep price tag at a time of economic belt-tightening.

Proponents have claimed that the yacht would pay for itself by bolstering trade, though critics say there is little evidence it would do so.

It is unclear if the plans to name the ship after the Duke of Edinburgh, who died last month aged 99, has the backing of the Royal Family.

According to the newspaper, the new ship would be crewed by the Royal Navy. The Duke of Edinburgh held various honorary titles within the Royal Navy, including Honorary Admiral of the Fleet and Captain General of the Royal Marines, until 2017.  

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11 of the most expensive yachts in the world: PHOTOS

• Superyachts are known to be a favorite toy of the ultra-wealthy .
• Photos of a superyacht rumored to belong to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos circulated the internet in August, but the company told INSIDER that the yacht does not belong to him.
• DreamWorks Animation cofounder David Geffen and Walmart  heiress Ann Walton Kroenke are all confirmed yacht owners, however.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

It has become normal for the world's wealthiest individuals to drop millions, even billions, on lavish superyachts.

Oil Sheikhs and Russian tycoons alike are spending their holidays on massive yachts with swimming pools, basketball courts, and even concert halls.

Rumors circulated online in August that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had dropped $400 million on a superyacht called the "Flying Fox" with 36 guest cabins, a 12-meter swimming pool, and a helicopter pad. However, an Amazon spokesperson told INSIDER that the yacht does not belong to Bezos.

Read more : The 15 most popular private jet destinations for the ultra-wealthy right now, from Spain's most famous party town to the Bahamas

Keep reading to see 11 of the most expensive superyachts on the planet, ranked from least-exorbitantly expensive to most expensive.

Walmart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke owns the Aquila, which is estimated to be worth $150 million.

The 281-foot yacht was spotted in Antibes in during the Cannes Film Festival in May, Business Insider  previously reported.

The estate of Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen once owned a 414-foot yacht dubbed the Octopus. It's valued at $200 million.

The yacht has 41 suites and cost a whopping $200 million to build, Business Insider previously reported. The Octopus comes with a pool, two helicopters, and a movie theater. If that's not enough, there's also a basketball court and recording studio.

Business Insider also reported that the yacht was spotted at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

The Al Mirqab, a $250 million luxury yacht that can accommodate 24 people, was built for Qatar's former Prime Minister, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.

The yacht won the Motor Yacht of the Year award in 2009. It has two VIP suites that each come with a bathroom, living room, and double bedroom, according to Superyachts.com .

The Dilbar, the world's largest yacht by gross tonnage, was built for Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov for $256 million.

The yacht weighs 15,917 tons (over 31 million pounds), Business Insider previously reported. The Dilbar has two helipads, an indoor swimming pool, and 3,800 square meters of living space.

The $300 million Al Said yacht was built for the Sultan of Oman in 2008.

It is 509 feet long, making it one of the biggest megayachts on this list, according to The Guardian . There's not much information about the Al Said's different amenities. It does, however, have a concert hall that can fit a 50-piece orchestra.

The gigantic $400 million Dubai yacht measures 532 feet and is currently owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Emir, or ruler, of Dubai.

The superyacht features a mosaic swimming pool, circular staircase, and helipad, The Guardian previously reported. It can fit 24 guests overnight.

Russian tycoon Andrey Melnichenko owns Motor Yacht A, which is worth $400 million.

The yacht has seven luxurious cabins that sleep 14 guests, Business Insider previously reported. It also has three swimming pools, one of which has a glass floor.

The Serene Yacht was purchased for 500 million euros (roughly $560 million) in 2015 by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

The Serene is the largest yacht to have ever launched into Italian waters, according to The New York Times .

David Geffen, a billionaire entertainment mogul, has owned the $590 million Rising Sun since 2010.

Geffen originally shared the yacht with Oracle founder Larry Ellison, Business Insider previously reported. The 454-foot superyacht comes with a basketball court and can fit 18 guests. In April 2017, Geffen hosted the Obamas on the megayacht.

The owner of the $600 million Azzam yacht is unclear, but many speculate it is owned by the royal family of Abu Dhabi.

The yacht is also rumored to have its own submarine with a missile defense system, Business Insider previously reported.

At 590 feet long, the Azzam has long held the title of the largest superyacht in the world.

The $1.9 billion Eclipse yacht was delivered to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2010.

The yacht comes with two helicopter pads, 24 guest cabins, a disco hall, two swimming pools, and several hot tubs, according to The Daily Mail .

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Billionaire husband of Michelle Mone lines up a £50MILLION mega-yacht

• Lady Mone has stated that the pair hope to retire and sail the world in 2025
• Husband, Doug Barrowman made more than £60 million profit on a PPE contract deal with the government 

The billionaire husband of 'Baroness Bra' Michelle Mone is preparing to take delivery of a £50 million mega-yacht, sources on the French Riviera say.

Scottish businessman Doug Barrowman – at the centre of a PPE procurement scandal with his wife – sold a 187ft (57m) yacht, Turquoise, in October last year for a reported £17.5 million. A smaller yacht, the Lady M, is now up for sale for £6.8 million.

The 58-year-old is a noted yacht enthusiast and said in a previous televised interview that he felt he had 'one more boat' in him, at a budget of £50 million.

Lady Mone added in a separate interview that the two of them hoped to retire and sail the world in 2025.

Sources in Monaco say Mr Barrowman has long planned to purchase and design his own 'ultimate' dream vessel and say that 'Vento' – currently being fitted out in Turkey – is his new craft.

The 285ft (87m) yacht boasts a hull finished in Tour de France blue, a swimming pool, a helipad that doubles as a basketball court, an outdoor cinema, bar and spiral staircase, plus a beauty salon and beach club. 

It is being fitted by London-based H2 Designs, who previously worked with Mr Barrowman on a refit of Turquoise and of the Lady M. Vento is due to be delivered to its new owner this year.

Jonny Horsfield, the boss of H2, did not return requests for comment about the owner of the new yacht.

Yacht broker Glynn Smith, of Ethereal Yachts – who did the deal for Vento – did not deny that the client was Mr Barrowman but said that he was bound by 'strict confidentiality' and added that the client 'wished to remain anonymous'.

Mr Barrowman's office and lawyer, and Lady Mone's office, did not return requests for comment.

The timing of the purchase could be embarrassing, as the National Crime Agency is investigating allegations of fraud and bribery surrounding the firm PPE Medpro.

PPE Medpro, a consortium that Mr Barrowman led, was awarded more than £200 million by the Government to supply medical equipment. 

It is currently being sued by the Government for £122 million for 'breach of contract and unjust enrichment' over claims that its surgical gowns were unfit for use.

The company denies the allegations and Mr Barrowman says that he is confident that he will win his civil case.

Lady Mone, who founded the lingerie label Ultimo, lobbied Ministers Michael Gove and Lord Agnew for the PPE contracts but initially denied she had connections to the firm. She now admits that was a lie.

Mr Barrowman made more than £60 million profit on the deal, much of which was transferred to an offshore trust of which Lady Mone and her children are beneficiaries.

The National Crime Agency has frozen her bank accounts during the investigation. A string of assets owned by Lady Mone, 52, and Mr Barrowman have been put up for sale, including a home on St Barts, the Lady M yacht and a Cessna private jet.

The couple's London home and Algarve villa have reportedly been sold. They live on the Isle of Man, which is a tax haven.

In a statement published on Lady Mone's account on X/Twitter, Mr Barrowman sought to highlight failures from the Department of Health and Social Care.

'Michelle and I are being hung out to dry to distract attention from Government incompetence in how it handled PPE procurement,' he said. 'I understand why the British public feel angry but their anger should not be directed at Michelle or I.' 

He added that Medpro's profit was in line with that made by other PPE providers.

In a Channel 4 documentary, Million Pound Mega Yachts, broadcast in 2015, Mr Barrowman said he had spent around £3 million refitting the yacht Turquoise with H2.

He added: 'You have to spend it on something. There's a limit to the amount of houses you can have and private air travel.'

He added that he and H2 boss Mr Horsfield had spent 'hours' talking about the design of the boat and said: 'I think we've got another boat in us really.'

Mr Barrowman's yacht Turquoise featured in the Sky drama series Riviera in 2017. It was seen in one of the episode's opening sequences as the setting for an orgy, and was then 'blown up' via special effects. Mr Barrowman made a cameo appearance.

Producer Paul McGuinness, formerly U2's manager, told GQ magazine that Mr Barrowman had insisted on drinking Dom Perignon while the other actors and extras had sparkling apple juice. 'He loved being on the show.

'He didn't see why he had to drink coloured water and we certainly weren't going to tell him what he should drink,' McGuinness said.

In an interview with the Daily Record in 2020, Lady Mone said: 'Doug and I dream of getting a yacht and going around the world… At the moment. we've got too much on our plate but in five years' time, I see us doing that.'

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Bluewater prides itself on exceptional sales advice, market intelligence and sourcing the right yacht at the right price. No matter where you are based, you can benefit from listing or purchasing your yacht with our yacht brokers who are leading worldwide yacht sale experts in major yachting destinations such as the Caribbean, Fort Lauderdale and the Mediterranean.

We’re passionate about yachting and helping our clients by offering a full service and unrivalled support from start to finish – our commitment is defined as ‘One Company, One Complete Service’ with listings for a large selection of yacht brands such as Azimut, Benetti, Sunseeker and Princess Yachts, as well as departments dedicated to yacht charter, yacht management, yacht crew placement and crew training, to ensure we can cater for all of your yachting requirements.

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EUR 124,950,000† (EU VAT paid)

• Length: 90.1m (295.6ft)
• Guests: 14 guests in 7 cabins
• Built: 2010 (refitted 2024)
• Lurssen-Werft

O'PTASIA

EUR 89,999,000

• Length: 85m (278.9ft)
• Guests: 23 guests in 10 cabins
• Built: 2018
• Golden Yachts

EUR 79,750,000† (EU VAT paid)

• Length: 80m (262.5ft)
• Guests: 18 guests in 9 cabins
• Built: 2007

PROJECT 825

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• Length: 75.8m (248.7ft)
• Guests: 12 guests in 6 cabins
• Built: 2025
• Feadship, Royal Van Lent

EUR 109,000,000 (EU VAT paid)

• Length: 74m (242.8ft)
• Guests: 14 guests in 6 cabins
• Built: 2017

EUR 55,000,000† (EU VAT paid)

• Length: 70.6m (231.6ft)
• Built: 2011
• Proteksan Turquoise

EUR 24,800,000 (EU VAT paid)

• Built: 2002 (refitted 2022)
• Royal Denship

EUR 49,500,000†

• Length: 65m (213.3ft)
• Built: 2011 (refurbished 2021)

EUR 35,800,000

• Length: 64.8m (212.6ft)
• Built: 2006 (refitted 2017)

MAGNA GRECIA

EUR 15,000,000

• Length: 63.8m (209.3ft)
• Built: 1986 (rebuilt 2019, refitted 2019)
• Elsflether Werft

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Superyacht costing £200million can 'turn INVISIBLE' to protect privacy of billionaires

The 106-metre Mirage will be totally clad in specially mirrored glass and will reflect the image of the sea back to onlookers, making it look as if the 4,200 tonne vessel has 'vanished

• 22:10, 11 Oct 2018
• Updated 22:56, 11 Oct 2018

A boat designer has unveiled plans for the ultimate purchase for privacy-hungry billionaires - an 'invisible' superyacht which he says will appear to completely vanish into the sea.

The 106-metre Mirage, which could cost an estimated £200 million, will be totally clad in specially mirrored glass.

The panels, the yacht's designers say, will reflect the image of the sea back to onlookers, making it look as if the 4,200 tonne vessel has 'vanished' to people from as little as 50 metres distance.

As well as the ability to blend into its maritime surroundings, the craft comes fully equipped with a helipad, spa, outdoor theatre and cinema, and would be suitable for members of the world's super rich who value discretion.

The six-decked craft can sleep 14 guests and 29 crew members, and can cruise at a comfortable speed of 19 knots.

The yacht - which has been developed by Italian boatbuilders Fincantieri and Dutch firm Van Geest Designs - will "disappear between water and sky" and "blend into the horizon", its makers say.

Designer Pieter Van Geest said it had taken a year to develop the blueprints and would take another three and a half years to construct.

He said: "The whole design process took about one year. The longest part was researching the reflective glass and how it would be built.

"From our side, it was developed with just a team of two, however, there was a whole team to support us from Fincantieri boat builders.

"They dealt with the shipyard development side of it, which is the structural and naval architecture of the vessel.

"The main reason in designing this yacht was to make something that belonged to its environment.

"Most yachts nowadays stand out and break the horizon or the landscape, in a way, we have tried to minimise this effect.

"The colour variable mirrored glass is developed by a German glass manufacturer, which has never been used on yachts before.

"All the vertical panels on the yacht will have this finish.

"If you were on the water it would probably be invisible from over 50 metres away.

"If you are on the yacht itself the mirror will project the yacht's surroundings, so in a way, it will give you a floating on air effect when onboard."

Mr Van Geest declined to put a price on the Mirage, but maritime experts suggested £200 million would be reasonable for such a luxury vessel.

If that was an accurate price tag it would place Mirage in the top 10 of the world's most expensive yachts, currently topped by the £4 billion History Supreme, which is owned by Malaysia's richest man, Robert Knok, and is made of solid gold.

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The World’s 10 Most Expensive Yachts

“I have more money than you, and a much smaller penis.”

~The owners of the world’s most expensive yachts

It takes a certain kind of person to own a boat.  Unless you’re a mountain man with a hand-fashioned canoe, boat ownership tends to require a specific combination of “disposable income”, “access to a large water mass”, and “possessing a desire to spend your time bobbing on said water mass.”  That said, among those who meet these criteria, there are still a myriad of reasons that we buy boats.  Some like to go fishing, or just appreciate the calmness of the sea.  Still others like adventure, and use their boats to compete in thousand-league-long races, or travel the globe.  Every one of these individuals feels a deep seated passion for the sea (or their nearest lake) and a sense of oneness with these bodies of water that harkens the very spirit of those who sailed across the endless ocean to find America in the first place.  It’s an admirable hobby (or obsession, depending on the level of commitment).

And then, of course, there are the douchebags that buy floating mansions to flaunt their wealth.  These people like to spend a few million dollars to buy a boat that they can anchor within view of the nearest beach while surrounded with bikini-clad women who are 30 years younger than them.  It’s not exactly the best subset of American culture, but…well, yeah, on the scale of “positive examples of American culture” it’s right between “people who cook meth in 20-ounce plastic soda bottles ” and “people who go to fancy restaurants and order a bottle of ‘ka-ber-net sah-vig-none’ unironically.”

Pictured above:  could be either group, actually

Thankfully, America tends to stay out of the “trying to prove that you’re totally not impotent by making the largest, most expensive yacht in the nation” race (with one exception) but some people (cough, Saudi princes and Russian billionaires) can’t seem to be satisfied with a measly ten million dollar yacht requiring a permanent crew.  So we decided to pool together a semi-definitive list of the most expensive boats to ever grace our oceans (God, we hope they’re at least going on the ocean.  A giant multi-million dollar taking up an entire lake seems like the ultimate “fuck you” to poor people).  It’s free to look, because you’ll never be able to afford a single one of them.

The World’s Most Expensive Yachts

See that boat up there?  The one with a fucking helipad at its front-boat-part (we might not be the best people to write this article as our staffers literally don’t know a single nautical term outside of a handful of buzz words that filtered in while we were watching Speed 2 )?  That’s the Prince Abdulaziz , and it was the longest and tallest motor yacht in the world when it was made in 1984.  And it won’t even make this list because no one seems to know how much it’s worth.

That’s right, there are so many absurdly expensive boats out there that we have to disqualify some boats that literally cost more to make than Iron Man 2 .  And that’s after we discovered that the story about a $4.5 billion dollar yacht made out of gold and meteor was fake (though it made sense once we finally say it out loud).  That also means we can’t include the Streets of Monaco , which is going to cost about $1.1 billion because, despite being a floating replica of a city street, complete with racing track, it hasn’t been made yet.  So though some frivolous displays of debauched wealth won’t make this list, we still want you to know that someone out there is going to spend more money on a big-ass boat than Micronesia’s Gross Domestic Product in 2011.  While American billionaires like to spend a billion dollars on charity, these assholes are going to make a floating city where they can watch Formula 1 cars go “Vroom” because fuck you.

Seriously, fuck all of these yacht owners.  Erm, we mean, below is our completely unbiased look at the ten most expensive yachts in the world.

10.  Rising Sun – $200 Million

Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep Americans off this list entirely.  Listen, we’re all for blindly spending money just because you’re rich, but there’s something especially douchey about spending twice as much money on a boat than Michael Jordan made in his entire basketball career on a giant boat you’ll use for maybe a few weeks every year . So yeah, you’re not going to exactly see us tripping over ourselves to compliment Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison for buying the 10 th largest boat in the world at a reported cost of over $200 million dollars .  And you’re definitely not going to see us giving props to David Geffen for deciding that this was something he absolutely had to buy.  Granted, it seems that Geffen, who has a net worth of $6 billion and does donate a fair amount to charities and medical research, can afford it without too much difficulty, so we’re going to try to take it easy on him…

Wait what’s that?  He owns number seven on our list too ?  Goddamn it, Geffen, what the fuck are you going to do with two yachts that cost over $200 million!?  Stop that, you’re making us look like Russians!

9.  Lady Moura- $210 Million

For the rest of this list, the owners of the yachts in question tend to belong to one of two groups.  They’re either Russian businessmen who likely did some shady shit during the fall of the Soviet Union to monopolize their own little corner of the economy, or they’re billionaires from Arab states that like to flaunt their wealth.  However, Dr. Nasser al Rasheed , the owner of the $210 million Lady Moura , is the one exception to that rule.  While many of the following yachts are owned by princes and sultans, al Rasheed is a Saudi Arabian owner of an Engineering company with degrees from the University of Texas and the University of Miami, which means he might very well be one of the few owners on this list to have, you know, earned his fortune somewhat honestly.

This boat has the standard “holy shit keep in mind this is a boat owned by a single person for the hell of it ” features like a helipad, a 344-foot length, and a crew of 61, but we’d have to assume that a lot of the cost went into the unnecessarily gaudy detail work, like having the ships name spelled out on three sides of the ship in massive 24 carat gold letters.  Of all the boats on this list, this is the only one that has actually gotten into a crash .  You’d think $210 million would at least afford a captain who knows the difference between “sea” and “land.”  Didn’t we learn anything from the Titanic ?

8.  Al Mirqab- $250 Million

Pardon us for our ignorance, but is there a viable reason why so many of these fucking things have helipads on them?  Apart from making them look like they belong to a villain in a James Bond movie?  Because yes, we assume that the billionaires who buy such large fancy toys own helicopters too, but wouldn’t it be a pain in the ass to helicopter onto your boat?  You can just…go to where it’s docked, right?  Or do these boats stay out in the ocean at all times and are only accessible via helicopter, like some sort of rich person Noah’s ark filled with contracted escorts and mercenary crewmen instead of two of every animal?

Anyway, this is Al Mirqab .  It cost about $250 million and is owned by Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, which just rolls off the tongue once you’ve spent five minutes practicing saying it in a mirror.  Earlier this year it was in Gibraltar, a fact that we bring up only as an excuse to point out that there are totally websites that track that shit .  This boat can accommodate 24 guests and has a crew of 55, which to us seems like it’s just begging for its crew to snap, mutiny, take over the entire yacht, and leave the boat’s guests stranded on some godforsaken island.  Not that any of our staff members has applied for a position on the boat with that specific intention.  That’d be ridiculous.  It’s not like you could clear $100 million with ransom demands alone in such a situation.  Nonsense.  Let us not speak of this anymore.  Moving on.

7.  Dilbar- $256 Million

Glad to see the Ruskies have finally come out to play.   The Dilbar, owned by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov , cost about $256 million (depending on currency rates).  It was launched in 2008, and is 110 meters long, which, converting from Metric to America, means the boat is roughly one football field plus about sixty feet.  We’re not sure what it is about this boat in particular that reminds us of an episode of Miami Vice but we have to imagine that at some point all of the coke and women under the age of 25 skinnier than 115 pounds in Russia were on this boat.  Which is actually a terrifying thought, since it’s owner looks like this.

“My milkshake brings all the girls to the yacht.”

While some might look at this man and go, “this person owns a boat larger than most houses, more expensive than most luxury hotels, and is worth over 17 billion dollars, I am envious of him and his wealth” most of us know better and say, “Well, if you’re going to look like a squat toad with glasses that are most commonly found on grandmothers who shop at Wal-Mart, you’d better have a giant boat and 17 billion dollars to make up for that fact.  And besides, at least I’ve spent roughly eight years less of my life in Russian jail than this guy has.”  Because as nice as that boat looks, it doesn’t strike us as “eight years in a Russian prison” nice.  But maybe we’re just spoiled like that.

6.  Pelorus- $300 Million

As we mentioned before, this particular boat is also owned by the lone American to grace this list, David Geffin , who apparently has spent at least 5% of his total wealth to acquire giant boats that require a year-round crew.  This one at least owes its existence to a combination of Saudis trying too hard to impress people, Russians overcompensating for the lack of capitalism before the fall of the Soviet Union, and, well, divorce.  Originally commissioned by a Saudi businessman, it was sold after one year to Roman Abramovich, who we’ll talk about later on in this list, who lost it to his ex-wife as part of their divorce settlement.  Irina Abromavich proceeded to sell it for $300 million to David Geffen in 2011, who probably forgot that he had just finished his last payment on his other $200 million plus yacht.

The Pelorus boasts two helipads , because if you have only one helicopter to go with your 9-figure boat, you’re a plebeian.  There are also two separate swimming pools on the main deck, since it’s not like there’s any water nearby that you can swim in, SARCASM RIGHT GUYS!? (ha ha, but seriously if you ever decided to go swimming in the ocean off the side of a 50 foot tall, 375 foot long super yacht,  you’d probably end up doing a very convincing impression of Natalie Wood.)  That all being said, the simple fact remains that David Geffen owns two giant boats with a full service staff, and landing spaces for at least three personal helicopters.  It might be a bit alarmist to make a claim that he’s starting his own naval force in a plan to take over a small country, but did you know that Costa Rica doesn’t have a standing military and is accessible from the sea?

5.  Al Said- $300 Million (or so we can best tell)

We’ll admit that the $300 million price tag is fairly speculative, as we’ve found at least one site declaring that it costs a mysterious “ Nobody’s Talking .”  However, we’re inclined to go with the realistic-seeming “$200 million to $300 million” estimate, considering that, at 500 feet in length and 78 feet in height, this is the foruth largest yacht in the world, and, oh right, it has its own fucking concert hall large enough to fit a 50 person orchestra.  Sultan Qaboos of Oman , who sounds like he’s a member of the Trade Federation of the Star Wars prequels, owns the boat, which houses a crew of 154 while having accommodations for up to 70 “pampered” guests (and considering the price tag of this little vessel, you’d damn well hope the guests would all be pampered).

And for those of you wondering, we’re almost certain that Al Said was not in fact named after the character from Lost .  Wait, what’s that?  Oh okay so we’ve officially crossed the line into full-fledged cultural insensitivity?  Yeah, you probably have a fair point.  Sorry about that.  We’ll try to back off.

4.  A- $323 Million

This particular yacht looks deceptively small, and also sort of submarine-y.  It is neither, since the boat is over 390 feet long, 61 feet tall, and probably incredibly sinkable if you tried to submerge the fucker.  The sleek, stealthy design, combined with the cryptic name of A makes this boat look less a cruise liner like the other entries on this list, and more like the mobile headquarters of a Saturday morning cartoon supervillain.

Speaking of former enemies, this is a German built yacht owned by a Russian billionaire.  It has a surprisingly unsecured-looking helipad at its front (are we the only ones who are looking at that and imagining a helicopter sliding off as soon as this thing’s hit by a moderately big wave?) and two swimming areas, including a giant hot tub taking up the open space in the back of the ship.  Since the design minimizes the amount of non-interior space on the yacht, it does seem surprising that this is so much more expensive than the vessels listed above.  Of course, the $40,000 bath faucets and $60,000 stair banisters in the interior make us think that a lot of the cost went into making everything inside the damn ship unnecessarily expensive.

For whatever reason (cough, the owners want to brag, cough) a lot of information regarding the costs of this boat are readily available, so we know that it costs $500,000 just to fill the gas tank.  We also know that with a 37 person crew with a passenger capacity of 14, it costs roughly $20 million a year just to run this boat.  So the next time you have to scrape together the insurance payment to cover your 1996 Buick, just take solace in knowing that these Russian assholes sneeze away $20 million dollars a year on a boat just because they can.  Ha ha!  Get a job!  Or, you know, have the means and timing to take advantage of an economic vacuum in Russia directly after the fall of the Soviet Union.  Loser .                                  

3.  Dubai (Previously Platinum 525)- $350 Million

Here we have the Dubai , which at 524 feet long, was the largest yacht in the world when it was constructed.  If not for the helicopter in the picture, you wouldn’t be particularly out of place for confusing it with a Carnival cruise ship, but no, this is a boat owned entirely by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai and the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, which some of you might remember as the setting for Sex in the City 2 .

Easily our favorite thing about this boat is this website we’ve found flaunting it.  Someone spent $350 million to make this yacht, and this website spent, what appears to be, 35 cents to set up a geocities account to talk about it.  Even better, the site has pictures of the interior of Dubai , and while A ’s interior shots prove it to be expensive, but understated, Dubai has rooms that look like Pee-Wee Herman’s hookah lounge.

Today’s secret word is:  Excessive Opulence!  AHHHHHH!

Granted, this might be just a difference in cultures, but we’d have to think a smorgasbord-looking combination of brightly colored carpets doesn’t exactly scream “I have billions of dollars of disposable wealth at my fingertips.”  However, the giant 500 foot boat probably does, so it’s a bit of a wash.

2.  Azzam- $620 Million

Okay, to get the boring details out of the way.  This boat is 590 feet long, making it the longest boat ever made.  It just recently made its inaugural trip out to sea.  No one knows who the owner is, but they all speculate it belongs to Saudi royalty.  All of that is well and good, but by far our favorite thing about this book is the sentence from this article that it inspired when TheYachtPhoto’s Peter Seyfferth said, “I have never seen an Arab-owned yacht with big parties and girls round the pool like the Russians have.”

We don’t have anything more to add to that.  Apparently rich Russians and rich Arabs titter behind each other’s backs about who uses their multi-million dollar yachts correctly or not.  You know, like gossiping girls in Junior High School.  We don’t know why we love the schadenfreude of that so much, but we absolutely do .

1.  Eclipse- $1.5 Billion  (Yes.  Billion)

Roman Abramovich , who you might remember as “the guy you just read about who lost one of his super yachts in a divorce settlement” likes his yachts like he likes his women.   Divorcing him White, over-sized, and intimidatingly secure.  At one time both the largest and most expensive yacht in existence, it’s something of a celebrity in the douchebag yacht world.  It also is the one boat that absolutely confirms that its owner is up to no good.  Along with its two helipads, it has a mini-submarine, three landing boats, a crew of 70, and the whole thing is rigged with security cameras and sensors.  No word on if there’s a shark tank for dissidents, but since Abromovich has been notoriously tight lipped about the interior of his floating fortress due to “security concerns” we can safely assume he does.

Oh that’s right, it also has a fucking missile defense system !   And an anti-paparazzi shield that prevents you from being able to take a picture of people on it!  Okay, seriously, is Roman Abramovich the bad guy from “ The World Is Not Enough ”?

Since Abramovich is so obsessed with security, a lot of details remain unknown about this boat, which is why it is valued anywhere between $800 million and $1.5 billion, both of which make easily make it the most expensive yacht in the world.  But if you’re dealing with a man who put a goddamn missile defense system on his boat, do you think he’d stop before he could say “this boat coast one billion dollars” doing his best Russian Dr. Evil impression?  Of course not.  If Roman Abramovich was told his boat only cost $800 million, we can guarantee he’d put in a $200 million dungeon filled with caviar and sharks or something.

Anyway, if you’ll excuse us, we got an email saying that if we wrap ourselves in tin foil and pretend we’re a burrito we get free tacos from Chipotle.  Fingers crossed that’ll save us enough money to afford rent this month.

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