ice mega yacht

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Motor Yacht

Ice is a custom motor yacht launched in 2005 by Lurssen Yachts in Bremen, Germany and most recently refitted in 2008.

Lürssen has remained a family-run German shipyard since its inception in 1875 and is now in its fourth generation of private ownership. The company was founded by Friedrich Lürssen with a desire to create a leading shipyard in both quality and performance.

Ice measures 90.10 metres in length, with a max draft of 5.00 metres and a beam of 15.00 metres. She has a deck material of teak.

Ice has a steel hull with an aluminium superstructure.

Tim Heywood, the multi award-winning yacht designer, has produced some of the finest and largest yachts on the water. Among his exceptional designs is the stunning 133m Al Mirqab, which was awarded the coveted ‘Motor Yacht of the Year’ at the 2009 World Superyacht Awards.

Her interior design is by Terence Disdale.

Ice also features naval architecture by Lurssen Yachts.

Performance and Capabilities

Ice has a top speed of 17.50 knots and a cruising speed of 16.00 knots. She is powered by a twin azipods propulsion system.

Ice has a fuel capacity of 400,000 litres.

She also has a range of 6,000 nautical miles.

Accommodation

Ice accommodates up to 14 guests in 7 cabins. She also houses room for up to 27 crew members.

Other Specifications

Ice has a hull NB of 13628.

• Yacht Builder Lurssen Yachts View profile
• Naval Architect Lurssen Yachts View profile
• Exterior Designer Tim Heywood Design View profile
• Interior Designer Terence Disdale View profile

Yacht Specs

Other lurssen yachts, related news.

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ICE Yacht Layout & GA Plans

90.1m  /  295'7 | lurssen | 2005.

• Amenities & Toys

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ICE a LURSSEN Superyacht

• Inspiration

ICE has 4 Photos

Inside the 24-metre pocket explorer ICE ...

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LAUREN L | From EUR€ 695,000/wk

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If you have any questions about the ICE information page below please contact us .

Motor yacht ICE (ex AIR) is an imposing 90m (295 ft) mega yacht built by the respected German shipyard Lurssen. She was launched in 2005 as AIR and constructed to the design by Tim Heywood. Interior of luxury superyacht ICE was designed by Terence Disdale Design and offers elegant and ultra luxurious furnishings and amenities.

Accommodation aboard ICE is offered to 14 guests in seven staterooms, serviced by a crew of around 27 highly professional crew. Accommodation layout includes one spacious and ultra-luxurious master stateroom, two double staterooms and four twin staterooms. All accommodation is provided with en suite bathroom facilities and the finest in linens and decoration, as well as the latest in technology.

Terence Disdale Designed interior of mega yacht ICE can be described as contemporary with a warm and homely feeling, featuring a large amount of fine art pieces and bespoke furniture.

ICE Specifications

One of the main features of ICE is her large swimming pool located on the main deck as well as the ever-so-popular jacuzzi on the sun deck. The yachts' beauty and craftsmanship were acknowledged at the 2006 World Superyacht Awards, where she won the Superyacht of the Year award.

ICE superyacht is powered by diesel-electric engines, using eight 842 kW Deutz 16-cylinder generators to offer electric power to two ABB type 5 Azipod electric thrusters. Maximum speed reached by the yacht is 18 knots.

Yacht Accommodation

Fourteen guests are accommodated in seven beautiful and contemporarily-styled staterooms with luxurious amenities aboard ICE. The accommodation layout includes one master stateroom, two double staterooms and four twin staterooms, all with en suite bathroom facilities and amenities expected of a yacht of this calibre.

Amenities and Extras

We do have available further amenity, owner and price information for the 90m (295'3'') yacht ICE, so please enquire for more information.

ICE Disclaimer:

The luxury yacht ICE displayed on this page is merely informational and she is not necessarily available for yacht charter or for sale, nor is she represented or marketed in anyway by CharterWorld. This web page and the superyacht information contained herein is not contractual. All yacht specifications and informations are displayed in good faith but CharterWorld does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the current accuracy, completeness, validity, or usefulness of any superyacht information and/or images displayed. All boat information is subject to change without prior notice and may not be current.

Quick Enquiry

"Since yacht design is highly competitive, you could be forgiven for thinking that there might be some animosity between designers. But that notion is far from reality. I am blessed with being able to count on some of the world’s leading designers as close friends, among them Tim Heywood, with whom we have collaborated on various large motor yacht projects, including the award winners Pelorus, Ice and Kogo." - "Creatively, Tim is afraid of nothing and will often conceptualise ideas that bewilder shipyards." - Terence Disdale speaking of Tim Heywood, the designer of this yacht.

PHOENIX 2 | From EUR€ 1,000,000/wk

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How a 77m Soviet icebreaker became the ultra-tough explorer Legend

We revisit the story of Legend , a former Soviet icebreaker that was transformed into a sumptuous 77 metre explorer.

Lightning strobes across the horizon as our tender slogs through the heave and chop of the Mediterranean just off Beaulieu-sur-Mer, towards 77.4 metre explorer yacht Legend . Whipping rain, cracks of thunder — it certainly feels as if the Côte d’Azur is lavishing its most melodramatic weather on this ultra-tough vessel.

But it’s not making much of an impression. The thing you notice, as you step on to  Legend ’s stern platform from a rolling tender, is her rock-like stability. For her, this doesn’t really count as weather. 

Legend started life in 1974 as an icebreaking tug from Dutch yard IHC Verschure and was redelivered in 2016 as an ultra-luxe explorer yacht after a 12-month refit at Dutch shipyard Icon Yachts . Jan Verkerk was the mastermind behind the rebuild. After spending years exploring the Antarctic aboard his classic yacht Sherakhan , he saw a “gap in the market” for a true expedition yacht and the potential of Legend ’s hull to fill it. [ Legend has since changed ownership but remains available for charter with Y.CO .]

"She was built as a Class 1 icebreaker - an icebreaker, not just Ice Class. This is something important. As is her reasonable fuel efficiency and her obvious safe and solid structure,” he says. “I was able to create a vessel that can go anywhere in the world, but also provide the luxuries that have become standard in the superyacht industry.” 

Legend certainly feels solid. Her 6.4 metre draught is nearly twice as deep as many yachts her length, and the same can be said of her weight. Aesthetically, she also balanced Verkerk’s portfolio nicely. “ Legend was built for the Soviet Union during the Cold War and has seen active service. I like this part of her history and I believe that this shines through her personality. I say ‘she’ but with her powerful lines Legend really is a ‘he’. Sherakhan is more of a classic, old lady. She was built just a few years before Legend , but in those years shipbuilding technology saw significant changes,” he says.

While Verkerk admired the boat’s bone structure, he was bold about the rest: by the end of the refit at Icon, 100 tonnes of new steel and aluminium had been added. Major structural changes put function first. “ Legend had a canoe stern — round, closed — but the use of the boat really asked for a big swim platform, where you could moor the tenders and have a closer relation to the water,” says Hans-Maarten Bais, creative director and naval architect at Diana Yacht Design , who was responsible for the exterior design and engineering of the rebuild.

The answer was lengthening Legend ’s stern by 3.6 metres, allowing for not only a new swim platform but also a massive 16-person superyacht spa pool — with waterfall — for when the ocean is not suitable for a dip. And there were other fundamental challenges further forward.

“There was a huge tender amidships, which really broke up the boat into a fore-ship and an aft-ship,” says Bais. The solution was removing a massive secondary mast from this space, adding an extra deckhouse and extending the forecastle deck back to join more substantially with Legend ’s aft deck. There’s still tender storage amidships - both on this deck and the one below - but Legend ’s two halves feel united. As Bais puts it, the change “brings back the balance”.

Also added to Legend ’s adventurous kit was a commercial-standard superyacht helideck on the owner’s deck aft, suitable for a six-person Eurocopter EC135, along with its state-of-the-art fire extinguishing systems, an eight tonne helifuel storage tank and bunker systems. There will also be a smaller chopper, for emergencies, to be craned from the helideck to sit on the extended forecastle deck. Rotor blades will be stored neatly in new foredeck lockers and both helicopters vacuum-wrapped to keep them pristine on crossings.

Legend packs in every superyacht water toy a guest could hope for as well as the necessary extra staff — she can take an expedition crew of 10 (helicopter pilot, doctor, expedition leaders, naturalists and so on) on top of the 28 regular crew. Their accommodation is forward on the lower, main and boat decks — giving easy access to every level of guest accommodation. The captain’s cabin and the ice pilot’s, meanwhile, are up behind the revamped wheelhouse.

“The new bridge layout is intended to reflect the atmosphere of the old passenger liners,” says Legend ’s [former] captain Bernard Vivegnis, “so you have free-standing consoles rather than a steering desk up on the windows. It is quite nice as you can actually walk up to the window in front of the consoles and check the view. The consoles themselves group navigation, conning and communication in separate units in an efficient way so that the watch is always an easy task.” There’s also a conference corner to plan the next day’s activities with the guests and expedition team.

Up front, the Legend refit project extended the foredeck tender garage so it could accommodate two snowmobiles (fitted with trackers in case guests lose their way) and the ultimate exploration gadget - a three-person U-Boat Worx C-Explorer submarine . Lifted by a foredeck crane through a hatch in the ceiling and into the water, it can dive to 300 metres with two guests and a pilot, and do seven 45 minute dives a day.

“I made a dive with it in the Norwegian fjords,” says Thom Beerens, Legend’s [former] purser. “It’s a really cool, strange experience, sitting there like you’re in a car or an airplane. You see the water level rising, it gets dark, then you switch on the lights and see whatever’s in front of you. We were suddenly looking at a shipwreck.”

But to get her 22 guests to such fantastical locations, rather more prosaic considerations had to be taken into account - especially with a charter yacht that needs to meet standards for a passenger vessel. “The use as a PYC-classed vessel required major modifications of the staircases and fire-retarding bulkheads,” says Jen Wartena, co-founder CEO of Icon Yachts. “Other safety systems required replacement of all ceilings.”

Verkerk’s experience of cruising extreme latitudes also served to bulk up Legend ’s safety credentials further. “Because the approach is to sail in Antarctica — he has a lot of experience sailing there with Sherakhan — and the aft windows were quite low to the water and massive, he didn’t want to have the risk that a big wave could blow them out. So we made them smaller. The total area of glass is the same, we just extended the area of the windows and divided them into smaller portions. And we made the glass really, really thick so they can withstand the biggest waves.”

In terms of the engine room, as Wartena puts it, “the only things that are still the same are Legend ’s beautiful and very powerful main engines, gearbox, shaft and propeller. It is really impressive to see them, and is wise to keep them as part of the history of the boat.”

They certainly seem to work well in concert with the capable hull. “ Legend handles nice and easy in any sea state,” says Captain Vivegnis. “Her draught and inertia make for a very easy rolling that the stabilisers compensate for adequately. A following sea is sometimes more annoying as we have built new nice social spaces very close to the sea aft, so that is taken into account when planning a day’s navigation. “I brought Legend from Italy in 2014 without stabilisers. That was in January and Biscay was wild, but the ship handled well then. Now, with the refurbished stabilisers and new software, it has become a really easy ride.”

It’s also important to note that Legend complies with the IMO Polar Code that came into effect on January 1, 2017 and covers safety measures and environmental protections for yachts venturing into defined polar waters. She satisfies technical requirements for her category of navigation and has cruised extensively in Antarctica since her re-launch.

Verkerk and Verkerk Yachting Projects planned the interior design with assistance from Beerens — selecting materials, creating sketches and mood boards. They passed these on to an interiors company for technical realisation. “Our main goal was that every door you open you say, ‘wow’,” says Beerens. “We wanted to make a walk through Legend an adventure by itself. Even if we had clients on board for four weeks, in the third week they should still be finding new things. With the destinations Legend is going to, they stay on board much more than they do here [in Europe], where at night you can go out for dinner. In Antarctica there is no restaurant.”

A sense of fun and excitement certainly comes through in the design but it is most apparent in the lobby forward of the main saloon where guests will find a whisky bar and (air treated) cigar room. Legend ’s décor has a nautical glamour, with wood panelling, monochrome floor tiles centred with a compass star and sofas in a smart humbug stripe.

“We’re going to get a big chunk of ice from Antarctica and put it in a cooler with a glass vitrine,” says Beerens. “So our clients can take a 30, 40, 50-year-old vodka or whisky, take 2,500-year-old ice with a hammer in their glass and drink it.” To port from here there’s a 14-seat cinema that feels - in the spirit of glamorous adventure - like sitting in the first-class carriage of a classic train. To starboard you will find Legend ’s superyacht gym with gear by Life Fitness Parabody, including an inset treadmill for taller guests.

On an explorer yacht it makes sense to promote this space from its traditional position lower down, since guests spending long periods on board Legend will likely use it more than Med cruisers, who can opt for an evening stroll on shore. They’ll appreciate the light and being close to social life on board. And, as Beerens notes, “one of the crew is a fitness instructor and two are masseuses”. The latter will pummel muscles in Legend ’s Balinese spa below the saloon, with its decorative woodwork, a central spa pool, sauna and massage rooms.

The large saloon is the cosiest area on board Legend with space to dine in company. Up a level, the aft boat deck saloon is a modern, light indoor-outdoor space that gives the feeling of relaxing al fresco even when conditions won’t permit actually venturing on deck.

Inside, there’s a bar, TV lounge, self-playing Mason & Hamlin piano and white modular seating around a central artificial fire. Out on the aft deck these shapes are echoed, with a circular barbecue grill taking the place of the fire. The 13 en-suite guest cabins on board Legend include two VIP suites, five double and five twin cabins (some convertible) and a forward owner’s suite ranged across the owner’s deck. “Her accommodation is designed around big cities, with each room containing an element of the city it has been named after,” says Verkerk.

The colours and ambience inform the accent tones and materials - particularly evident in the VIPs Moscow (dark glossy wood and red leather upholstery) and New York (sweet little Art Deco bar). In cabins and throughout Legend there are artificial Opti-myst fires that run on steam, for cosy nights in frozen places.

The master suite, Paris, features the muted tones of pale grey and warm woods. There’s a central bed, a little sitting room, a big bathroom and it can be joined with the suite just aft (Amsterdam). With Legend there’s a balance between cosiness and adventure, toughness and romance. As Wartena notes of the spa pool: “It must be great to bubble in this mega hot tub while sailing between icebergs, orcas and penguins."

Legend was sold to a new owner 2019 but is still available for charter in the Mediterranean and Antarctica with Y.CO .

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Luxury Mega Yacht PLANET NINE

The largest superyacht to date from the Italian Sea Group (Admiral) is the five-deck, 73.2 metre ice-class explorer mega yacht PLANET NINE which has only just been launched, early 2018.

Setting a new benchmark in her category, this full-displacement custom motor yacht features accommodation for 16 across eight spacious guest staterooms, including a 300-square-metre Master suite which covers an entire deck and comprises two cabins and a central lounge.

The upper deck has a luxurious and spacious indoor/outdoor dining area with an internet lounge and a panoramic observatory lounge. 

Other attributes include on deck Jacuzzi and elevators connecting all five decks and providing discreet crew access. The aft tender garage houses a pair of 9.75 metre Rupert Marine tenders, while the large Beach Club boasts an indulgent spa area for guests' total relaxation.

Designed by highly-awarded Tim Heywood, this superlative mega yacht has been constructed to deliver the best possible onboard experience for charter guests. With a massive volume of 2,100 GT, PLANET NINE can accommodate up to 16 guests and four crew in eight luxurious cabins, including a separate Owner's deck and a main deck VIP suite.

For further details of this beautiful mega yacht, and other superyachts please contact the specialists  at the Luxury Charter Group.

Tim Heywood

Tino Zervudachi

Italian Sea Group (Admiral)

73.2m, 240'

Disclaimer: The information about luxury yachts displayed on this page is merely informational and these yachts are not necessarily available for yacht charter or for sale, nor are they represented or marketed in anyway by Luxury Charter Group. This web page and the superyacht information contained herein is not contractual. All yacht specifications and information is displayed in good faith but Luxury Charter Group does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the current accuracy, completeness, validity, or usefulness of any superyacht information and/or images displayed. All boat information is subject to change without prior notice and may not be current.

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Amels / Damen SeaXplorer (Expedition Yacht 55 - 100m)

Damen (the mother company of amels ) presents a concept of a massive designed expedition ice class yacht called seaxplorer - a luxury suv for the seven seas..

Damen is normally the part of commercial ships, the Yacht Support Vessels and the mother company of AMELS. Now they unveiled this explorer yacht with an impressive vertical bow. The yacht concepts are available in the sizes of 55m , 65m, 77m (LA DATCHA) , 90m and 100m. All versions can carry helicopter(s), submarine(s) and various tenders.

Damen SeaXplorer features an ice breaker hull

The yacht range has ice-class up to class 6 to break 90 cm first-year ice. The yacht uses its stern to break the ice to keep comfort and performance at a maximum.

Rob Lujiendijk – CEO of AMELS says

“A number of experienced yachting clients approached us about adapting DAMEN’s professional vessels, so we knew from them that there were simply no globally capable luxury explorer yachts out there. And that’s also what we heard from EYOS Expeditions who have decades of experience in bespoke luxury expeditions to the wildest places on the planet. So that’s why DAMEN began developing the SeaXplorer. The result is well beyond a pretty rendering. It’s a fully developed range – something only DAMEN could do.”

Although SeaXplorer looks heavy, massive and bold, inside will be the pure luxury for journeys with maximum comfort.

55m SeaXplorer

Update September 27, 2017: Damen presents plans for a 55m version.

“With a SeaXplorer 75 and a SeaXplorer 65 from our range already sold and now under construction, this new design benefits from our dedicated SeaXplorer team’s experience and the input from our clients and partners. The SeaXplorer 55 will be at home just as much in the South of France as it is in South Georgia Island.”

Product Director Mark Vermeulen :

“The SeaXplorer 55 is a luxury yacht with real go-anywhere, do-anything expedition pedigree. It has the seakeeping performance and Ice Class capability, but we also offer lots of options for our clients – from full fairing and custom interiors to tailor-made configurations for their expedition equipment.”

77m Version (LA DATCHA)

Update August 15, 2017: Damen announced the sale of a 77m version with a hangar for two helicopters protected from the elements.

“Together with his guests, our client plans to visit some of the most beautiful and remote areas of the world,” c omments Commercial Director Rose Damen . “They will be skiing and snowboarding on pristine slopes like Kamchatka and submersible diving and sports fishing in Papua New Guinea and the Galápagos Islands. They will be in places with no supporting infrastructure, no roads and no heliports within range. So we designed the SeaXplorer 77 to carry out such complex operations with the highest level of safety, redundancy and autonomy.”

“Our designs in the SeaXplorer range are a great starting point to quickly create customized yachts for specific Owner requirements,” comments Mark Vermeulen, DAMEN Product Director . “The SeaXplorer 77 shares the range’s core attributes: compliance with the IMO Polar Code, the long periods of autonomy at sea, and the crossover of superyacht luxury with professional capability.” 

Damen SeaXplorer 77

Key Features 77m

• Swim Platform leading to Dive Centre (prep, changing, dry room, tank store and compressor room)
• Below-deck submersible hangar
• Below-deck toy store for jet skis, snowmobiles, etc
• Tender garage for 10.5-metre beach party landing craft
• Additional dive support tender and crew/rescue tender
• Wellness Center
• Sun Deck jacuzzi
• Retractable zero-speed stabilizers for use in ice conditions
• Huge Tank Deck provisions stores and garbage management

Renderings of the Damen SeaXplorer 77

Some rendering impressions

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The 10 Best Explorer Yachts for High-Seas Adventures

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Unlike fashion trends that seem to move as fast as a Redbull F1 car, the yachting industry takes its time adopting new ideas. There seems to be one exception. Explorer vessels, born out of the owners’ desires to go farther and stay longer, without sacrificing creature comforts, is developing with some urgency.

Several dozen builders and designers are now focusing on explorers, but they are also consulting with adventure travel firms that have a long history of using expedition yachts in remote parts of the globe. ICON Yachts, for example, collaborated with Cookson Adventures and the International Seakeepers Society on its Project Mission in both the overarching design and the details found across the yacht. Adventure outfitter EYOS employs its expertise routinely with Damen’s explorer vessels, most recently with the 190-foot Pink Shadow.   EYOS has a list of 50 features that separate authentic explorers from faux versions that might look the part but lack the necessary infrastructure and design elements.

Long-range cruising, system redundancy for autonomy at sea, and storage to carry specialist equipment like submersibles are some of the requirements that define expedition boats. There’s also deck configuration for the easy launch of tenders and toys, along with strong, ice-class hulls and climate-controlled areas comfort in extreme polar and tropic regions.

We culled through the latest fleet of explorers with multiple lengths and designs, selecting a single feature that we think makes it best in class. Here are 10 of our favorites.

Best Pilothouse: Doggersbank 77 Offshore

More than 700 Doggersbank motoryachts have been built since the 1960s, with the latest model scheduled for delivery in 2025. The robust, offshore vessels are designed by Dutch studio Vripack for long ocean passages, assisted by a high, flared bow. “It prevents green water from hitting the wheelhouse windows in rough seas, and together with the Portuguese bridge, ensures the captain’s view is not obstructed,” Joost Mertens, Doggersbank fleet manager, told Robb Report . “The yacht’s steel hull ensures the yacht sits better in the water making it less vulnerable to wind and high waves.”

Best Deck Configuration: Columbus Crossover 42

The Columbus Crossover 42 is defined by both straight and angled surfaces,  tapered stern sections and a concentration of volume in the bow that is becoming on many explorers. What is atypical is the yacht’s compact but flexible dimensions that accommodate a large cockpit tender and a 108-square-foot swimming pool with relaxation areas. Sold to an U.S. customer, it’s scheduled for delivery in 2025.

Best Multipurpose Stern: Bering B165

Turkish boatbuilder Bering Yachts revealed details of its new 162-foot flagship explorer yacht, the B165 , at the Dubai International Boat Show in March. The yacht can carry 18,400 gallons of fuel, which the builder says will give it a 4,000 nautical mile range when cruising at 12 knots. It also has a 2,640-gallon holding tank. What singles the B165 out among other explorers, however, is its multi-purpose stern area for both function and form. The elongated aft deck has a swimming pool surrounded by sunbeds. When the bulwarks are folded down, the space becomes an even larger overwater terrace. When the pool is not in use, it can be used as a covered storage area for water toys and expedition equipment. The yacht’s two tenders are also stored on the aft, making it a flexible space for both equipment and guests.

Best Family-Friendly Concept: Project Mimer

This 197-foot expedition concept by Tillberg Design of Sweden caters to family travel with a helicopter pad as well as multiple tenders and toys. It’s pitched by the studio as an introduction to true explorer yachting. It has a functional crew layout for efficient operations and an upper deck owner’s suite with a forward terrace and spa pool. With a hull that will be built to the Polar Code Category, the concept also has an optional helipad aft and long list of toys, from an electric luxury tender and two expedition RIBS to quad bikes, a submersible, Jet Skis, and, of course, an amphibious vehicle. The five-decked yacht sleeps 12 guests with crew quarters for 17 and an additional staff member, such as a nanny.

Best Ice Explorer: Damen SeaXplorer 105

Damen’s 345-foot SeaXplorer 105 is the largest model in the SeaXplorer range, with exterior design by Azure Yacht Design. The platform was developed under the guidance of expedition specialists EYOS Expeditions, who considered over 150 design criteria, from the hull form and bridge layout to the tender davits and Zodiac boarding arrangements. But it is EYOS’s expertise in the polar regions—it facilitated the first heli-ski charter in Antarctica and the first 3,200-foot sub dive to the Antarctic midnight zone—that gives the vessel its point of difference. The SeaXplorer has an ice-strengthened hull and a specially shaped icebreaking stern to maneuver through rough terrain.

Best Interior: Project Fox

On top of having a cool name, Project Fox has a bright, contemporary interior, courtesy of London’s Q Design, that is becoming more common on expedition yachts. The full-beam owner’s stateroom is also one of the yacht’s standout features, with its marble en suite and hardwood floors. The salon is also luxe, with white walls that brighten up travel even in areas that are sunlight deprived. Project Fox also has four other staterooms.

Best Autonomy: Project Master

ICON Yachts’s Project Master was a transoceanic offshore support vessel before the Dutch shipyard began a refit to turn it into an explorer yacht (see before and after inset). It’s equipped with diesel-electric hybrid propulsion, a wide beam for multiple tender spaces, a 7,200-nautical mile range, and flexible cabin arrangements for expedition crew. Other features include a science lab and a certified heli-deck. “The yacht’s helicopter and sub capability mean it can offer assistance in areas with challenging access and little infrastructure,” Micca Ferrero, owner of ICON Yachts, told Robb Report . “The design is for the demands of self-sufficient voyages.”

Best Use of Volume: Arcadia Yachts A96

The A96 mixes the lines, volume, and open-plan layout of Arcadia’s Sherpa series with the speed, joystick maneuverability, and quality of the yard’s A range. It’s the first Arcadia to have an Igor Lobanov-designed interior, as well as a high bow and high deckheads for traversing rough water. But its big differentiator is the 214 gross tonnes of volume and 24-foot beam that generate big volumes—4,300 square feet of usable space, which is 30 percent more than on other similar-sized yachts. Low bulwarks and lateral walkways emphasize the sense of openness.

Best Bow: Project Shackleton

This 351-foot build from Lürssen has an inverted bow that looks like an eagle’s beak. The shape is designed to slice through waves with much lower vibration through the hull, while also reducing rock and roll in rough seas. Unlike the quasi-research vessel exteriors of many explorers, this vessel is representative of the changing look of many in this growing segment. 

Best Multi-Mode Hull: Azimut Magellano 60

The Magellano 60 isn’t technically an explorer yacht. Think of it as a cruiser  designed for some long-distance travel. But it does have one very interesting feature, what its builder Azimut calls a “dual-mode” hull. The semi-planing shape is designed to optimize fuel consumption (and therefore lower emissions) by about 20 percent (compared to similar-sized vessels) at low and medium speeds. The yacht’s bow is also designed to cut through waves for better seakeeping at a range of speeds. The boat cruises very efficiently at 18 knots but will hit a top end of 26, thus delivering the performance of a planing hull with the benefits of a displacement hull.

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Expedition Yachts for Sale

For anyone looking for expedition yachts for sale, these are a quickly-growing market in the yachting world, as increasing numbers of yacht owners choose to get off the beaten track and indulge in some remote cruising! Here is the full current selection of all expedition yachts for sale worldwide with photos and full specifications for each.

Expedition yachts, often called explorer yachts, are extremely versatile. As much at home in the wilds of Alaska as sitting pretty in the glamorous port of Monaco, expedition yachts are built to cross the world’s oceans while offering the extraordinary comfort of a luxury yacht.

The explorer vessel featured above, LEGEND Expedition Yacht For Sale, is a 254-foot or 77m Icon Expedition yacht available for sale. She is the only ice breaking mega yacht in the world. The proven world cruiser features a panorama Jacuzzi on the main deck, large sales throughout, welcoming cocktail bars, Movie theaters, Exclusive Balinese Spa (pictured below) and a gym.

AKULA Expedition Yacht For Sale – for full specifications and photos, click on the link.

Expedition yachts for sale are also becoming increasingly common options for new-build construction projects, but there are also many existing expedition yachts that have been converted from commercial vessels. As such, often expedition yachts for sale have wonderful histories as research ships, hospital ships, ice-breakers, trawlers and military vessels, and are now enjoying their latest incarnation as impressive luxury yachts.

Often sporting a more functional exterior, the interior of explorer vessels are as palatial and luxurious as their traditional superyacht counterparts. Expedition-style yachts tend to have a wider beam, thereby offering more volume for larger cabins and interior spaces. The yacht’s generous interior spaces are designed for live-aboard comfort for extended periods, and many of these yachts will have living quarters or suites for the owners, rather than smaller cabins.

STAMPEDE Expedition Yacht For Sale – for full specifications and photos, click on the link.

Outside you’ll find generous open decks with elegant dining and entertaining spaces, with all the luxuries you’d expect on a superyacht.  Jacuzzis, helipads and observation decks are common features found on expedition yachts for sale.

Expedition yachts are sometimes nicknamed ‘toy carriers’, as they have plenty of space to carry the tenders and water sports equipment you’ll want as you cruise exotic places. Explorer yachts for sale often carry crew who are trained as instructors, so you might learn diving, jetski, kitesurfing or even photography while cruising the South Pacific or the Galapagos.

Because they’re built as sturdy ocean-going vessels, expedition yachts are built with a strong focus on safety, self-sufficiency and comfort underway. Some expedition yachts have reinforced ice-breaker hulls for exciting Arctic expeditions, and all have modern stabilization technology and state-of-the-art safety systems. Expedition yachts are built with large fuel tanks giving them exceptional range, while onboard water-makers and excellent cold and dry storage allows them to make long sea voyages without needing to stop for supplies. Because they are built to be away from port for long periods, expedition yachts normally carry the best in communication, entertainment and Wi-Fi capabilities.

THE BIG BLUE Expedition Yacht For Sale – for full specifications and photos, click on the link.

Expedition yachts allow the yacht owner to get to all corners of the world, opening up beautiful destinations otherwise difficult to reach. From the snowy landscapes and penguins of Antarctica to the coral reefs and jungles of Micronesia, an expedition yacht opens up the world for exploration.

There are a multitude of options available for expedition vessels. Above are examples of existing brokerage vessels. Other options to consider include Full Custom Builds and Semi Custom Builds. A Fully Custom Expedition yacht build is a ground up design and specification package, which will include tank testing of hull forms, 3D modeling, etc. A Semi Custom Expedition Build includes an existing hull form and common engineering package, already being used and then customizing the house styling, layout and décor.

The 80m Explorer Yacht, unnamed, is an example of a Fully Custom Explorer Build. The vessel includes float in float out wet dock that will be able to hold a 65-70 foot sport fisherman in the stern, when the sport fish is removed the tender well becomes a deep swimming pool.  She is diesel electric with Azipod drives.   The vessel has the capability of landing two helicopters and can house both helicopters in a single hangar.  The vessel also has a large tender garage that could hold multiple smaller vessels including a RIB, flats boat, jets skis and two submarines.  The vessel has accommodations for 18 guests and crew of 36.  The vessel would be commercial fit and finish on the exterior and the interior are envisioned to be built to high end cruise ship standards.

The 75m Explorer, by Admiral Shipyards is an example of a Semi Custom Build. The yacht’s exterior design, which remains unnamed, is a display of an elegant yet robust platform with generous exterior deck spaces. The expansive aft deck is designed to accommodate an Agusta Grande helicopter, complete with a storage and refueling hangar below deck.

The interior is spread across four decks and will be finished in a timeless nautical style that is finished with contemporary elements, which will be built and installed by German interio specialists, Fitz Interior. The owner, who is expected to spend prolonged period onboard, will be treated to an exclusive main deck area covering over 300 square metres with five additional guest suites on the lower deck.

Explorer yachts look a little bit different and offer extraordinary cruising potential, marking an exciting difference in the luxury yacht market for those who love an adventure on the open ocean. If you are be interested in viewing our full portfolio of exhibition yachts for sale, reach out to the sales team by email , by this sales inquiry form or by calling one of our yacht brokerage offices worldwide.

Take a closer look at Russian oligarch's $700 million superyacht that is one of the largest in the world

• Roman Abramovich had seemingly scrambled to avoid sanctions from the UK by moving his superyachts.
• One of those is The Eclipse, which cost $700 million to build and was once the biggest in the world.
• That yacht was once in New York City and we took some photos.

Like other Russian oligarchs, Roman Abramovich had seemingly scrambled to avoid sanctions and that included quickly moving his superyachts to more friendly waters.

Many of the 55-year-old billionaire's assets — such as the Chelsea Football Club and several homes — have been sold or frozen since Russia launched an unprovoked war on Ukraine, Bloomberg reported . 

While Abramovich couldn't move the Premier League football club Chelsea FC and sold the $3 billion club , his yachts are another matter. 

Abramovich's 553-foot-long flagship is The Eclipse, estimated to have cost $700 million when built. After sanctions were initially dropped by the UK against Abramovich, his second "smaller" $600 million superyacht, Solaris, left Barcelona, Spain, and moved to friendlier waters in Turkey.

Solaris was joined in Turkey by The Eclipse, which arrived from the Caribbean .

While the superyacht Eclipse was photographed in Turkish waters in early August , it was once docked at Manhattan's Pier 90, and Robert Johnson was able to get some pictures. Take a tour of the superyacht below. 

Robert Johnson contributed to this post.

Just south of this public parking lot on the roof of the Pier 90 terminal in New York City sat Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's flagship yacht, the "Eclipse."

536-feet long and styled after military vessels.

The 2010 Eclipse cost $700 million and was the world's largest yacht when built.

The vessel has amenities to rival any ship on the sea — like its own mini submersible, perhaps similar to this— able to dive down 150-feet.

The Eclipse has two helipads.

Bulletproof glass and armor plates wrap the length of Roman's master suite and the bridge.

And a German-built missile defense system.

The ship's also supposed to have a laser defense against paparazzi trying to photograph the yacht's guests, but saw no evidence of the device when we were there.

The Eclipse has three launch boats.

That looked to be stocked with medical supplies and a variety of handheld radios.

From the cruise ship parking lot it felt like we were almost on the Eclipse itself.

But with little chance we'd be invited aboard through the ship's door here ...

... We hoped to find one of the 70 crew members required to sail the Eclipse and see if they'd tell us what ship life was like.

But we found no one interested in talking.

But we certainly didn't feel like paparazzi, or that we'd be lasered, when we were in the parking lot tourists use when they arrive to board their cruise.

From up here, the ship was simply stunning and the amount of work required to keep her that way apparent.

The Yacht Report says owning a superyacht costs about 20% of the ship's initial value every year.

But experts believe that Roman probably pays $75 million a year to run the private cruise ship with 24-guest suites.

Looking at the layout of the ship gets us talking about the two swimming pools inside, the disco, cinema, hair salon, and restaurant.

The billionaire's guests would use this door to enter any fore part of the deck.

Perhaps noting where the life rings were as they made their way about the ship.

At 13,000 gross tons, the Eclipse was, at the time, the largest vessel to use a special stabilization system to keep it calm in rough waters while anchored or moving slowly through the sea.

Roman faced a $150,000 tab for parking the Eclipse in New York City while possibly visiting his daughter and her new baby — about $2,000 a day.

A large yacht like the Eclipse can hold over 100,000 gallons of fuel.

Depending on the current price of fuel, a five-hour cruise each way could cost about $30,000.

None of those numbers are likely to concern Roman Abramovich, however, who has an estimated net worth of nearly $8 billion.

Source: Forbes

Here is some drone footage of the superyacht.

You can see interior photos of the luxury yacht at Boat International

Step on board the 162.5m Eclipse - the second largest superyacht in the world

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Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko berths superyacht in UAE

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Simeon Kerr in Ras al-Khaimah

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Investigators around the world have been searching for sanctions-hit Russian oligarchs’ yachts. One has been hiding in plain sight.

Italian authorities in March impounded Russian coal and fertilisers magnate Andrey Melnichenko’s $600mn Sailing Yacht A after Russia invaded Ukraine. Another yacht, the $300mn Philippe Starck-designed Motor Yacht A, has been anchored for weeks in the port of Ras al-Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates.

By placing his yacht in the UAE, Melnichenko has put it beyond the reach of western governments enforcing sanctions on those deemed supportive of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Its presence is a symbolic reminder of the Gulf monarchy’s ambivalence towards western sanctions on Russia, allies of Putin and the wealthy businessmen who have often benefited from ties to the state.

While the UAE government is trying to enhance measures against money laundering to exit a global dirty-money watchdog’s watchlist, the economic foundation of cities such as Dubai has long been based on welcoming flows of assets and people.

“Given its non-enforcement of western sanctions, the dilemma for the UAE is how to sustain its place as an open destination for capital while also appearing to be a good global citizen,” said one compliance professional. “It’s a tricky balancing act.”

The government of the Isle of Man said it had in March deregistered Melnichenko’s yachts, including Motor Yacht A, because of western sanctions, saying, “we will continue to act with appropriate robustness should the situation warrant it”.

Marine locator services placed Motor Yacht A off the Maldives in March. The Financial Times then saw the yacht on April 18. On Saturday it remained moored opposite Ras al-Khaimah’s city-centre fish market.

Businessmen in the UAE say Melnichenko, who denies affiliations to the Kremlin, held meetings there in April, but the tycoon has since returned to Moscow. A representative of Melnichenko, who has been placed under sanctions by the EU and UK as well as Switzerland and Australia, referred questions on the yacht to a lawyer who declined to comment.

UAE authorities in Dubai, Ras al-Khaimah and Abu Dhabi declined to comment.

European officials say they have raised concerns with Emirati counterparts that the UAE could become a financial haven for Russians placed under western sanctions. “We don’t want our allies to become facilitators for the Putin regime,” said one.

The UAE government has said it is maintaining a neutral course through the war, calling for an end to hostilities and providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Abu Dhabi, which has developed closer ties with Moscow in recent years, has also assured its allies that sanctions-hit entities will not be able to operate in the UAE. The Gulf monarchy, which has long argued that it is not compelled to enforce other nations’ sanctions, is keen to maintain its historical role as an apolitical territory focused on business.

Thousands of wealthy, non-sanctions-hit Russians have relocated to the UAE to escape economic uncertainty and political instability at home, even though they sometimes struggle to access the financial system. “Big banks are more cautious but smaller banks are offering help to those wishing to relocate. It’s just taking a lot of time,” said a Russian businessman.

Very wealthy Russians generally find financial institutions accommodating. Most of the wealthy elite have second passports from countries that sell nationality, such as Malta or Portugal, which facilitates the opening of new accounts with lenders that are warier of Russian passport holders.

Others have turned to alternative routes, such as cryptocurrencies and hawala, or informal money exchange services. The cost of this service has risen from 1 per cent of the transaction value to 5 per cent since the war broke out as demand surges, said one person aware of the trades.

Many in the UAE see a hypocrisy in western concern over the presence of the yacht and the Russians building new lives there. “So it was OK for London to take all the oligarch money but not for Dubai?” asked one lawyer.

Additional reporting by Nastassia Astrasheuskaya in Riga

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Moscow Shipyard charts course for ‘megayachts’

The biggest ocean yacht ever produced in Russia rolled off the Moscow Shipyard line on Thursday. The 45-metre craft was sold to an undisclosed British buyer for upwards of 20 MLN euros.

The private vessel, which includes sonar for iceberg detection, several cinemas and a helicopter launchpad caps a remarkable turnaround for the shipyard.

“In the mid-1990s we were a wreck, nothing was being produced, a far cry from the 1,800 cruisers and oil industry ships made in Soviet times. Then two years ago we retraced the historic steps of Peter the Great to the Timmerman Yard in Holland, whose founder Franz Timmerman taught the tsar the art of shipbuilding,” says Evgeny Mitkin, the shipyard CEO.

The Shipyard refocused on the highly profitable ‘megayacht’ sector, attracting the world’s top yacht designer Jon Bannenberg and moved to exclusively western construction equipment.

The Moscow Shipyard’s 'Novaya Zvezda', or New Star, was main attraction at the Moscow Yacht Festival last week. At 15,000 euros a day, this is the first mega-class yacht available for hire in Russia, the world’s fastest growing yacht market.

“This is the only one of this class, of this category, that is promoted as a ‘charter yacht’, one that can be charted by anyone. There are four cabins, a big dining room on the main deck, a smaller dining room with a bar counter on the upper deck, and a big sundeck for sunbathing,” sais Ekaterina Shepeleva, Mosturflot manager.

The shipyard admits the government provided soft loans as well as commissioning a 30-metre yacht for Vladimir Putin to launch the turnaround in 2003, although the privately-owned yard claims it is now self-sufficient and profitable.

“Russia needs a shipbuilding industry. We need new cargo ships as well as icebreakers, oiltankers and leisure boats to support the rising economy. The country has a vast shipbuilding background and water network to compete with the likes of South Korea which exported over $US 15 BLN in ships in 2006,” believes Ilya Makarov, shipbuilding analyst from Alianta Group.

Other Russian shipbuilders now need to follow The Moscow Shipyard’s lead. The Ministry for Industry said last week that over 220 ships need to be built just to develop Russia’s  Arctic Shelf over the next two decades, yet the country’s number two tanker company Novoship currently does not own a single Russian vessel.

In 2001 stray dogs roamed the yard, which was rented out to haulage companies to stay afloat. Now the order book is filled with foreign buyers to 2010. The Moscow Shipyard is a model for how a Soviet legacy can be turned round into a global success.

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