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Hybrid Yacht

72m Full-Custom Expedition Yacht // Damen Yachting

Damen Yachting signed a contract for a 72m full-custom expedition yacht, designed by Michael Leach.The new 72m yacht will be delivered in 2024 to explore the world with hybrid propulsion and twelve…

50m Hybrid Motor Yacht // BYD Group

BYD Group presents the 50m hybrid motor yacht project in cooperation with Atollvic Shipard.The BYD 50 is the latest generation yacht, with a full hybrid propulsion system with azimuthal thrusters.…

AMARE II // Heesen Yachts

AMARE II (ex Project ELECTRA) is the second hybrid yacht by Heesen Yachts. The first one of the yacht model is M/Y HOME.Omega Architects designed the exterior design, while Cristiano Gatto designed…

Ocean Sail 82 - Sustainable Sailing Yacht // Alva Yachts

The Ocean Sail 82 follows the sustainable philosophy of Alva Yachts. The 25m sailing yacht is a full-electric boat with solar panels.HENNDESIGN penned the yacht as a performance cruiser with a racing…

Ocean Eco 90 - Full-Electric Catamaran // Alva Yachts

Alva Yachts is a yacht brand from Germany that developed a range of full-electric catamarans with solar panels on the roof. Here presented as  Ocean Eco 90.Alva Yachts is a new brand with a focus on…

Fossil-Free Yacht FUTURA // Vripack

Vripack unveiled fossil-free project FUTURA with regenerative blue diesel biofuel made of food waste from Finland.Futura is a 66m hybrid yacht, powered with biofuel made of food waste. Even the…

Luxury Water Taxi with Hybrid Propulsion // Nuvolari Lenard

Italian design studio Nuvolari Lenard created a luxurious water taxi for the channels of Venice, built by Cantieri Vizianello.Carlo Nuvolari and Dan Lenard are known for their exciting designs of…

83m Explorer Yacht with Flat Panel Antennas // Camdesign

Italian yacht designer, Camillo De Gaspari of camdesign, created an 83m yacht design with flat antennas.On the first look, this design looks like a typical 83m yacht. On the second look, you will…

165 Viatorem // Max Zhivov // Otobot

The 165 Viatorem is a 50m explorer motor yacht by Max Zhivov, Otobot, and the shipyard U4 Marine.In addition to the 130 Viatorem, the project stakeholders present the flagship 165 Viatorem – a…

7-OCEANS // DLBA Naval Architects

DLBA Naval Architects unveiled the 45m hybrid explorer yacht 7-OCEANS.7-OCEANS is a fast explorer yacht with speeds up to 25 knots and a cruising speed of 16 knots. The hybrid propulsion meets the…

AMELS 200 // Tim Heywood // Reymond Langton

AMELS announced the the sale of an AMELS 200The AMELS 200 is the successor of the Amels 188 (Volpini 2). The new yacht has larger aft decks and a bigger swimming platform. The engineering and the…

62m Damen SeaXplorer

AMELS' mother company DAMEN launched a 62m vessel of their SeaXplorer line.This 62m unit is the first one of the SeaXplorers. A second yacht – the 77m LA DATCHA will see the light next year.…

80m Hybrid Explorer Yacht // Gill Schmid Design

80m hybrid explorer yacht with ice class and generous surfaces of glassTogether with Tim Dempers Studio (exterior), Gill Schmid Design (exterior and interior) created the 80m hybrid ice-classed…

The Hybrid Refit of Royal Huisman's JULIET

JULIET is a 44m sailing yacht by Royal Huisman from 1993. Now she gets a hybrid propulsion system.JULIET is a design by Pieter Beeldsnijder (1937 – 2016) and features naval architecture by Ron…

ATLANTICO // Marco Ferrari // 77m

Italian yacht designer Marco Ferrari unveiled project ATLANTICO - a 77m full-alumium vessel.ATLANTICO has a very sporty look with sharp lines and a low profile. As a lightweight aluminum…

AMELS 60 // Espen Øino

Dutch luxury yacht builder AMELS presents a new Limited Editions: The AMELS 60Limited Editions is a series of semi-custom yacht and means that the exterior design and naval architecture are complete,…

56m Hybrid Yacht // Vripack // Nobiskrug

Vripack prsents a 56m hybrid yacht concept for the German yachtbuilder NobiskrugThe persona of the 56m hybrid concept is a young owner from Asia or the Middle East. At first sight, the shape appears…

WIDER Yachts announced the launch of the full-aluminum yacht CECILIA (WDER 165) - The bigger sister of the WIDER 150.The WIDER 165 CECILIA was designed by Fulvio De Simoni (responsible for the…

Amels 188 // VOLPINI 2 // Hybrid

Hat-trick at Amels: A repeat client ordered the first Amels 188, christened VOLPINI 2 that is also the first hybrid-powered yacht by the yard. Furthermore, it is the first Tier III yacht in the…

Adler Suprema X

Adler Yacht range will be extended with the Adler Suprema X - also designed by Nuvolari Lenard.The Adler Suprema X is a bit longer than the first Suprema and comes with the optional sky lounge…

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Azimut Yachts Introduces Seadeck Series

• By Yachting Staff
• April 5, 2023

Azimut Yachts in Italy has introduced the Seadeck series of hybrid motoryachts . The first model is the 56-foot Seadeck 6, which is scheduled to debut at the Düsseldorf boat show in January 2024.

The larger Seadeck 7 and Seadeck 8 models are expected to follow between 2024 and 2025. The Seadeck 7 has a 72-foot length overall, with details about the Seadeck 8 still being finalized.

According to Azimut, the Seadeck series reduces emissions by up to 40 percent compared to similar-length yachts. Each of the models has what the builders calls a “fun island,” an aft terrace developed in collaboration with Alberto Mancini and Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez. Propulsion is by Volvo Penta.

“Seadeck is a new starting point for future generations,” Giovanna Vitelli, chair of the Azimut-Benetti group, stated in a press release. “We wish, once again, to chart a course that will be an inspiration for the entire industry, so that the theme of respect for the environment is interpreted—as it is for Seadeck—with a concrete approach made up of investment, technological research and the courage to introduce a new lifestyle that embraces the sea.”

Did you know? More than half of Azimut’s fleet now includes low-emission yachts.

Take the next step: go to azimutyachts.com

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How hybrid sailing yachts finally became a feasible option

• May 17, 2019

They’ve been a long time coming, but marine hybrid propulsion systems are finally a working reality, as Sam Fortescue reports

The Bootswerft Heinrich-built 13m Yamila uses an Oceanvolt electric motor rather than a diesel engine. Photo: Peter Minder

Every sailor is familiar with the wet cough of the diesel engine, and the acrid smell of its exhaust. For some it’s the sign that an adventure is starting, for others it is the reassurance that all is well on board the boat. The traditional engine is perhaps your boat’s most important safety feature, but its days may be numbered.

The electric sailing revolution is coming – and though adoption in the marine sector is proving much slower than in the automotive world ashore, progress is being made.

The market is still relatively small. Clear market leader Torqeedo had sales of €25m last year, most of which was in ferries and compact outboards. It also offers a range of saildrive and pod drive motors for yachts displacing from 2 to 50 tonnes, or roughly 20-60ft LOA.

But sailors have been slow on the uptake, and for one good reason: if you’re planning to cross an ocean or take on tough conditions offshore, you rely on your engine to help you outrun danger or motor through the doldrums – sometimes for days at a time.

Oceanvolt AXC series is a modular shaft drive system (10kW to 40kW) that will fit in place of a tradition diesel engine

Even with the current crop of advanced lithium-ion boat batteries , the range of an electric system is measured in tens of miles, not hundreds. So a 35ft monohull with 10kWh of lithium battery (four units weighing 96kg in total) would have a range of just 24 nautical miles at 3.8 knots, or less than 16 nautical miles at full throttle.

Taking into account the incredible wastage of combustion engines, which dissipate more energy as heat and noise than they provide in propulsion, diesel is still ten times more energy dense than batteries.

Full-carbon luxury daysailer Yamila uses an Oceanvolt SD8 8kW electric saildrive system. Photo: Tobias Stoerkle

“When you look at bluewater cruisers, of course you will have a diesel,” says Torqeedo’s founder and CEO, Dr Christoph Ballin. “And it’s right that not many coastal sailors opt for pure electric.”

But that doesn’t mean that electric has no interest for cruising sailors – far from it. The more common route for ‘normal’ sailors will be to combine diesel and electric in a hybrid sailing system.

Under this model, the engine is replaced by an electric motor, hooked up to a bank of lithium batteries. This can be charged via hydrogeneration – when the speed under sail turns the propeller and puts charge back into the batteries – and solar or wind. But when extended periods under power are required a standalone DC generator, which can be installed anywhere on board, supplies the electricity.

This is the set-up recommended by Finland’s Oceanvolt, which has focused on the cruising sailing market with a range of shaft and sail drive motors from 3.7kW to 15kW (roughly 10hp to 45hp in diesel engine terms).

“In the case of the round-the-world cruiser, we recommend a hybrid system with a backup genset to support continuous drive when/if needed,” says Oceanvolt CEO Markus Mustelin. “A regenerating prop, which spins while sailing and recharges the batteries (sacrificing 0.2-0.4 of a knot, depending on the boat and conditions) makes it possible to be almost independent of the genset and use it only for backup.”

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This system has the advantage that the generator is only needed on longer passages, so the boat still manoeuvres silently in and out of ports and anchorages.

And a well-designed, correctly sized generator is much more efficient at turning diesel into electricity than an engine not originally designed for the job. Some sailors opt for an in-line hybrid system, like those offered by Hybrid-Marine, which bolts onto the existing diesel.

These are easier to retrofit, with many of the same characteristics as the full hybrid system, but there’s the disadvantage of still having an engine boxed away somewhere near the middle of the boat.

Electro magnetism

Until now, most business has been done through retrofitting existing yachts. But an increasing number of yacht builders are looking to include electric propulsion as original equipment. The world’s third largest boatbuilder, Hanse Yachts , is perhaps the most advanced – offering its entry-level Hanse 315 with an electric rudder-drive option.

The system takes up less space than the standard diesel, is much quieter and vibration- and emissions-free. But Hanse admits take up has been disappointing.

The technology has found more interest among lake sailors. Innovative young German brand Bente has been fitting Torqeedo motors to its successful 24ft model, originally designed for Germany’s ‘Green Lakes’.

Closer to home, dinghy specialist RS Sailing has decided to fit a retractable electric drive to its new RS21 keelboat. Already christened the ‘invisible gennaker’, the system is based on Torqeedo’s Travel 1003 outboard motor.

Bigger race boats have also been attracted by the lure of low-weight propulsion. Just look at Malizia , an IMOCA 60 being prepared for the 2020 Vendée Globe with a lightweight Torqeedo system.

“Emissions-free round the world under race conditions, while simultaneously producing your own energy, is a thoroughly inspirational concept,” said Malizia skipper Boris Herrmann.

Electric has also been successful at the luxury end of the market, where lithium-ion batteries account for a smaller share of the boat’s overall cost. A 50ft Privilege 5 catamaran and a carbon fibre Gunboat 60 have both been retrofitted with Torqeedo kit, while Oceanvolt appears on a Swan 57 and an all-carbon Agile 42.

Overview of the Torqeedo Deep Blue propulsion system installed in the Gunboat Moonwave

The Gunboat Moonwave has two 25kW Deep Blue saildrives both capable of regenerating under sail. There is still a generator on board to extend battery range offshore, but “they no longer use the generator – it’s just for emergency,” says Torqeedo’s Ballin.

Spirit Yachts is also designing electric propulsion into its Spirit 111  flagship, due for launch this summer. With four big 40kW lithium batteries aboard and a 100kW motor, the yacht will be able to operate silently for hours, although it also has 100kW of diesel generator capacity.

“The real focus is not the propulsion,” explains Spirit director Nigel Stuart, “but that everything works in harmony, from galley equipment and hot water to heating, air conditioning, hydraulics etc.” The British yard is also building a 65-footer using Oceanvolt hybrid technology and a new 44-footer that is pure electric.

With racing on one hand and high-end cruisers on the other, there is something of a gap in the middle. By Torqeedo’s own admission, the cruising sailor hasn’t been a big focus of the electric revolution, but all that is about to change. “We started a bit late with sailing,” Ballin admits, “but in the next five to eight years it will be addressed big time.”

Fully integrated electric drive system will power the new 111ft Spirit Yachts flagship

What does that really mean? Well, in the first instance, it means system integration. If that doesn’t sound revolutionary, then imagine a set-up on board where solar panels, hydrogenerators, batteries, generators and motors all worked seamlessly together to keep the yacht supplied with ample power around the clock. “That’s what people are willing to pay for: plenty of energy with heating or air-con through the night,” says Ballin.

The future of hybrid sailing

In the near future, Torqeedo is planning a new range-extending DC generator specifically for hybrid sailing boats. Its existing unit is built by WhisperPower and provides 25kW, which is too much power for boats using the pod drive system.

The genset will be designed to operate at optimum revolutions, while clever DC to DC conversion decouples the battery voltage from the charging voltage, for much greater efficiency.

With boats, just as with cars, the breakthrough that will make all the difference is around battery capacity. Until range under electric power can match that of diesel, there will be many sceptics. And that isn’t likely to happen for a decade or more, according to Ballin.

“Theoretically, they’ve tested batteries in labs that are ten times more efficient than lithium,” he explains. “And if that comes through, then gasoline is done. But we are trying to combine long-term vision with short-term mindset.”

In the meantime, the prevalent technology is based on lithium-manganese-cobalt, and a process of steady development is making this 5-8% better each year. For example, BMW has just announced its next generation i3 battery, used by Torqeedo’s Deep Blue system, will be able to hold 40kWh of power – an increase of 33% for the same size, weight and nearly the same cost.

Torqeedo Cruise 2.0 FP Pod Drive is suitable for small yachts up to 4 tonnes – a folding prop can also be fitted

The other area of development is around the propeller. Most cruising systems use a folding or feathering prop designed for diesel engines. But Torqeedo’s own research shows that the consistently high torque of an electric motor is best utilised by props with variable pitch.

And yet it is Oceanvolt that has addressed this issue specifically for electric motors with its Servo Prop system, which it claims to be 30% more efficient ahead, 100% better astern and 300% more efficient in regeneration mode.

Oceanvolt says that this prop can pump around 500W into the batteries at just 5 knots – the average pace of a 30ft monohull. At 6 knots that rises to around 800W, and at a very manageable 7 knots for a larger ocean cruiser you get 1.2kW.

“A new technology can rarely compete in price with an established one in its initial growth phase,” says Mustelin. “However, we have passed this and today electric systems are offered at a quite competitive price. When you add to that the fact the electric system is almost service free, the total cost of ownership is turning in favour of electric.”

So, you may not hear them approach, but expect to see more and more electric-powered boats on the water as the revolution continues.

A question of torque

A key part of the viability of electric propulsion rests on the notion that a smaller motor can achieve the same work as a bigger diesel. There are two elements to this. First, a diesel engine is not an efficient converter of chemical energy into thrust, creating a lot of heat and noise in the process. Second, the torque characteristics of electric are much better than diesel.

Mustelin says that Oceanvolt’s 10kW motor “easily outperforms” a 30hp diesel. “Typically, maximum boat speed will be somewhat lower (0.5kt-1.0kt) than with a comparable diesel engine, but at the same time the boat will maintain the speed better in heavy seas and headwind due to higher torque. Manoeuvrability is much better in confined marina spaces.”

That’s because combustion engines only reach peak power (and maximum torque) over a small range of speeds. Torque is a measure of turning power – at the propeller in the case of a boat.

A diesel engine develops optimum torque between 1,800-2,000rpm, while electric motors deliver it from 0 to around 2,000rpm. This allows electric motors to use higher efficiency propellers that are slimmer and more steeply pitched.

Engine-driven: The ‘alternator on steroids’

It has taken years of development and over $10m of funding, but renowned boat systems expert Nigel Calder has helped design an alternator so powerful that it eliminates the need for a generator on board.

Mounted on the engine, on the second alternator position, the Integrel can produce five to ten times more power. Sitting behind the system is at least 10kWh of lead acid batteries (lithium is also an option), and Victron chargers and inverters.

“If you crank the engine it’ll charge the batteries; if you’re running with the engine in neutral, it’ll know it’s in standalone generator mode and switch to that algorithm,” explains Calder. “It will likely be cheaper than a generator installation, and eliminates the issue of the through-hulls, the cooling circuits, the long running hours, the maintenance.”

The system allows you to run all sorts of creature comforts on board that would normally require a generator: from hot water on-demand to coffee makers and freezers. “We honestly believe that this system is going to supplant generators on almost all boats that currently have, or would like to have, a generator,” adds Calder.

With the engine in gear and at low revs, tests show how the Integrel can produce some 2kW of power without increasing fuel consumption or reducing speed – simply utilising the engine’s wasted capacity. This means it will work with the yacht’s existing engine – no need to overspec – and it has already been successfully installed on a new Southerly 480, a Malo 46 and a similar-sized Hallberg-Rassy.

Case study: Dufour 382 Alcyone

Built by Dufour in 2016, Alcyone was immediately retrofitted professionally with Oceanvolt’s SD15 saildrive motor, supplied by a 14kWh lithium battery bank. Owners Michael Melling and Diana Kolpak also specced an 8kWh DC generator for range extension. The fit out cost €30,600 for the motor and battery system, plus an additional €13,744 for the generator, and installation costs were around €8,000.

They charter the boat out near Vancouver, for exploring Desolation Sound and the surrounding area where silent, clean propulsion is a selling point. “Nothing spoils the joy of sailing – or a secluded anchorage – more than the noise and smell of diesel engines,” they explained. “Installing an Oceanvolt system in our new boat has freed us from that. It’s the way of the future.”

Charter manager Merion Martin said the conversion has also been popular with charter customers, adding: “The main advantage of the system is that it consistently uses around 40% less fuel than a standard diesel engine over the course of a week’s charter. But understanding the power management system takes a bit of getting used to, and the many components involved in the system can make troubleshooting a challenge.”

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• Luxury Transport

Inside The World’s First Fast Hybrid Yacht, Home

Home is a pioneering vessel that offers perhaps some of life’s greatest luxuries: peace and quiet.

By Samantha Coles

As the world’s first fast hybrid yacht with a fast displacement hull form, Home is a pioneering new vessel that offers perhaps some of life’s greatest luxuries: peace and quiet. She is made of lightweight aluminum and can use diesel or electric propulsion (read: using less fuel), enabling silent cruising at a speed of up to nine knots.

When she is in silent electric mode, she creates around 46 decibels of noise — for comparison, that is the same as the soft patter of falling raindrops. When Home debuted at the Monaco Yacht Show, she won the MYS-RINA Green award for the Most Environmentally Friendly yacht, the Most Innovative Yacht award from World Yachts and the Baccarat SuperYacht World trophy.

Her exterior of clean lines is slick and minimalist, and her floor-to-ceiling windows admit endless ocean views. Those views take center stage inside, too, thanks to the decor: It is decidedly simple and fresh, with modern furnishings and just a few choice pops of color. There is little artwork on board, as the owner wanted no distractions from the natural surroundings.

[See also: How the Spectacular Superyacht Scout is Making Waves]

Her minimalistic interiors let the views take center stage

Home by the numbers

LOA: 163 ft Shipyard: Heesen Year of build : 2017 Guests: 12 in six bedrooms Crew: Nine Cruising speed: 12 knots Max speed: 16.3 knots

Home has six staterooms, a gym, an expansive sun deck with Jacuzzi, a large open bar and plenty of fun toys on board for flyboarding and paddleboarding. She even has something to delight the most seasoned sailor: A ‘flying chair’ rises from the bow and offers the occupant 360-degree views. It can even be used when the vessel is underway if conditions are favorable.

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Up until recently, Home was, well, home for the majority of the year for her owner. She is now available for charter in the Caribbean (including Antigua; turn to p146 for our complete guide to the island) and the Bahamas in the winter season, or the Mediterranean in the summer.

Home heads out to sea

From $240,000 per week. Contact Julie Bichon, charter fleet manager, [email protected] , yacht-zoo.com

[See also:  Yersin: The Eco Superyacht for Sustainable Explorers]

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Hybrid Yachts

Driven by an increasing number of eco-conscious yacht owners, yacht designers, and shipyards that envision a more carbon-neutral future, hybrid yachts are entering the forefront of yachting.

Powered by hybrid propulsion utilizing both diesel and electric power, they combine the best of two worlds. Hybrid yachts not only reduce emissions, but improve range, performance, and comfort on board.

Capable of operating in a range of cruising modes, hybrid yachts combine the benefits of diesel engines and electric motors. Hybrid boats can be configured to achieve different goals to suit an owner’s taste, such as better fuel efficiency or more power and cruising range.

In electric mode, a hybrid propulsion system allows for smooth and silent running, completely emission-free at low speeds, as well as excellent maneuverability. This can be ideal for overnight travel or while looking for a peaceful day anchored at sea or moored at a marina.

On the other hand, in diesel mode a traditional propulsion system can deliver more power allowing a hybrid yacht to travel further distances and arrive at its destination sooner. While underway, the heat engines generate power to recharge the batteries. At anchor, diesel engines can also be used for ultra-efficient and fast battery charging.

Using the two methods of propulsion in harmony in a hybrid yacht, an owner can swiftly power out to a remote secluded location for the day and then switch to electric catamaran mode for a serene and relaxing evening. Or extend the range to allow the owner and guests to reach an even more remote location without the need to refuel.

Custom tailored to an owner’s specifications, Sunreef Yachts’ hybrid catamarans offer a practical solution for both the eco-conscious and adventure seeking owners that plan for ocean crossings or want to travel to some of the most remote places on Earth.

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• What Is A Hybrid Yacht?

What Is a Hybrid Yacht?

Jurij korenc / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Hybrid yachts, much like hybrid cars, are yachts that employ the use of both conventional and electric engines. More specifically, the drivetrain in a hybrid yacht relies on two or more power sources for both propulsion (moving the yacht forward) and onboard needs like air conditioning. In most cases, the two power sources are a diesel or gas engine and an electric motor, either working in tandem or side by side for different purposes.

Why would you consider a hybrid yacht? And what should you consider before you buy one?

The Benefits of Hybrid Yachts

Let’s dig into some of the most important benefits that hybrid yachts have over conventional yachts:

• Environmental considerations. First, and perhaps most obviously, relying on a hybrid yacht or an electric yacht can have a benefit for the environment. Traditional combustion engines produce greenhouse gas emissions—gas compounds that contribute to the “greenhouse” effect that’s largely responsible for climate change. The bigger the load of the engine, the more powerful the effect is—so if you’re operating a gigantic yacht with a combustion engine alone, you’ll be producing far more emissions than you would traveling a similar distance in a conventional motor vehicle. By transitioning to a model that utilises electric power as much as possible, you’ll be able to ride cleaner, reducing your carbon footprint.
• Energy savings. It’s also possible to save money on powering your yacht with the hybrid model—especially if you invest in a unit with built-in solar panels. Generally speaking, the power produced by an electric motor will cost you less than an equivalent amount of power generated by a combustion engine. If you’re buying a yacht, money may not be a major concern, but over the lifetime of your ownership, your ongoing costs could plummet if you’re at least partially relying on electric power.
• Silent cruising. Newcomers to the hybrid yacht scene are often surprised at how quiet hybrid yachts are. When operating in electric mode, a yacht can produce far less sound—in some cases as low as 46 decibels , or noise equivalent to the sound of gently falling rain. If you’re interested in enjoying pleasant conversation with others, or just relaxing as deeply as possible, the excess noise from a combustion engine could be extremely distracting. With a hybrid yacht, you can instantly reduce, or even eliminate this noise, cruising in near silence without sacrificing your speed.
• Size and spacing flexibility. It may seem like a yacht with two power sources would have less flexibility when it comes to engine spacing and placement, but the opposite is actually true. Hybrid setups are more compact than you might imagine, capable of supporting even superyachts with minimal space. Additionally, electric motors are driven by batteries and/or generators, which can be placed anywhere on board—giving designers much more flexibility for accommodation. In other words, you won’t have to worry about a gigantic engine room in the middle of the ship taking up all the space you’d prefer to use for relaxing.
• Preservation of power. Relying on the electric motor alone, most hybrid yachts can achieve speeds of 6 knots or more, matching the cruising speed you might expect from a yacht of similar size. But if you’re interested in moving faster, or if you need more powerful performance, you’ll still have it; you’ll be able to tap the combustion engine to make your vessel move.
• Reputation and confidence. It’s also worth noting some of the subjective benefits of owning a hybrid yacht. Knowing you’re doing your part for the environment could help you feel more confident cruising in it, and you may earn reputational benefits as a thought leader in your niche.

All these benefits come naturally with hybrid yachts, without pushing the initial costs of buying one far above a conventional yacht.

Finding a Hybrid Yacht

One of the only downsides of a hybrid yacht is that they may be difficult to find, and may not be as innovative as their hybrid automotive counterparts. Boating in general is a somewhat niche market; not everyone has access to water, and not everyone with access to water is interested in boating. Accordingly, lower demand restricts innovation, and yacht manufacturers often follow their contemporaries in other fields.

Currently, less than 2 percent of the new boats emerging on the market today are utilizing hybrid or electric propulsion. This is partially due to the sheer number of different types of boats that exist; for example, ferries, sailboats, planers, and cruising yachts are all very different types of vessels, and not all of them would benefit from a hybrid system the same way.

Fortunately, there’s been a big push to introduce more hybrid yachts to the market, and the adoption curve has been favourable. You might not be able to find as many hybrid yachts as you will yachts with conventional combustion engines, but they’re growing in number, diversity, and availability.

Charging Your Hybrid Yacht

In most cases, you’ll need to think about charging the electric motor on your hybrid boat, much like you’d charge an electric car. However, there are numerous innovations that have made this simpler, more accessible, and less limiting than you might think.

For starters, most hybrid yachts are equipped with high-power battery systems, which allow you to store more power and last longer on the open water. Many hybrid yachts also come equipped with solar panels, which allow you to gather and utilise energy from the sun without having to stop at an electric station. On top of that, serially connected hybrid boats feature a combustion engine-powered generator, which powers an electric motor connected to the driveshaft—allowing you to get further with the help of combustion power.

Are you interested in getting a hybrid yacht of your own? Browse our selection of hybrid yachts today, including new and used models from all around the world, and you’ll be able to find the perfect fit for your needs.

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By SuperyachtNews 11 Feb 2015

Hybrid theory: what makes a hybrid yacht?

The recent launch of feadship's first hybrid, 83.5m savannah has thrown a light on the world of hybrid superyacht design, but confusion still surrounds what constitutes a hybrid yacht. superyachtdesign looks at the technology and yachts that have led the way.….

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Russia’s hybrid war against the West

• Arsalan Bilal
• 26 April 2024

In an article previously published on NATO Review, I explained that the nature of modern warfare is changing at a rapid pace. Consequently, wars are no longer merely about kinetic operations. This means that it is not just physical warfare, but also non-military strategies and tactics that define modern-day conflicts and wars.

What has also become commonplace is that kinetic operations - which by themselves have become increasingly complex - are combined with non-military strategies aimed at undermining the security of an antagonist. The combination of military and non-military instruments and strategies is done not randomly but in a synchronised way to achieve synergistic effects. In other words, it is this synchronised fusion that optimises the results.

The bottom line is that a particular country can potentially unleash physical force against an adversary to achieve certain goals. But if the use or threat of conventional or unconventional force is combined with and/or preceded by a degree of subversive tools such as cyber-attacks and disinformation, the overall damage inflicted on the antagonist can be optimised.

Despite state-driven hybrid warfare entailing a systematic integration of military, political, economic, civilian, and informational tools, it often plays out in grey zones below the threshold of a conventional war. In these grey zones, the military instrument is used unconventionally and innovatively to avoid attribution, responsibility, and sometimes even detection. So a hostile state can employ non-state actors or a non-attributable military force (like the “ little green men ”) in a clandestine war to deny involvement, but at the same time achieve strategic objectives.

An actor of hybrid warfare can employ non-state actors or a non-attributable military force - like the “ little green men ”, who have been linked to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline sabotage in 2022 - in a clandestine war to deny involvement but achieve strategic objectives. Pictured: a leak from the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, September 2022. © Swedish Coast Guard

In this article, we will take the discussion on hybrid warfare further by posing a question that has become not only relevant but also critical amid recent international conflicts: how is Russia fighting a hybrid war against the West? We try to understand its facets and implications, as well as the logic behind Russia’s strategy to undercut the security of Western powers.

Russia’s hybrid war – myth or reality?

One of the core facets of the common tools that states conflate to unleash hybrid warfare, such as non-state actors, political assassinations, espionage, cyber-attacks, electoral interference, and disinformation, is that there is ample room for plausible deniability – and there is often little evidence to establish culpability. Not all actions are disowned – sometimes aggressive posturing requires taking responsibility for one’s actions, but escaping culpability often offers strategic dividends. So when it was politically and strategically expedient to disown the "little green men” who invaded parts of Crimea in 2014, Russia did so (for a time).

The instruments or tools employed and fused together to unleash hybrid warfare are often difficult to discern, attribute, and corroborate. Proving that a certain non-state actor receives state patronage or linking cyber-attacks to a state is a daunting task. Nevertheless, in recent years, a number of hybrid attacks have been attributed to the Kremlin. Public evidence confirming Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential elections, and the admission by President Putin that Wagner was financed by Russia are two cases in point.

Hybrid warfare seems to have become an integral part of Moscow’s policy vis-à-vis the West. With the rising relevance and efficacy of non-state actors as well as the advent of new technologies like autonomous weapons, hybrid warfare below the traditional threshold of war has become possible. States sometimes do not even have to create or cultivate non-state actors because transactional relationships with existing groups can do the job. For instance, at one point, intelligence reports suggested that the Russian military covertly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for targeting coalition forces in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, new technologies allow states to use force from a distance and deny involvement. Drone strikes and attacks on critical infrastructure are good examples of this.

A Russian rocket strike hits a critical power facility in Kharkiv, Ukraine, prompting blackouts across the region, 11 September 2022. © Reuters / Cover Images

Russia’s hybrid warfare has been in full swing in recent years, but it did not evolve overnight. Top Russian officials started calling for a comprehensive security doctrine around a decade ago. Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov suggested in 2013 that the country’s security policy needed to adapt to the changing nature of conflicts. In an article that has been widely scrutinised in Western policy circles, Gerasimov highlighted the growing role of non-military means for achieving political and strategic objectives.

Gerasimov referred to not only automated, robotic, and artificial intelligence tools in armed conflict, but also to the use of asymmetric actions and information spheres in offsetting an enemy’s advantage. Such asymmetric actions range from guerilla warfare to terrorist attacks, and from the creation and stoking up of mis-/disinformation to direct state propaganda coupled with proactive diplomacy. When an antagonist enjoys superiority in terms of its capabilities, a state can employ a combination of these tools to undercut an adversary’s advantage. The late head of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, General Makhmut Gareev, had argued that one of the lessons that Russia could draw from the 2014 invasion of Crimea was to perfect the use of soft power, politics and information to achieve strategic goals.

Both Russian officials were essentially highlighting the need to develop a strategy that could truncate the power asymmetry between the Western powers and Russia. They understood that Russia did not, by any means, have the military capability or economic resources to be on par with the Western powers, but the extensive integration of non-military means with kinetic power could reduce, if not nullify, this power differential.

Russia’s military doctrines of 2010 and 2014 also referred to the integrated use of military and non-military resources and means. These did not explicitly mention hybrid warfare as a model, but a critical look at Russia’s security policy reveals that the non-military means have not only been employed extensively in recent years but have also been used to complement hard power. There are several examples that illustrate this combination, including fanning disinformation, sponsoring non-state actors in Russia’s European neighbourhood and beyond, launching cyberattacks, interfering in the electoral processes of Western countries, and using energy as a weapon.

The employment of such tools diminishes the power asymmetry between two states in a number of ways. The target’s decision-making process may be damaged because a non-attributable force has conducted the hostile action, or there is plausible deniability on the part of the aggressor. Polarisation may be deepened on state and societal levels due to disinformation. Certain actors and narratives that align with the aggressor’s objectives are supported and expanded. The lack of military means to offset the target’s hard power superiority is partly offset by other kinds of leverage like energy (and even food supply). These are just a few examples.

Russia’s modus operandi

As alluded to earlier, military involvement can also be indirect, with armed non-state actors playing a crucial role in modern conflicts. For instance, in order to scuttle Moldova’s bid to join the European Union (EU), Moscow combines military presence in the eastern part of the country with non-military hybrid strategies. These non-military strategies include patronising anti-EU groups, leveraging energy supplies to the detriment of the Moldovan people, and fanning disinformation through local groups as well as on social media. It goes without saying that Moldova is a target because it desires full integration in the European bloc. In Moldova, Russia’s hybrid warfare has been aimed at toppling the country’s pro-EU government.

In Moldova, Russia’s hybrid warfare has targeted the country’s pro-EU government. Pictured: protests against the Western-oriented government of Moldova, September 2022. © CNN

Meanwhile, the goal in Syria has been to consolidate the control of the pro-Russia regime of President Bashar al Assad. The direct military involvement of Russian forces has been more widespread in Syria because the situation permits this. Military operations have been fused with support for armed militants, propaganda and disinformation, diplomacy and economic statecraft, and political influence. The overarching goal in Syria has been to not only expand Russian influence in the Middle East but to capitalise on this to hurt relations between Middle Eastern and Western countries.

The case of Syria clearly shows that Russia’s hybrid war against the West goes far beyond the geographical boundaries of European or Western countries. Another example of this is Russian hybrid warfare in Africa, designed to undermine Western influence on the resource-rich continent. In the Sahel, Russia capitalised on deteriorating relations with Western powers and perpetrated anti-Western sentiments by expanding its footprint . In countries like Mali and Central African Republic, Russia has been providing security assistance, diplomatic support, and help with information operations. One target is building global influence; another is undercutting Western interests. Both go hand-in-hand for Moscow.

It is often difficult to fully diagnose an active or recent hybrid threat. For instance, when France’s TV5Monde came under a fierce cyber attack in 2015, the Islamic State militant group was initially deemed responsible. It later transpired that the attack was perpetrated by a Russian hacker group, which posted jihadist messages on the network’s website and social media pages to sow discord and confusion.

Returning to the issue of Russia’s interference in the 2016 US elections, the implications were far-reaching. One of the defining outcomes was a contribution to the mainstreaming of right-wing populism in the US, which the country is still dealing with. Right-wing populism can create a crisis of legitimacy for state institutions whereby trust in those who govern becomes eroded. In recent years, right-wing populism has been pitting people against state institutions, political and economic leaders, the mainstream media, as well as certain minority groups such as migrants. As right-wing populism contributes towards and intersects with declining trust in mainstream media, disinformation can be employed to create security woes within target states. Russia strategically uses disinformation to achieve political and strategic goals.

It is worth mentioning that digital and social media are breeding grounds for disinformation, and Russia brings that into its strategic calculus. EUvsDisinfo maintains a database of tens of thousands of online disinformation samples purportedly linked to the Kremlin. In 2021, a Facebook report revealed that Russia was the top source of "coordinated inauthentic behavior" internationally. The online disinformation campaign to derail the 2023 NATO Summit is a pertinent example of how Russia targets an actor it sees as its nemesis. Since NATO is paramount to Western security, it is a recurring target of Russian online disinformation, as EUvsDinfo documents . Such disinformation is based on not only fabrication, but also distortion, like the campaign that spun NATO’s preparedness in Eastern Europe post-2014 as aggression, even though it was a corollary of Russia’s illegal invasion of Crimea. The narrative is methodically twisted to invert the cause and effect.

Russian online disinformation banks on state-sponsored sources and pro-Moscow groups acting in tandem to amplify false and misleading narratives, which are spread in multiple languages to play out globally. Disinformation peddled by Russia is sometimes very effective. Serbia, for instance, has strong political and economic ties with Western Europe, but most Serbians view Russia as the country’s closest partner and its “greatest friend”. A key reason is the narratives promoted by Russian news outlets like RT and Sputnik, which dominate the Serbian traditional and digital media landscape. Such narratives demean Western Europe and the US, while eulogising Russia and China. Russia-sponsored disinformation has paid similar dividends in the non-Western world as well. Disinformation geared towards driving a wedge between Africa and the West contributes towards a lack of consensus over and support for Ukraine on the continent.

Method behind the madness?

Moscow sees itself fighting a long war against what it deems a Western hegemony. It is in this context that Russian President Putin terms “Western elite” the enemy. What exactly he means by Western elite is kept ambiguous, perhaps for political expediency, but his ultimate nemeses are clearly the US and European powers who lead the global political and economic order.

Moscow’s hostility towards the West is just the tip of the iceberg. In terms of a grand strategy, Moscow, under President Putin’s leadership, desires a return to the power balance of the past wherein the Soviet Union was a superpower and could thus define the rules of the international order on a global level. But Moscow realises that it structurally cannot find much space in the international political order, which places a premium on values like freedom and democracy – ideals that are extremely limited in Russia. So the international order ought to be redefined in a bid to (re-)establish Russia’s ascendency over global politics and economy. This is apparent within the Primakov Doctrine – so-called for former Foreign and Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov. The Doctrine posits that Russia should aim to establish a multipolar world so that the global order cannot be defined by a single power or pole. It is for this reason that Moscow aims to undercut what it views as Western power and Western influence around the world.

The biggest obstacle for Russia is that it has neither the hard power nor economic influence to be able to achieve this grand goal. Perhaps the Kremlin believes that its hybrid warfare toolkit can help it find a way around this issue. The idea is two-fold: enhancing Russia’s power capabilities through an integration of military and non-military means, and exploiting and exacerbating the internal vulnerability of Western powers. The goal is clear: truncate power asymmetry between Russia and Western powers in order to triumph over them.

An armoured convoy of pro-Russian troops in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on 21 April 2022. © Chingis Kondarov / Reuters

Despite Russia fighting an aggressive hybrid war in recent years, defeating Western powers seems to be a far cry for now. This is because hybrid warfare can reduce but not completely offset the power asymmetry between the Western powers and Moscow, given Russia’s limited military and economic capabilities. Western powers have also worked to enhance their resilience after the invasion of Ukraine, while Russia looks internally unstable. Does this mean that Russia’s hybrid war against the West has failed so far? Perhaps not entirely. It has managed to achieve some of its primary objectives, particularly in terms of undermining Western strategic influence and political power on a global scale. The expanding Russian footprint in the Middle East and Africa at the cost of declining Western influence is an example of this. Russia’s hybrid warfare has also contributed to deepening political polarisation within and between Western countries. This is worrisome.

What Western powers must do now is pursue concerted efforts to surmount all components of Russia’s hybrid war in a meticulous manner. This is not solely warranted by the ways in which Russia puts Western security in jeopardy, but also serves as preparation for the potential future exploitation of vulnerabilities by China.

With modern warfare changing in terms of its core facets, conflicts are much more than the employment of direct, physical force. They are increasingly marked by sophisticated hybridity. For Russia, this means a lot in relation to its strategic calculus and compulsions. Like virtually all countries in the world, Moscow understands that it ought to upgrade, expand, and diversify its toolkit to include non-kinetic tools – in its case, that includes tools like economic statecraft and disinformation – to complement military instruments and tools, which themselves are used more innovatively.

Considering Moscow’s aggressive ambitions, hybrid warfare is not only attractive but also a strategic compulsion for Russia owing to its conspicuous power asymmetry vis-à-vis the West. Russia’s military budget and technology, as well as the size and diversity of its economy, are not even comparable to the wide-ranging capabilities of the Western powers. Hybrid warfare allows Moscow to reduce—if not offset—this power imbalance to confront what it considers its enemy rivals.

The key tools that Russia has employed in pursuit of its hybrid warfare against Western countries include the politicisation/weaponisation of energy, the employment of non-state actors and non-attributable forces, support for pro-Russia and Russia-leaning actors, an extensive use of disinformation, and election-meddling. These are synchronised in a systematic way.

The extent to which Russia’s hybrid warfare enables it to achieve its grand objectives against the West remains to be seen. So far, Russia has undermined Western security to some extent, but it has certainly not stopped Western powers from shaping politics, economy, and culture in a democratic way on the global level. Nevertheless, considering Russia’s limited military and economic capabilities, its hybrid tactics have allowed it to act “bigger” than it is. Western states must recognise this and consider a thought-out plan to decisively respond to Russia’s strategies in a unified way.

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Hybrid warriors and the war in Ukraine

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Tony Barber

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Every week brings grim and dramatic news from the war in Ukraine: Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian convoys; Vladimir Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons; captured towns liberated by Ukrainian forces; young Russian men fleeing the draft. Yet it is no accident that Europe’s most destructive conflict since the second world war is taking place on Ukrainian soil. After the cold war, most of central and eastern Europe, including the three Baltic states that had broken free from the Soviet Union, were brought into Nato and the EU. But Ukraine remained a place of uncertain allegiance, neither in western alliance structures, nor aligned with Moscow, nor officially neutral.

In Russia, a truculent, grievance-filled nationalism under Putin and an authoritarian style of rule contrasted with a lively, if imperfect democracy in Ukraine and a society learning to be proud of its national culture and statehood. After Russia’s annexation of Crimea and military intervention in Donbas in 2014, Ukraine’s leaders came with increasing determination to see their country’s future in the western family of nations. For its part, the Kremlin and its ultranationalist supporters viewed such aspirations as a US-inspired plot to degrade Russia’s identity, interests and prestige, bringing closer a showdown between Russian and western civilisation.

At once something more than a Russian-Ukrainian war, and something less than a full-scale military clash between Moscow and the west, the conflict is in its eighth month and shows no sign of ending soon. The Kremlin’s partial mobilisation of Russian civilians and attempted annexation by sham referendums of four Ukrainian provinces indicate that Putin is digging in for a prolonged fight. Ukraine is buoyed by recent battlefield advances and the promise of sustained western military and economic support to continue its struggle. For their part, western governments are preparing for a hard winter of war-induced recession and energy crises that may sour the public mood, but they believe too much is at stake to permit a settlement rewarding Putin’s aggression.

Two new books, written by authors with first-hand experience of conditions in Ukraine, do a fine job of placing the war in its larger historical, geopolitical and social contexts. Each has a particular focus. Anna Arutunyan, a Russian-American specialist on postcommunist Russia and Ukraine, concentrates in Hybrid Warriors on why fighting erupted in Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014, paving the way to Putin’s gamble last February on all-out war. Samir Puri, a war studies lecturer and former UK diplomat, pays close attention in Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine to the larger international setting of Ukrainian-Russian hostilities, above all how they reflected and were sharpened by tensions between Nato and Moscow .

In her illuminating, well-researched book, Arutunyan sets out a nuanced argument about the Donbas conflict that will not satisfy some Ukrainians but is convincing nonetheless. She contends that it oversimplifies matters to portray the Kremlin as the exclusive instigator of the separatist insurgency of 2014. “In a general sense, this is largely accurate. However, it misses . . . the extent to which local [pro-Moscow] separatists and the Russian non-state fighters and activists who initially came to fight alongside them shaped the insurgency and the war it sparked.”

Because the Kremlin really did orchestrate the annexation of Crimea, some western policymakers and analysts assumed the same must be true of the Donbas conflict. However, the fighting was “as much fuelled by local divisions as by Moscow’s meddling”, Arutunyan writes. For sure, widespread violence would not have erupted without Russia’s involvement. But social divisions in Donbas dating to Ukraine’s independence in 1991 were real, and some local Russians, alienated from the authorities who took power in Kyiv after the Maidan revolution of early 2014, were willing to fight.

When the Soviet Union disappeared, I didn’t really accept the Ukrainian regime A fighter tells Anna Arutunyan

One reason lay in the modern history of Donbas, shaped by Russian immigration, the dominance of heavy industry in the regional economy and Sovietisation, Arutunyan says. With a largely Russian factory and mining workforce and a heroic image forged in the fires of Joseph Stalin’s crash industrialisation, Donbas “became the cradle of a quintessential Soviet identity”. Interviewed in May 2014, many pro-Moscow residents told her they did not want incorporation into Russia but hankered for “some version of the Soviet Union”.

Arutunyan describes those who took up arms as “idealists, enthusiasts, mercenaries, drifters, men and women with criminal pasts — who were not acting under orders from Moscow but . . . who felt . . . forgotten, maligned and misunderstood — pushed out to the margins of history”. A fighter tells her: “When the Soviet Union disappeared from the face of the earth, I didn’t really accept the Ukrainian regime”.

“On some level, I just wanted to run around with a Kalashnikov,” another fighter said.

Also involved were non-state fighters from Russia, a development that, as Arutunyan observes perceptively, recalls how volunteers fought for the tsarist empire against Ottoman Turkey in the 1870s. They represented “the private and the rightwing sector of [Russian] civil society . . . businessmen, think tanks and independent political activists coalesced around an imperialist agenda”.

By August 2014, Russia was sending regular soldiers to eastern Ukraine, but for seven years and more Putin held back from recognising the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk statelets. He also dropped the so-called Novorossiya project , an ultranationalist vision of Russian-controlled territory stretching from Kharkiv to Odesa.

Then everything changed in February. Why? Arutunyan mentions Putin’s sense of national victimhood, intensified perhaps by his immersion during the Covid-19 lockdowns in the works of mystical Russian pseudo-historians such as Lev Gumilev . Briefings about US plots from the FSB intelligence agency may have influenced him. Whatever his motives, Arutunyan doubts the war will end well for Putin but tries to sound optimistic about Russia. “This war may represent the last, violent throes of a dying empire that will leave something new in its wake . . . a new Russia, with its own, new national identity.”

In his stimulating and thoughtful book, Puri describes Putin as “enraptured by an apocalyptic nostalgia for the Soviet and the tsarist incarnations of Russian empire”. He shares Arutunyan’s view that Putin’s isolation during the pandemic seems to have hardened his animosity towards Ukraine, mentioning a 2021 essay, “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians” , that was “a bright red flag warning that something wicked was coming Ukraine’s way”.

Puri, author of The Great Imperial Hangover (2020), a well-received book on how the legacies of empires shape the modern world, comments that for 500 years Russia has had little experience of not being an empire. Unlike countries with possessions overseas, the Russian state and empire grew together in the vast spaces adjoining the Russian heartland.

Puri, like Arutunyan, asks whether Ukraine can be free, sovereign and unmenaced by Russia over the long term

Coupled with Russian population movements into Donbas and other areas, this surely made it easier for Putin to think of postcommunist Ukraine as an “errant province”, not a sovereign state. Puri quotes Vladislav Surkov , once a senior Kremlin adviser on Ukraine, as saying in 2020: “Forceful coercion for brotherly relations, this is the only method that has historically proven effective when it comes to Ukraine.”

Puri is no apologist for Putin’s Russia. Yet his book will stir some controversy with its contention that the US and its allies badly mishandled relations with Moscow by offering Ukraine unrealistic hopes of Nato membership. “Tens of thousands of people have perished along the way of proving the point that Nato’s open door should always remain open, no matter the neighbourhood. Nato has, of course, no blood on its hands here, but as an exercise in effective statecraft, Nato’s past record of handling Ukraine’s and Georgia’s membership aspirations is a shoddy one.”

Puri also faults European policymakers for forging ties with former Soviet republics at Russia’s expense, while failing to address the reality that Moscow retained the power to disagree forcefully that it should be kept out of Europe’s future. There is something to this, but arguably it understates the way that Putin’s aggressive foreign policy went hand in hand with the increasingly repressive regime he was building at home — a trend over which the west had little influence.

What of Ukraine’s future? Puri thinks partition, though not desirable, is possible. He mentions Cyprus, divided since 1974, and Germany in the cold war as bleak examples. More broadly, he asks, like Arutunyan, whether Ukraine can be free, sovereign and unmenaced by Russia over the long term. Although he offers no definite answer, readers may well conclude from his hard-headed survey that the best guarantee for Ukraine would be a free, democratic Russia rid of imperial impulses. How to get there is an altogether different matter.

Hybrid Warriors : Proxies, Freelancers and Moscow’s Struggle for Ukraine by Anna Arutunyan, Hurst £20, 352 pages

Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine : Invasion Amidst the Ashes of Empires by Samir Puri, Biteback Publishing £20, 304 pages

Tony Barber is the FT’s European comment editor

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