megayacht hamburg

UPDATE: Fate Of Russian Billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s Mega-Yacht In Germany Uncertain

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Alisher Usmanov's Dilbar yacht.

CORRECTION (March 3): According to the Ministry for Economy and Innovation in the German state of Hamburg, the country’s authorities have not seized the Dilbar, a 512-foot yacht owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. As Forbes reported on Wednesday, work on the ship has been halted at the Hamburg shipyard where it has been stationed for refitting work since October.

Three sources had told Forbes it had been seized, but a representative for Usmanov cited the statement from the ministry in Hamburg to confirm that it had not. In its statement, the ministry elaborated that the German federal customs agency is the “responsible enforcement authority” and would have to issue an export waiver for the yacht to leave, and that “no yacht leaves port that is not allowed to do so.”

The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands and owned through Klaret Continental Leasing Limited, a company based in Malta, according to public data from vessel tracking service VesselFinder. A spokesperson for the Malta Business Registry told Forbes that Klaret Continental Leasing Limited was a branch of a Cyprus-based company which closed in December 2018. The Cyprus company, also named Klaret Continental Leasing Limited, was dissolved in September 2019, according to corporate records in Cyprus. A spokesperson for Usmanov told the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project , which Forbes is collaborating with on assets linked to Russian oligarchs, that the yacht had “long ago been transferred into an irrevocable trust” and that Usmanov had “donated” the beneficial rights to members of his family. That makes it difficult to tie the yacht directly to Usmanov for the purpose of sanctions.

In its statement, the ministry in Hamburg added that restrictions can be imposed on a yacht owned by a sanctioned Russian individual only “if the ownership situation is clearly clarified and all these possessions are also sanctioned.” The ministry confirmed to Forbes that the yacht is still in the dock at the Hamburg shipyards of Blohm+Voss.

Forbes contacted the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Federal Customs Service but has not received an immediate response.

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov was sanctioned by the European Union on Monday. Two days later, Forbes has learned from three sources in the yacht industry that work has been halted on one of his prized possessions—the 512-foot yacht Dilbar, valued at nearly $600 million—in the northern city of Hamburg, where it had been stationed for refitting at the shipyards of Blohm+Voss since October.

The ship has been in the Hamburg shipyards of German shipbuilding firm Blohm+Voss since late October for a refitting job. Sources who spoke to Forbes said that the German government froze the asset and that, likely as a result, Blohm+Voss employees who had been working on the yacht didn’t show up to work on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Lürssen, the German shipbuilder which owns Blohm+Voss, declined to comment on Thursday. “All orders and projects of the Lürssen Group and its subsidiaries are treated in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations,” the spokesperson said. Representatives for Usmanov didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Usmanov purchased Dilbar in 2016 for a reported $600 million from Lürssen, which custom-built it for him over 52 months. The firm calls it "one of the most complex and challenging yachts ever built, in terms of both dimensions and technology." At 15,917 tons, it's the world's largest motor yacht by gross tonnage, and is typically manned by a crew of 96 people. Dilbar boasts the largest swimming pool ever installed on a yacht as well as two helicopter pads, a sauna, a beauty salon, and a gym. Its plush interiors have more than 1,000 sofa cushions and it can host up to 24 people in 12 suites.

The yacht is part of Usmanov’s estimated multibillion dollar fortune, which spans stakes in iron ore and steel giant Metalloinvest and consumer electronics firm Xiaomi, as well as smaller holdings in telecom, mining and media. One of the earliest investors in Facebook along with fellow billionaire Yuri Milner , Usmanov also owns extensive real estate assets in the West, ranging from two estates in the UK—Beechwood House in London and Sutton Place in Surrey, valued at a combined $280 million—to luxury homes in Munich, Germany; Lausanne, Switzerland; Monaco; and Sardinia.

Usmanov sold his 30% stake in English soccer team Arsenal F.C. in 2018 for nearly $700 million in cash, but until this week had ties to soccer through his USM Holdings and MegaFon sponsorships of Everton F.C. The Premier League team said on Wednesday that it was suspending the arrangements in light of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Usmanov isn’t the only Russian billionaire with a mega-yacht: Forbes and yacht valuation experts VesselsValue tracked down 32 of them.

On Tuesday, Usmanov commented on the EU sanctions imposed on him in a statement to the International Fencing Federation where he also announced he was stepping down as the organization’s president. “I believe that such decision is unfair, and the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity, and business reputation," he wrote. "I will use all legal means to protect my honor and reputation."

Updated on March 30 with more information on Klaret Continental Leasing Ltd.

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World's largest yacht, linked to Russian billionaire Usmanov, is seized by Germany

• German authorities said they have seized the world's largest superyacht following official confirmation that the vessel had links to Russian billionaire and business tycoon Alisher Usmanov.
• The superyacht, named Dilbar after Usmanov's mother, was initially restricted by German authorities from leaving its anchorage in Hamburg on March 3.
• The yacht extends over 500 feet and is equipped with two helipads and the largest indoor swimming pool ever installed on a private vessel.

WASHINGTON — German authorities said they have seized the world's largest superyacht following official confirmation that the vessel had links to Russian billionaire and business tycoon Alisher Usmanov.

A German official confirmed to CNBC on Thursday that the motor yacht was linked to Usmanov and therefore subject to asset seizure. Germany's federal police informed European authorities in Brussels on Wednesday that a thorough investigation found the vessel was owned by Usmanov's sister, Gulbakhor Ismailova.

The stunning superyacht was initially restricted from leaving its anchorage by German authorities on March 3 , according to a senior Biden administration official with knowledge of the matter.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the yacht had not been physically seized at the time but rather was not allowed to move from its current location in the German port city of Hamburg. The person had added that more measures would be taken later.

The yacht, named Dilbar after Usmanov's mother, extends over 500 feet and is equipped with two helipads and the largest indoor swimming pool ever installed on a private vessel. The Department of Treasury estimates that the current value of Usmanov's yacht is approximately $735 million.

Usmanov and his superyacht entered the crosshairs of the U.S. and its allies in March following coordinated global sanctions on Russian elites  with Kremlin ties after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

A Treasury official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said any action taken by German authorities would not involve transferring the vessel to the United States under Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, sanctions.

The U.S. sanctions listed Usmanov's yacht as blocked property, which effectively means that any transactions related to the yacht — including maintenance, the hiring of crew and payment of docking fees — conducted with U.S. persons or in U.S. dollars are prohibited.

The yacht is the latest vessel to be seized since Russia invaded Ukraine. A $90 million mega-yacht owned by billionaire Viktor Vekselberg was seized in Spain on April 4 with help from U.S. authorities. Vekselberg was born in Ukraine but founded the massive Russia-based conglomerate Renova Group.

On March 2, French authorities  seized a massive yacht they say is linked to Igor Sechin , a Russian billionaire who is CEO of state oil company Rosneft. He previously served as Russia's deputy prime minister within President Vladimir Putin's government.

The Lady M, known to be the property of Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov, was previously seized in Italy.

— CNBC's Brian Schwartz contributed reporting from New York.

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Ukraine invasion — explained

The roots of Russia's invasion of Ukraine go back decades and run deep. The current conflict is more than one country fighting to take over another; it is — in the words of one U.S. official — a shift in "the world order." Here are some helpful stories to make sense of it all.

Germany seizes the world's largest yacht (at least according to volume)

Rachel Treisman

The luxury superyacht Dilbar sails off the coast of Monaco in 2017. Valery Hache/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

The luxury superyacht Dilbar sails off the coast of Monaco in 2017.

German authorities have seized the world's largest yacht by volume after determining that a Russian oligarch had transferred its ownership to his sister — who is also facing Western sanctions.

Dilbar, the yacht in question, measures some 511 feet and 15,917 tons, which shipbuilder Lurssen says makes it the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage. It has two helipads and one of the biggest indoor pools ever installed on a yacht, according to the U.S. Treasury Department , which puts its estimated worth between $600 and $735 million.

Why so many Russian billionaires are called oligarchs

The superyacht is named after the mother of its original owner: Alisher Usmanov, one of Russia's wealthiest billionaires and a known close associate of the Russian president. Usmanov was sanctioned by the U.S., United Kingdom., European Union and Switzerland in March, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Germany's federal police tweeted Wednesday that it found, "through extensive investigations despite offshore concealment," that the yacht currently belongs to Usmanov's sister, Gulbakhor Ismailova. Authorities impounded the yacht, which remains at the port of Hamburg , after confirming with Brussels that its owner is under sanctions.

A Russian billionaire's superyacht has been impounded in Hamburg, Germany. Harsh sanctions in response to the invasion of #Ukraine brought the estimated $600-750 million yacht Dilbar out of 'offshore concealment', and into the hands of authorities. pic.twitter.com/GYkH6SmQk2 — German Embassy (@GermanyinUSA) April 14, 2022

Ismailova was sanctioned by the U.K. on Wednesday and the EU last week. Both entities said Usmanov had indirectly transferred assets to his sister, including leaving her as Dilbar's only beneficial owner.

"The owner of the yacht 'Dilbar' is Navis Marine Ltd. (Cayman Islands), whose shareholder is Almenor Holdings Ltd. (Cyprus). All shares in that holding company are held by PomerolCapital SA (Switzerland) in trust for the benefit of 'The Sisters Trust,' " EU officials explained, adding that Usmanov has not been a shareholder of that trust company since 2017.

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A russian oligarch's $90 million yacht is seized as part of u.s. sanctions.

Ukrainian sailors tried to block a Russian oligarch's yacht from docking in Turkey

Ismailova has also been linked to luxury real estate in Italy and Latvia associated with Usmanov, the EU said, and therefore has "actively supported materially or financially Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilisation of Ukraine."

Dilbar made headlines in early March , when Hamburg officials denied conflicting reports that they had seized the superyacht and said any such move would have to come from higher federal customs authorities.

According to Boat International, Dilbar is also the fourth-longest yacht in the world. It can accommodate up to 96 crew members as well as 24 guests in a large living space, which includes fold-out balconies, an onboard garden (with "a specifically developed variety of grass that tolerates salt air") and more than 1,000 custom-made sofa cushions.

This story originally appeared in the Morning Edition live blog .

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European authorities seize oligarch’s megayacht in german port.

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What has two helipads and no longer belongs to an oligarch? This yacht.

Authorities in Germany have seized Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s 500-foot megayacht, the Dilbar , as part of the package of sanctions against the Kremlin and its supporters, Forbes magazine reported .

The ship was taken by authorities in the north German port of Hamburg on Wednesday. The megayacht is estimated to be worth $600 million.

Usmanov, 68, is an iron and steel magnate estimated to be worth $16 billion. He is also close with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has allegedly functioned as the strongman’s business advisor .

The billionaire is among the Russian businessmen targeted by European Union sanctions over Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which entered its seventh day of bloody fighting on Wednesday.

The Dilbar is reportedly the world’s largest yacht by gross tonnage. With 12 guest suites, a crew of at least 80, a sauna, a gym, and the largest swimming pool ever installed on a yacht, the ship is said to cost $60 million a year just to keep afloat.

Reportedly one of Usmanov’s prized possessions, the Dilbar was custom-built to his specifications by German shipwright Lurssen. Completed in 2016, the ship took over four years to build.

Usmanov’s pride and joy was a sitting duck for authorities — it’s been in the German port since last year for a refit.

But other oligarchs have been sending their boats to sunnier ports — or at least those of the few nations where sanctions can’t touch them — according to a report by CNBC .

Related Video

President biden fired a warning shot at the russian oligarchs: we are coming for your ill-begotten gains.

The US is expected to join the EU in seizing Russian assets soon — President Joe Biden addressed the oligarchs directly in Tuesday’s State of the Union address, saying “we are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.”

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Germany seized the world's largest mega-yacht worth $600 million belonging to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, according to Forbes report

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

Sanctions against Russia and its oligarchs have been implemented by several countries.

A Russian billionaire had his yacht seized by German authorities Wednesday, according to Forbes.

Alisher Usmanov has spoken highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past.

Germany seized Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's mega-yacht on Wednesday, according to Forbes, which cited multiple unnamed sources.

Usmanov's yacht, which has been docked in Hamburg, Germany, for months for a refitting, is the first to be seized since Russia's attack on Ukraine began on February 24.

Dilbar, a 512-foot yacht that weighs 15,917 tons, "is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage," according to Lürssen , the German ship's maker.

Usmanov bought the custom-built yacht for an estimated $600 million and it took 52 months to build, according to Forbes.

Video: How the 1999 Russian apartment bombings led to Putin's rise to power

The US State Department was unable to confirm to Insider if the yacht was indeed seized. Usmanov and Germany's   Federal Foreign Office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Many countries, including the US and the European Union , have implemented sanctions — financial consequences applied by one party to another — against Russian banks, Russian oligarchs, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an effort to end the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Usmanov's assets were frozen as part of sanctions levied by the European Union, according to the Guardian. After the European Union announced sanctions against Usmanov and other Russian oligarchs, he stepped down as President of the International Fencing Federation, one of his companies.

"I believe that such a decision is unfair, and the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity, and business reputation," Usmanov said in a statement on the company's website.

"I hereby suspend the exercise of my duties as the President of the International Fencing Federation effective immediately until justice is restored," he added.

The oligarch has historically supported Russian President Vladimir Putin, though he has not commented on the current attack on Ukraine.

"I am proud that I know Putin, and the fact that everybody does not like him is not Putin's problem," the Uzbekistan-born oligarch told Forbes in a 2010 interview .

Read the original article on Business Insider

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France seizes yacht linked to Russian oligarch at Mediterranean port

Vessel linked to Igor Sechin taken as Hamburg authorities deny confiscation of Alisher Usmanov’s $600m superyacht

• Russia-Ukraine crisis: live news

France’s finance minister has announced the country has seized a yacht linked to Rosneft boss, Igor Sechin, in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat, as German local authorities denied reports they had also seized the $600m superyacht belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.

French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said it had seized a yacht linked to Rosneft boss Igor Sechin in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat.

The finance ministry said the yacht was owned by an entity of which Sechin had been identified as the main shareholder.

The announcement came as authorities in Hamburg denied reports that Usmanov’s yacht had been seized in a shipyard in the German port city.

“No yachts have been confiscated,” a spokesperson for Hamburg’s economic authority said. “A handover [of the yacht to its owner] is also currently not planned. No yacht is going to leave the port that is not allowed to do so.”

The Hamburg local authority said any order to seize properties subject to sanctions would have to come from higher federal customs authorities.

A Forbes report citing three sources in the yacht industry had reported on Usmanov’s 156-metre (512-foot) yacht Dilbar, valued at $600m and regarded as the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage, was seized by German authorities on Wednesday.

Usmanov was on a list of billionaires to face sanctions from the European Union in response to Russia’s 24 February invasion of Ukraine.

Usmanov’s 156-metre (512-foot) yacht Dilbar, valued at $600m and regarded as the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage, was seized by German authorities on Wednesday, according to a Forbes report based on three sources in the yacht industry.

The Guardian understands that repair works on the Dilbar yet have currently been put on hold, and that the ship is not in a seaworthy state.

The yacht has been in the yards of shipbuilding firm Blohm+Voss since late October. A spokesperson declined to give a statement but said that all projects by shipbuilder Lürssen would be treated “in accordance with the law”.

Forbes reported that representatives for Usmanov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ukraine’s adviser to the minister of internal affairs, Anton Geraschenko, responded to the report on Telegram by saying the yacht should be sent to Ukraine and refitted as a missile cruiser.

Usmanov bought Dilbar in 2016 for a reported cost of $600m from German shipbuilder Lürssen, which custom-built it for him over 52 months.

The firm describes it as “one of the most complex and challenging yachts ever built, in terms of both dimensions and technology”.

At the time of its launch, Lürssen CEO, Peter Lürssen, said : “Dilbar has the most advanced security technologies of any superyacht in the world. But the things you read about it containing an anti-aircraft missile defence system are all nonsense.”

At 15,917 tonnes, it’s the world’s largest motor yacht by gross tonnage, and is typically staffed by a crew of 96 people, with space for 24 passengers in 12 suites. It has the largest pool ever installed on a yacht as well as two helicopter pads, a sauna, a beauty salon and a gym.

At least five other superyachts owned by Russian billionaires are now anchored or cruising in Maldives, an Indian Ocean island nation that does not have an extradition treaty with the US, ship tracking data showed.

The vessels’ arrival in the archipelago off the coast of Sri Lanka follows the imposition of severe western sanctions on Russia.

The Clio superyacht, owned by Oleg Deripaska, the founder of aluminium giant Rusal, who was sanctioned by the US in 2018, was anchored off the capital Male on Wednesday, according to shipping database MarineTraffic.

The Titan, owned by Alexander Abramov, a cofounder of steel producer Evraz, arrived on 28 February.

Three more yachts owned by Russian billionaires were seen cruising in Maldives waters on Wednesday, the data showed. They include the 88-metre (288 ft) Nirvana owned by Russia’s richest man, Vladimir Potanin . Most vessels were last seen anchored in Middle Eastern ports earlier in the year.

A spokesperson for Maldives’ government did not respond to a request for comment.

The US has said it will take strict action to seize property of sanctioned Russians.

“This coming week, we will launch a multilateral transatlantic taskforce to identify, hunt down, and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs: their yachts, their mansions, and any other ill-gotten gains that we can find and freeze under the law,” the White House said in a tweet on Sunday.

Washington imposed sanctions on Deripaska and other influential Russians in 2018 because of their ties to president Vladimir Putin after alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election, which Moscow denies.

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Putin's superyacht abruptly left Germany amid sanction warnings over Russia-Ukraine tensions, report says

• Vladimir Putin's yacht Graceful left Hamburg before finishing repairs, German media reported. 
• It is speculated Graceful made an abrupt exit to avoid Western sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine.
• The luxury superyacht is said to be worth at least $100 million.

A yacht named Graceful and said to belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin left port in Hamburg abruptly before finishing repairs, according to reports from German media.

It is unclear what prompted the move, but the $100 million yacht's relocation from German waters to Kaliningrad, part of Russian territory, came amid fears the West would impose sanctions if Russia invaded Ukraine.

While Moscow has continuously denied any plans to invade its neighbor, it has gathered over 100,000 troops at positions all around Ukraine and has even sent six assault ships into the Black Sea, moving more combat power toward the former Soviet territory. 

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The US and UK have warned of sanctions on Russian elites , and President Joe Biden has threatened to sanction Putin personally should Russia decide to attack Ukraine. He has also deployed troops to Eastern Europe to support NATO members and has put thousands of US troops on "heightened alert" as tensions rise.

Some have speculated that sanctions could target certain luxury assets. Graceful was spotted on a public maritime-traffic-tracking site sailing for Kaliningrad.

—Manu Gómez (@GDarkconrad) February 9, 2022

Graceful arrived last year in Hamburg, where the superyacht has been receiving several modifications, including two forward balconies and an extension to the swimming platform, Boat International reported.

It was built by the German shipbuilding company Blohm and Voss and officially launched in 2014. Designed by H2 Yacht Design, Graceful is classified as a tri-deck superyacht, according to Boat International.

The luxury yacht is 270 feet long and equipped with a gym, a saloon featuring a white Steinway piano, a spa, a library, and a 49-foot indoor pool that can be converted into a dance floor. The vessel is meant to accommodate up to 12 guests and 14 crew.

Jonny Horsfield, H2's founder, told Boat International in 2015 that Graceful was meant to be a timeless yacht. 

"The owner is a very confident person," Horsfield told the outlet without mentioning Putin directly. "He knows what he likes and he's not a slave to trends."

The Russian president's net worth is unknown, but it has been speculated that Putin is worth as much as $200 billion, if not more, Fortune previously reported . Documents leaked last year suggested that Putin had secret assets abroad.

Watch: Why Russia may not be as strong as most people think

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Megajacht "Shackleton": 350-Millionen-Euro-Schiff legt in Hamburg an

350 millionen euro teuer expeditionsjacht der superlative: die "schackleton" legt in hamburg an.

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Kleidermotten bekämpfen

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800 Millionen Yacht bei Blohm+Voss: Längster Pool, zwei Landeplätze, Luxus pur!

Stand: 01.11.2021, 07:30 Uhr

Von: Kevin Goonewardena

Die „Dilbar“ ist ein echter Leckerbissen für Schiffsfans. Die können die 800 Millionen Mega-Yacht aktuell in den Docks von Blohm+Voss bewundern. Alles zum Mega-Schiff.

Hamburg – Seit Freitag, 29. Oktober 2021, beherbergen die Docks der Traditionswerft Blohm+Voss im Hamburger Hafen einen besonders luxuriösen Gast. Nein, nicht etwa die Eclipse *, die Yacht des russischen Oligarchen und Chelsea-Eigners Roman Abramovic – diese stattete der Werft erst Ende Dezember 2020 einen Reperaturbesuch ab. Doch die aktuelle Mega-Yacht gehört ebenfalls einem russischen Oligarchen. Sein Name: Alischer Usmanow. Sein Vermögen: Rund 18 Milliarden US-Dollar (Forbes, Stand 30. Oktober 2021). Seine schwimmende Luxus-Yacht: Die „Dilbar“, die sechstgrößte Yacht der Welt.

Luxus-Yacht bei Blohm+Voss: Das ist die Dilbar

156 Meter lang, 15.917 Tonnen schwer, zwei 40.320 PS-Motoren: Das sind die nüchternen Werte des 2016 in der Bremer Lürssen-Werft gebauten Schiffs, das nach Fertigstellung ihren Platz unter den Top 5 der längsten Yachten der Welt sicher hatte. Erst 2019 wurde sie von der bis dato längsten Yacht, der REV Ocean, aus dem Top-5-Ranking verbannt. Die „Dilbar“ bietet neben ihrer imposanten Größe schieren und selten gesehenen Luxus: Nicht einen, sondern gleich zwei Landeplätze für Hubschrauber finden sich an Board. Den maßgeschneiderten Airbus H175-Hubschrauber in der VIP-Edition gibt es obendrauf. Nie wurde ein längerer Pool auf einer Yacht installiert, als das 25 Meter Becken der Dilbar. 36 Gäste in 20 Kabinen und 96 Besatzungsmitglieder finden an Board Platz.

24hamburg.de Newsletter

Im Newsletter von 24hamburg.de  stellt unsere Redaktion Inhalte aus Hamburg, Norddeutschland und über den HSV zusammen. Täglich um 8:30 Uhr landen sechs aktuelle Artikel in Ihrem Mail-Postfach – die Anmeldung ist kostenlos, eine Abmeldung per Klick am Ende jeder verschickten Newsletter-Ausgabe unkompliziert möglich.

Dilbar: Luxus-Yacht für fast 1 Milliarde Dollar

Wie viel das Schiff seinen Besitzer gekostet hat, ist nicht bekannt. Experten schätzen den Wert auf rund 800 Millionen Euro. Die Schätzungen basieren unter anderem auf den damaligen Tonnen-Rohstoffpreisen und den Preisen für vergleichbare Yachten. Das Schiff gewann den World Superyacht Awards 2016 in der Kategorie „Motoryacht des Jahres.“ Die Jury bezeichnete das unter anderem von Yacht-Stardesigner Espen Øino gestaltete Schiff als „die spektakulärste Yacht, die sie je gesehen haben“. * 24hamburg.de und fr.de sind Angebote von IPPEN.MEDIA .

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The world’s biggest yachts – what’s behind the growth of the gigayacht

• Helen Fretter
• March 14, 2017

The last few years have seen launches of some of the world's largest yachts, truly gigayachts. Helen Fretter delves into the world of the gigayacht

Dwarfing not only any other yacht that happened to be on the River Eider, but even the buildings along the foreshore, the monolithic Sailing Yacht A made quite an impression when she was launched from the Nobriskrug yard in Hamburg in the autumn of 2016.

The 142m, eight-deck behemoth is the archetypal ‘gigayacht’, phenomenal not just in her dimensions but also in her radicalism.

The Philippe Starck-designed Sailing Yacht A , with her 20m freeboard, begs the question: is she even a sailing yacht? The last yacht to divide opinion, and attract the shock and awe of the non-sailing public in the same manner was Maltese Falcon , the glossy, experimental megayacht designed for Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tom Perkins.

But the Falcon was launched a decade ago, and Sailing Yacht A is just one of a crop of extraordinary gigayachts, or sailing superyachts of 80, 90 or 100m plus, to touch the water in 2016.

Besides the 142m Sailing Yacht A , another three-masted design was launched from OceanCo this autumn, the 106m  Black Pearl , which looks set to become the largest sailing yacht in the world – for a while at least. Black Pearl represents a modern evolution of the rotating Dynarig pioneered by Maltese Falcon . Meanwhile in the spring, the largest Bermudan rigged yacht ever launched, the 86m ketch Aquijo , powered through sail trials in preparation for a global adventure.

There are more in the pipeline also. Royal Huisman announced this autumn that they had been commissioned to design and build the 86m Project 400 , another three masted design, this one more conventionally rigged. A proposal for the 114m Endurance has just been unveiled, an explorer concept designed to be able to cruise unassisted for three months. There is also the 86m Komorebi , an experimental wingsail-assisted hybrid trimaran design from the French multihull experts VPLP.

Rise and rise of the gigayacht

Why the sudden flurry of these stratospherically ambitious projects? In truth, it is not that sudden – initial pitches for what ultimately became Sailing Yacht A were invited back in 2008, and pre-studies began in 2011. A decade between projects seems rather shorter when design and build takes at least five years – gigayacht owners may be exacting, but they also have to be extraordinarily patient.

The 141m four-masted Dream Symphony is currently in build out of wood in Turkey, and includes vast living accommodation, and a swimming pool that converts to become a helipad platform.

What is remarkable, though, is how rapidly the yachts have grown in size – raising the upper ceiling from 88 to over 140m in a decade. Dutch naval architecture firm Dykstra has been instrumental in many of the world’s most innovative megayachts, including Sailing Yacht A , Black Pearl , and Maltese Falcon .

Managing director Thys Nikkels comments, “Ten years ago a big boat was a very different size than a big boat is now. I can still remember when I started working in ’91 a 40-metre yacht in those days was a big boat. In the mid-90s we started to design the yacht Athena , which we thought was the biggest boat we were ever going to see in our lives, as a sailing yacht she was 80 metres on the water.”

The largest single sloop rigged yacht in the world remains Mirabella V , launched back in 2003 and since renamed (and slightly lengthened during a refit) M5 at just over 77m. Rob Doyle, who worked on the project led by Ron Holland, recalls:

“We started designing her 17 years ago now. We hit a very natural sweet spot with Mirabella and that’s why it has taken so long for other boats to suddenly go over her length and over her rig height.

“ Mirabella still has the highest ‘P’ measurement [distance from boom to top of mast] and the longest boom in the world, though there are taller masts now.

“She set a bar and we didn’t realise we’d actually set it. It came down to a ratio of the rig weight to the draught and the keel weights, and everything else to be able to carry that amount of sail and that ballast to satisfy the rules.

“We pushed technology a lot – about 16 companies went bust over Mirabella  because the jump was so massive. We were jumping from a 64m to a 75m [yacht] and that jump was like learning to fly, then going to the moon!”

Article continues below

Video of Sailing Yacht A, the world’s largest sail-assisted vessel, during early sea trials

This video footage of Sailing Yacht A shows her with her towering free-standing masts and illustrates the jaw-dropping scale of the world’s…

A look on board the extraordinary 86m Aquijo, the world’s largest ketch

The largest Bermudan rigged ketch ever launched, the 86m Aquijo was designed by Bill Tripp and launched last year. The build came…

Ken Freivokh, who was responsible for the radical styling of Maltese Falcon , also points out that after the much publicised launch of the Falcon many buyers did not want to be seen to be emulating Tom Perkins’s unique style, preferring to wait, or opt for a conservative design. After the Falcon , Freivokh’s next radical Dynarig yacht was Black Pearl , which he began work on six years ago. At 106m Black Pearl dwarfs Maltese Falcon , with a 2,700GT volume that puts her just under the key 3,000GT limit.

Surprisingly, Dykstra’s Thys Nikkels says that the Dynarigs being built today are not markedly different to the one developed for Maltese Falcon a decade ago. “In concept it is not very different. In detail there are a number of improvements that have been made.

But Maltese Falcon was – for her time – years far ahead and she proved to be very successful in sail handling and sailing, so there are not many improvements to be done. Nowadays you just have different materials you can use, or different electronics and software systems that you can use for control.”

Maltese Falcon, launched in 2006, pioneered the Dynarig concept utilised on many of the next generation of larger gigayachts.

Sail handling

Meanwhile a decade of development in superyacht rigs and sail systems, means that Aquijo ’s owner could opt for a conventional ketch rig, which can deploy over 3,000m2 of sails in around six minutes.

Sail handling routines are necessarily different – the jib is furled when tacking. “Vitters organised a nice system that keeps just a nice amount of tension on the jib sheets furling in and out so that they are not flailing about,” explains Aquijo ’s designer, Bill Tripp. “So it’s not a dinghy tack, but it is safe and orderly.

“The spinnaker is on a fast furler and furls up in 30 seconds, making gybes less complex. There is the ketch choreography of bringing the main and mizzen in, but the steering is precise and there is no need to put too much sail up for the conditions.”

Aquijo master cabin

The forces generated on yachts such as Aquijo may be enormous – mast compression can reach around 580 tons – but are no longer beyond the realms of riggers’ experience. “When we started building boats like Saudade [the 2009 45m Wally], 14 tonnes was a very big load. Once we understood racing these boats, and understood they were controllable, you can take another step.

“We were delighted when sailing Aquijo upwind in a lot of breeze that the load on the mainsheet was showing around 12 tonnes. It’s 2:1 so that’s 24 tonnes. I’m not saying that’s not a massive load, but it’s similar to what we have on Saudade ’s big sheet 1:1, and we have years of experience with handling that.” Custom built 40 ton carbon and alloy winches help manage the sheet loads.

Tripp notes that a Dynarig was never considered as an option. “What you’re really asking is do you want the ease of sailing or do you want to be able to access something exciting? And we wanted both of them.

“Sailors tend to like the more fundamental experiences, and when the technology allows them to access those more fundamental experiences, well that’s a great joy.”

Aquijo is the world’s largest ketch, with a mainsail that can be furled or unfurled in around four seconds

Finding the limit

Just how big can a sailing yacht go? Five years ago plans were unveiled for a 101m sloop, with a single 125m carbon mast, which raised a few eyebrows and discussions over whether it might be possible. Malcolm McKeon worked on the proposal and says that it was the cost, rather than technical limitations, which put the brakes on the project.

“It was an evolving process. The owner has a 50m-plus sailing superyacht, and he wanted a new yacht big enough that he could put a reasonably sized chase boat on board. He wanted an explorer type sailboat that he could go to the Pacific on, and carry all his toys with him, and not have to have a support boat.

“The design started at 65 or 70m and it just grew and grew and grew until it got to 100m, and then it basically just got too expensive.

Recent sail trials on Sailing Yacht A saw the 1,464m2 mainsail unfurled from the 27.5m carbon U-shaped boom. Incredibly she is designed to heel up to a maximum angle of 12 degrees under full sail.

“The big problem with the large sail boats is the mast price goes up by a bigger proportion to everything else so the rig price becomes a much bigger percentage of the overall build. Technically it can all be done, it’s just the value of that part becomes a much more significant part and sometimes more difficult for an owner to accept.

“If somebody came to me and said they wanted to build a boat with a 200m mast I would think well, is that really possible? Certainly rigs up to 100m and a bit more I think are possible today, but where we’re going to go after that I don’t know.”

Rob Doyle points out that sailing superyacht owners pay around a 30 per cent premium over opting for a motoryacht, yet the boats lose around a third of the equivalent interior volume. However, for him the biggest limitations are the humans onboard.

“I think we are coming to a stage where we need a new type of rig, to be honest, to be able to safely deploy these sails without killing people. I think we are getting very close to where the metal meets the flesh at the deck level where the people and the guests are hanging around.”

With the ever-increasing winch and line speeds needed to handle the huge loads, serious hand and limb injuries can happen in the blink of an eye. “There is a moral hazard there that keeps playing on my mind,” says Doyle. “We are building very dangerous machines and we have to be very careful of people.”

The newly announced Endurance concept design is a 114m four-masted explorer design with a 6,000 mile range under power.

More prosaically, the bigger your gigayacht, the bigger the challenge of just getting on and off it. “Once you are getting to a stage where you can’t get into anchorages you are in constant fear of drifting – even putting down an anchor you need a huge amount of space around you.

“So then you anchor further out into the slop and the big waves, so the owners find it difficult to get on and off the boat, and suddenly other problems can overwhelm the project,” Doyle points out. One increasingly popular solution to that particular problem is a luxury landing craft.

Too big for the Panama Canal

It might seem counter-intuitive, but it is Aquijo ’s owner’s focus on the sailing experience that has enabled the designers of the 86m ketch to push the size limits of a traditionally rigged yacht.

“ Aquijo is a sophisticated machine and brings most aspects of a 1,600GT motor yacht with her,” comments designer Bill Tripp. “But she does not aspire to helicopters or submarines, the feeling of the boat is one of use. She is for getting out there, and for going out sailing. In Greece this summer, she would go out for an afternoon of sailing in 35 knot Meltemi because it is so much fun to sail at 20 knots, as if on rails.

“We have always done sailboats that can get under the Panama Canal bridge, and the biggest we were happy to do and put under the bridge was really 46m because after that we didn’t have big enough sails for the boat.

“Then five years ago we launched A Better Place , and the owner said ‘I’ll go around, I don’t want to limit my boat because of the bridges.’ With Aquijo they said, we want to go to these places anyway, so let’s get the best sailboat we can. So suddenly, instead of having this 63m limit on the rig, that all opened up and we could start doing a sailing boat that had a gross tonnage like some of the bigger motoryachts.

“I think we’re going to see more of that. You can look at the Strait of Magellan [an alternative route to rounding Cape Horn ], as a place that’s a really long way away or a place you really want to go.”

The three-masted Black Pearl  has an angular ‘Pacman’ bow with a wave-piercing reverse sheer lower section, and extended traditional foredeck above

The wish list

Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko is keeping his Sailing Yacht A tightly wrapped under non-disclosure agreements, but a few intriguing details have been released, including magnifying windows which appear larger inside than outside, and a gimballed crow’s nest, accessible by lift, 60m high in the curved mast.

An observation pod embedded in the keel with foot-thick glass gives a mesmerising – and frankly terrifying-sounding – view of the propellers, and there’s a three-man submarine.

Gigayacht designers have come up with some imaginative solutions to meet owners’ foibles and demands. Drawings for the 101m sloop incorporated an entirely retractable hardtop to the flybridge to give the owner his requested uninterrupted view of the sails and sky.

Plans for the Japanese-influenced Komorebi design feature a live tree on the aft deck. Watersports toys are old news – now tender garages are specified to house motorbikes, amphibious quad bikes, even custom-built marinised supercars.

On Aquijo , the headline feature is the ‘beach club’ on the lower deck. “For a sailing boat it is a huge area, they have a sauna, hamman [Turkish Bath], a rainfall shower, a relaxing area, this huge whirlpool in the middle, a little pantry, and enough space for gym equipment around the pool,” explains interior designer Robert Voges.

Beach club on Aquijo.

Voges says the trickiest element on the yacht was the flawless high shine steel mast claddings which run through the interior. “It is like a piece of art. The mast was going through the main saloon and guest corridor, and we didn’t want to hide it. So we decided to make a feature out of it with seamless stainless steel cladding with integrated LED strip lights from top to bottom over two decks.”

One of the most radical projects in progress is the 141m Dream Symphony , a four-masted design currently in build in Turkey. Originally slated for launch this year, the project is progressing slowly – in part due to the fact the yacht is constructed of wood. Her design includes a large aft deck swimming pool that transforms into a raised helipad area.

This is the type of concept which seemed fantastical just a few years ago, but is now reality in the motoryachts world where designs like the 81m Alfa Nero have deployed it successfully.

“It’s a good solution because you usually have to drop down all the stanchions and any elements that are higher than the helipad itself, whereas if you lift the helipad you don’t have to lower the other elements,” explains Dream Symphony designer Ken Freivokh.

The 141m four-masted Dream Symphony

“The brief did not call for a resident helicopter that would have its own hanger – it’s just a ‘touch and go’. You don’t want to set aside space for a helicopter permanently that’s almost never there, so if you have a reasonably sized swimming pool why not use the base of a pool to just receive the helicopter, and then once the helicopter flies away you can put it back to normal operations?” Why not indeed?

No matter how grandiose your ideas, however, not even the vast volumes of a gigayacht can be entirely filled with art galleries and Reiki studios. Robert Voges explains that, like any other ship, “We have to start with all the emergency exits, the corridors, staircases . . . and from there we can work with the other areas which are left over.”

Ken Freivokh estimates that at least 20 per cent of the interior space has to be allocated to the back-of-house systems required to maintain the equivalent of a small hotel – air conditioning, waste, media, and other unglamorous elements behind the touch-screen luxury.

Edge of reason

At 12,700 GT, Sailing Yacht A has the vastest volume of all. But can she be called a sailing yacht? She carries three of the world’s largest carbon rigs – curved, unstayed, capable of rotating a maximum of 70 degrees – featuring in-boom furling that can deploy 3,747 square metres of sail area (67 per cent more than Maltese Falcon ) from a finger tip command. And yet she cannot help but look implausible.

The hull has a maximum beam of 24.8m and includes 24 shell doors.

No matter how innovative the technology on board, or how vast the expense, the elements will not bend to the will of man or millionaire. Various estimates have put her cost at $400-500million, or in the region of £320 to £400 million – to put those sort of figures in context, the bill for the London Olympics Aquatics centre came in at under £300m.

Sailing Yacht A will be ‘sail-assisted’, not wind-powered. Confounding, aggressive in her styling, she’s a yacht that has attracted scathing opinions as often as wide-eyed wonder. But what is the point of creating a gigayacht that doesn’t?

“It is a creative process with the owner,” comments Aquijo ’s designer Bill Tripp, “They have this idea that they can make something that speaks to them. They don’t write symphonies, and they’re not great painters or sculptors, but on the other hand money is vital energy, and they can create these things that wouldn’t exist otherwise.

“It’s great when someone says, ‘Life’s short, I’m just going to do this.’”

Superyachtblog

Die Welt der Superyachten – The world of superyachts

Eclipse back in Hamburg

It’s been quite a while since my last blog post here on Superyachtblog. Currently we are focusing on social media and improving of our photographer skills. But we hope to deliver more content here as well.

A few weeks ago the legendary superyacht Eclipse arrived in Hamburg. This 163 meter long vessel was built in 2010 in Hamburg at Blohm&Voss shipyard. And now she’s back at her construction site for a refit. Eclipse is well known for her serial yacht owner Roman Abramovic. As well as for many rumors about her technical features. Confirmed is that Terence Disdale designed her exterior and interior. Eclipse is the largest yacht drawn by him and his team, but he is responsible for several other well known yachts like A+(ex. Topaz), Pelorus, Radiant, Tatoosh,…

And here are some pictures of megayacht Eclipse in Hamburg. If you are interested in more pictures, please drop a message to [email protected].

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Jeff Bezos’ New Yacht Is Finally Ready to Set Sail

Amazon’s founder has been spotted on Koru, a massive schooner with a design that evokes the golden age of sailing in the early 20th century.

By Kevin Koenig

Just in time for the high season of yachting in the Mediterranean, when multimillion-dollar megayachts descend on ports like Monte Carlo and St. Tropez, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has been photographed with his partner Lauren Sánchez on his new boat, Koru, off the coast of Spain.

Mr. Bezos’ vessel is a sailing yacht, a departure from the diesel-powered, floating palaces popular with other billionaires. But it is still massive. At 417 feet, Koru is the world’s largest sailing yacht, according to Boat International , and it cost an estimated $500 million to build, Bloomberg reported . (Parsifal III, the boat featured on Bravo’s reality series “Below Deck Sailing Yacht,” is 177 feet long — less than half the length of Koru — and cost $18 million , according to the website SuperYachtFan.)

A spokesperson for Mr. Bezos did not comment for this article; neither did Oceanco, Koru’s builder. Here is what to know about the boat.

For traditionalists, Koru is refreshing. At a time when yacht design skews outrageous — see the lizardlike, 262-foot Artefact or the otherworldly 463-foot Yas — Koru stands out as a schooner, a sailing vessel with two or more masts. Photos reveal a large sailboat with three masts, an on-deck pool and a voluptuous mermaid on the bow, that bears a resemblance to Ms. Sánchez. But otherwise, the sleek, classic lines suggest the patrician age of yachting in the early 20th century, said Robert B. MacKay, author of “The Golden Age of Newport Yachting: Between the Wars.”

“With the clipper bow and the dark hull and the masts,” Mr. MacKay said, referring to Koru’s concave, pointy forward section, “it reminds me of a boat built in 1930 for J.P. Morgan Jr., Corsair IV. It is almost like a reincarnation. It’s certainly at odds with the stuff the oligarchs are building — those look like bloated Clorox bottles.”

Compared with the world’s very largest motor yachts — built for sheer size and the accompanying bragging rights — Koru could almost be considered quaint. Azzam, one of the world’s largest motor yachts, is nearly 200 feet longer.

The Experience

Koru will be propelled primarily by the wind. “Sailboats are usually greener than most powerboats,” said Don Anderson, a former captain of M5 , the world’s largest single-masted sailboat, at 256 feet. “I’d like to think that Koru will be one of the most ecological yachts out there, with its sails and also with the technology that will be aboard.”

“When you’re on a sailboat, you’re more in touch with the wind and the waves than on a powerboat,” he continued. “You’re more susceptible to the elements, too. But you can leave California, and once you get past the Catalinas you can basically surf downwind all the way to Hawaii. All you need to do is run with the waves.”

Mr. Bezos has been a guest on similar boats, according to Bloomberg: In 2019, he was spotted on Eos , a 305-foot sailing yacht owned by Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg.

Bill Tripp, a Connecticut-based naval architect, said the appeal of this type of boat is clear: “When you are on a powerboat, you ask, ‘Are we there yet?’ and on a sailboat, you’re enjoying the ride and the ocean so much that you don’t ask that question.”

Koru will be trailed by Abeona, a 246-foot support vessel. Superyachts often have support vessels following along behind them. These “shadows,” as they are colloquially known, are for the “toys” — the ATVs, supercars, seaplanes, motorcycles, smaller boats, scuba gear, personal submarines and even helicopters that pleasure boaters might bring on a trip. According to its builder, this model of boat can carry these gadgets along with dozens of crew members. (Ms. Sanchez flies helicopters, and the couple was recently photographed taking a helicopter to board Abeona and then Koru.)

Abeona, a motor yacht, will have enough range to follow Koru from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean — a common course for yachts — on a single tank of gas.

The Kerfuffle

Koru set off a controversy last year — before it was even completed — in a face-off with the Dutch city of Rotterdam. The boat was built at Oceanco’s facility in Alblasserdam, the Netherlands, and needed to pass the historic Koningshaven Bridge, known as “De Hef,” in Rotterdam, to undergo testing in the North Sea.

When the city announced it would dismantle the bridge to allow the boat and its mainmast — an estimated 230 feet tall — to pass through unscathed, locals were angry. They planned a protest to throw eggs at the yacht as it cruised by. In the end, the bridge was not taken apart, and the yacht was towed to a different location to have its masts attached.

Koru is Maori for “coil” or “loop” and refers to the unfurling of a fern frond. The koru design is common in traditional Maori art, where it symbolizes new life, growth and peace. Mr. Bezos included a photo of a koru frond in an Instagram post on Jan. 1, 2022.

Brad Stone, who was the first to report on Koru, in his 2021 book “Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire,” said the name was “consistent with where we see him today.”

“He is no longer this single-minded tech guy,” Mr. Stone said. “He’s in media and Hollywood and has a new relationship.”

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Description

Characteristics.

Generator Shore Power Battery Charger Bow Thruster Bilge Pump electric and manual Hot water heater Washing Machine Air conditioning

Mainsail Cover Cockpit cover Hatch cover Dodger

E 125 ROW multifunction display on deck

Multifuction I 70 display below deck

P70 autopilot

SPX 30 autopilot course computer

I 70 display multifunction 3 pieces

I 70 wind transmitter

DST 800 log/lot/temperature combination transmitter

RD 418 HD radar antenna

AIS 650 with Splitter Easy

VHF Ray 240E-2. listener

Ray 101E handheld radio

Canada EPIRB Safelink GPS

KVH M2 TV satellite antenna

4 burner gas stove and oven. Microwave Freezer Refrigerator

Fully battened mainsail Gennaker  / Cruising Spinnaker Furling Genoa. All spars carbon fiber main and mizzen Anderson Electric Winches

The Hall rig with carbon spars is very solid. No back stays are required. The large number of firmly attached sails enables good adjustment to all wind conditions without changing sails. With the additional roll able Code 0 and the easy-to-set mizzen stay sail, the sail area can be increased on reach courses. The furlers are all designed with an all-round recovery line to avoid the typical problems of drum systems.

The sheet routing on the mainsail and mizzen is unusual with one sheet on each port and starboard side directly on a winch, but has many advantages. The sail profile is perfectly adjusted without boom vang and traveller, the booms are prevented from swinging in the sea and the booms are secured during a jibe and patent gybes are avoided.

The V-shape of the booms and the low height of the main boom above the superstructure make it easier to lower the sails.

Teak decks and cockpit floors Cockpit shower Gangway Life raft Cockpit cushions Teak Cockpit table Swim ladder

All accessible areas are covered with teak. The arrangement of the fittings is largely clean and trip-free.

Bow anchor 2 pieces 30 kg stainless steel with 100m high-strength stainless steel chain and one electric Sofrans anchor winch each, on StB together with capstan. Chain locker easily accessible from deck. The 14 two-speed stainless steel winches are from Andersen. The two winches for the jib/genoa sheets, for rolling in the

jib/genoa and also suitable for the main halyard by deflection, can be operated electrically.

The classic look skylights above the crew and main cabins are all opening. Storage compartments are next to part of the skylights. There are four large lockers in the cockpit area. The cockpit is very large and has a large table with side flaps. In the table are two drawers, compartments, a sink and a 40L cooler.

One of the 4 large baking boxes is gas-tight and therefore suitable for an outboard engine and petrol can. Further aft is the gastight box for two 11 kg gas bottles. In the aft locker to starboard is most of the safety equipment:

The life raft for 6 people, life jackets, life bells, signals, etc.

The large hatch aft of the cockpit gives access to storage space for the inflated 2.7m dinghy, gangway and fenders. The dinghy can be moved with the mizzen. A tailgate was avoided for safety reasons.

The sea railing has a divided pulpit at the front, openings on the port and starboard sides for easier access and a pushpit with a swing-out bathing ladder.

TIOGA of HAMBURG is designed as an \"Esprit de Tradition\" in visual reference to the TIOGA from 1931 by the designer Francis L. Herreshoff. TIOGA is the older sister of the larger and famous TIOGA of MARBLEHEAD from 1036, later name is TICONDEROGA, which was almost unbeatable in the period 1936 - 1967 and held most of the ocean records.

TIOGA of HAMBURG was created in the best quality between 2008 and 2013 at the Josef Martin shipyard in Radolfzell on Lake Constance. In contrast to the other appearance, the underwater hull is modern with a hydraulic lifting keel. She is designed for worldwide cruising with a crew in regattas, but can also be sailed single-handed.

The three roll able sails, jib/genoa, stay jib and mizzen stay jib allow excellent adjustment to all wind conditions that occur in connection with mainsail and mizzen. At wind speeds of 40 knots and more, the boat can still be sailed safely and balanced on all courses with stay jib and mizzen jib. Due to its dimensions, each sail can be safely handled in any situation, even without electrical or hydraulic assistance. The TIOGA of HAMBURG has proven this on the approx. 20,000 miles so far under a wide variety of conditions, as well as the high speed potential in regattas.

The lifting keel and the rudder are made of high-strength stainless steel (approx. twice the strength and higher corrosion resistance than conventional stainless steel).

The keel is retracted and extended electrically-hydraulically. In the lower part, the keel is guided in a crash box. It effectively secures the bottom of the boat in the event of a collision. The area of the rudder trunk is also secured by a bulkhead to the cabin.

The retractable bow thruster is in the crew cabin area. A bulkhead secures the main cabin in the foredeck area in the event of water ingress.

The engine is a VW 5 cylinder marine engine with 165 hp with fixed shaft system and a

3 bladed folding propeller. The generator with 5 KW electrical power is driven by the main engine.

The bow thruster is a MAX Power Retract 24 V and can be retracted and extended

The crew cabin is separated from the main cabin in the forecastle by a fixed collision bulkhead and can therefore only be entered from the outside. Here are two fixed bunks, a separate shower, a washroom with mech. Toilet including holding tank, a wall cupboard and swallow\'s nests. The woodwork is of exclusive quality in natural mahogany with contrasting white surfaces. Ventilation and lighting are provided by classic skylights.

All lamps are LED spotlights.

In the front area of the crew cabin is the bow thruster with two buffer batteries and the storage space for the sails.

From the cockpit you get to the main cabin via a bridge deck, at the same height as the cockpit benches. The companionway is protected by a foldable spray hood.

At BB is first the door to the guest cabin with 2mx1.6m berth and wall cupboard and then a washroom with electric toilet. Opposite the access to the separate shower, which also has access from the owner\'s cabin. Amidships above the machine is the navigation with chart table, VHF and the daughter plotter. The elevated arrangement enables eye contact with the helm station outside. On the BB wall is the main switch panel with the ship-related switches. On StB is the spacious

owner\'s cabin with a 2mx2m bed, separate washroom/toilet, various cupboards, safe and storage space.

Further forward midships is a sideboard with refrigerator including freezer compartment and various compartments. A floor-to-ceiling glass cabinet for wine and other glasses decoratively conceals the retractable keel box. On the back is a swiveling TV. On the port side in this area is the pantry with stove, sink, freezer, drawers and storage compartments. On the starboard side is a seating area with two 2m long benches and a table. This also makes it suitable for taking off on the leeward side at sea. Below these benches are the batteries, keel hydraulics and watermaker. Another control panel is in one of the StB side cabinets.

At the forefront of the main cabin is a raised seating area in the shape of an omega. This \"harbour saloon\" is particularly comfortable and offers a direct view to the outside thanks to the elevation. Glazed corner cupboards and shelves offer the right ambience for relaxed sitting/lying down. Below are the large diesel tanks with two 515 L.

Port and StB of the harbor saloon are simple cabins with a wide berth and an additional tubular berth that can also be used as a shelf. BB is the household-sized washing machine in the anteroom of the cabin and StB is a larger cupboard in the anteroom. The entire interior is seaworthy.

For ventilation and exposure of the main cabin there are 6 classic skylights, various side windows, all of which can be opened, and Dorade fans. A large number of ceiling spotlights and lamps, many dimmable, provide pleasant light in the dark.

The entire expansion is of the best traditional craftsmanship quality, which is hardly available anymore. The natural mahogany with a white top and the beautiful blue-grey upholstery fabric create a classic, cozy ambience.

A permanently installed air conditioning system allows pleasant temperatures below deck even at very high outside temperatures.